Lasting impression
<p>Coeur d'Alene High School DECA students Jessi Jordan, left, Celena Fox and Caillie Ostrowski talk about their club's activities to raise $1,616.34 which they presented Thursday to Janie Givas, development director for the Children's Village.</p>
COEUR d'ALENE - Three Coeur d'Alene High School seniors raised more than $1,600 for Children's Village - and earned an A along the way.
"You better have gotten an A," said a smiling Janie Givas, Children's Village director.
Caillie Ostrowski, Celena Fox and Jessi Jordan presented a check for $1,616.34 to Givas on Thursday.
They took on the fundraiser in their DECA (Distributive Education Clubs of America) class for their senior project earlier this school year.
The trio quickly settled on Children's Village, knowing of its work to assist infants to teens facing difficult situations. The nonprofit, Ostrowski said, isn't a national organization and doesn't receive a lot of attention.
They wanted to make an impact locally, and they believe they did.
"We thought it would be great to help out as much as we could," Ostrowski said.
The teens raised money in several ways. They created a class competition, held a homemade chili feed at school and sold tickets for a Kindle Fire, Jordan said.
The DECA class handled marketing and promotion for the activities.
Their goal was to raise $500. They more than tripled it.
"It's pretty amazing how much our community stepped forward to help," Fox said. "We didn't expect to raise this much money."
Fox said one student donated $100 after hearing about Children's Village and its mission. He explained he didn't have a great childhood, and wished an organization like Children's Village had been around for him.
Many students pitched in.
"We definitely made an impact in our school," Fox said.
Ostrowski, Fox and Jordan also wrote a paper on the community service project for their DECA class.
They earned an A, and will present it at the DECA competition in March, with a chance to qualify for nationals.
Givas was pleased, too, not just with the donation, but the girls' efforts and leadership, just the way they stepped up.
"They came to me with not just an idea, but a way to put that idea into action. And they did that," she said.
They also volunteered at a holiday luncheon, and in essence, became spokespeople at CHS for Children's Village.
Givas said the biggest impact may come from the teens spreading the message of Children's Village to a younger generation.
"This will benefit Children's Village for years and years to come," she said.