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A Step Above: Desert Oasis High School DECA Club
The DECA organization has a heavy task at hand: to prepare emerging leaders and entrepreneurs for careers in marketing, finance, hospitality and management. Desert Oasis High School’s DECA club, approximately 100 strong, are doing much more than preparing for their careers. They’re out in the community all year long on philanthropic detail, achieving their maximum potential through fundraising efforts, blood and food drives, desert clean up and so much more. For dedicating their time and abilities to the benefit of those in need during the holiday season and beyond, each member is – A Step Above.
Activities:
We R Community: In this year-long initiative, students determine what the needs are in the community and create a mission statement based on those needs. They then use that mission statement to solicit grants, review the financial needs of several nonprofits and, finally, award the chosen nonprofits with $5000 in grant funding.
Opportunity Village Magical Forest (11.20): Fifteen members donated eight hours to help set up and work at the Magical Forest, an event that benefits adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Food Drives (11.3-9 & 20): Students collected approximately 200 boxes of food to benefit the Salvation Army at two drives, one at school and the others at Smith’s and Albertsons.
Goodie Two Shoes (10.23): For National Make a Difference Day, students helped distribute new shoes donated by Zappos to approximately 2000 Clark County children that needed shoes to attend school.
DECA President Kazzandra Alvarado comments on the group’s success:
What is DECA’s greatest achievement so far this year? “Our greatest achievement is having the honor of being the high school group that does the greatest amount of community service in Clark County. We clock over 1000 hours of community service every year.”
What is it like working with DECA to organize and follow through with charitable endeavors? “It is a great feeling to know that we are helping other people that may not have the same opportunities that we do. All too often we forget how lucky we are to have a roof over our heads; a supportive family; a great school environment; and a DECA advisor that pushes us to be our best.”
How do you select the charities you work with? “We select our charitable opportunities based on need in the community. We hear about the charitable events through several sources, including We R Community, an initiative of the Public Education Foundation.”
What are some of the obstacles you face as a group, in terms of planning and executing, and how do you overcome them? “The biggest challenge we face is time management and the policies and procedures with CCSD. Any event that we attend, plan or implement requires a mountain of paperwork. The paperwork must be submitted six weeks prior to the event. In addition, we struggle with funding. We overcome these challenges by planning ahead and working with local businesses that help sponsor events.”
How does working with charitable organizations or for charity affect DECA’s dynamic? “Community service has helped us learn to work in teams and to understand that everyone deserves a chance to succeed. Having compassion for others plays a significant role in a successful future.”
