Discovery Canyon Campus High School seniors Hailey Neener, Paris Young and Ellie Linnenburger are giving back to the community through a service project in their DECA class.

Distributive Education Clubs of America, or DECA is a nonprofit organization that prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs to be college and career ready. The nonprofit was started in 1946 and today has more than 3,700 high school chapters.

All three ladies started DECA in their sophomore years.

“I’ve always been interested in business,” Neener said. “[The class] gives us something to do and look forward to,” with the pandemic limiting in-person classes.

The high school building is closed and there are no afterschool sports or clubs to keep them busy, so all three said this is a good way to be social with their friends and keep their minds on school.

“DECA has always been one of my favorite classes,” Neener said. All three girls said their teacher, Samantha Williams, who they nicknamed “Mrs. Willie,” is fantastic.

Young said DECA is a big deal in her family, as her mother won the DECA national championship.

The girls call their project team “The Powerhouse.” They are set to compete in the annual state conference at the Broadmoor in February. DECA offers six career clusters for students to participate in group or individual projects. Their project is part of the business management and administration career cluster that DECA offers for students to study.

Neener, Young and Linnenburger have all made it to the state conference each year for the last three years, Young said. The competition involves roleplaying and the submission of a detailed 20-page written manual.

The girls’ project is a fundraiser for the Springs Rescue Mission, which helps provide food, shelter, job training and rehabilitation to people experiencing homelessness. Suggested by Linnenburger’s mother, it includes monetary giving through a GoFundMe account and tangible donations.

The girls selected Springs Rescue Mission “because we saw how the homeless were being affected by COVID,” Young said.

Springs Rescue Mission continues to have both current and urgent needs. To see how you can help, visit springsrescuemission.org/donate-goods/. Donations are taken Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 1109 S. Tejon St.

In the first month of the project, the girls secured more than 1,000 tangible items and more than $1,000. So far, they’ve raised $1,100. They promoted the requests on social media.

Young said the girls knocked on doors and sent emails asking for tangible donations.

“You’re not going to get anywhere if you don’t ask,” she said.

The school also ran a competition, rewarding the class that brought in the most donations as an incentive to give.

“Good for them, good for the school and good for the community,” Williams said.

Since the school has scaled back on annual events that typically offer the chance to give, this project has helped fill that need for donations.

Williams said the project is a large undertaking that involves planning, execution and then writing the manual. Most other projects only require students to create a theoretical business in the manual. The projects are a semester long and often require students to spend a significant amount out of time outside of class together. Neener said it’s like a full-time job.

With regard to the myriad of tasks, Linnenburger said, “We usually we divide and conquer for all the tasks required for this project.”

Because of the pandemic, it has been challenging for the girls to continue with the restrictions in place.

“They have surpassed my expectations,” Williams said.

She noted the girls have tapped into the power of the school’s association with the International Baccalaureate program. There are over 1,800 schools in the United States that teach the IB programs, including DCC. The girls used the IB connection to promote their project.

“This project has been a lot of work, but it’s been super rewarding,” Young said.

Neener, Young and Linnenburger plan to inventory the donations, then present them to the Springs Rescue Mission at the end of the month.

All three plan to attend college, although they have not yet committed to any specifically. Linnenburger is a runner who hopes to continue that in college while taking business and psychology classes. Young and Neener are considering Colorado-based schools to study marketing and pre-dentistry, respectively.

Courtesy of Hailey Neener

Discovery Canyon Campus High School seniors, from left, Paris Young, Ellie Linnenburger and Hailey Neener are giving back to the community through a service project they will also use to compete at the annual DECA competition at the Broadmoor in February.

Courtesy of Hailey Neener

Scott Streble, courtesy of Springs Rescue Mission

Discovery Canyon Campus High School seniors Paris Young, Ellie Linnenburger and Hailey Neener (not pictured) are helping raise money to benefit the Springs Rescue Mission, which helps provide food, shelter, job training and rehabilitation to people experiencing homelessness. So far, they have raised $1,100 for their cause. To donate, visit donate.springsrescuemission.org/donate.

Scott Streble, courtesy of Springs Rescue Mission

Courtesy of DECA.org

November is DECA month. Distributive Education Clubs of America, or DECA, is a nonprofit that prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs to be college and career ready. It was started in 1946 and today has more than 3,700 high school chapters.

Courtesy of DECA.org