On Nov. 14, DECA held its annual fundraiser at Bellefonte Lanes- this year, a charity bowl. DECA members and State High students and staff were invited to participate with a $20 donation that supported the Boys and Girls Club of America. In total, 114 attendees raised over $4,300 for the charity.
The Boys and Girls Club of America program enables young people to “reach their full potential as productive, caring, and responsible citizens,” according to BGCA.org.
“It is targeted and focused on students that are in an underprivileged area, maybe they don’t have the greatest home life or connection with parents,” DECA advisor Bridget Ciolkosz said. “And so they find a mentor that helps them and does things with them; after school, on the weekends, and really acts as that mentorship piece for them.”
“[They] provide after-school programs for children in need, and that’s something we really care about, because as a business club, we care about education, and we want to help provide for other kids to get that education as well,” DECA fundraising chair sophomore Sol Lee said.
As the fundraiser for the team, Lee was responsible for much of the event’s organization, which was primarily student-led. Officers also communicated with local businesses that sponsored the event, such as Raising Cane’s and Mike’s Appliances.
“[The officers] really tried to get businesses that they thought students would be interested in winning prizes for, and so they came up with the idea of selling tickets,” Ciolkosz said.
Tickets were sold to raffle off donation baskets, with items like gift cards, t-shirts, and other assorted goodies.
“We originally were hoping to raise $3,500, but because we’ve had such an amazing turnout, we are changing that goal to potentially $4,000,” Lee said.
DECA surpassed both goals, raising exactly $4,375 for the Boys and Girls Club. Lee attributes much of the success to the new fundraising approach.“We think that this is not only great for charity, but it’s also a community bonding, and team bonding, so we wanted to make a fun experience,” Lee said.
Junior Allison Foor attended the Charity Bowl and shared her experience. “It seemed like a good cause, and I wanted prizes and to hang out with my friends,” she said.
Teacher Niels Witkamp also attended and won a Penn State t-shirt. “I was happy to win it because you can never have too many Penn State shirts, and I liked the design of it.”
Despite the prizes, community connections were the main reason for the high attendance.
“I’ve learned how many people are willing to show up and support the community […] I think it’s really fun to see everyone bonding,” Lee said.
DECA will be holding “Miracle Minutes” at future meetings (Wednesdays in C100) as another approach to raising money. For more information on the Boys and Girls Club, as well as ways to donate, click here.
