Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA) is a club and a class you can take part of at West Fargo High school. Fellow DECA vice-president Seth Nordstrom explains his thoughts on the club
“DECA is really important to me because it is allot of fun to get out into community it means allot to me to make me as big as I can” Nordstrom says.
The class helps you partake in understanding business, financing, and management. Along with running the Packer Connection for their own benefit DECA students take part in many fundraisers to help other organizations in the community. Last year they raised almost 2,600 dollars for the muscular dystrophy association. West Fargo DECA advisor Shelia Larsen spoke of the different fundraisers they did to help the organization.
“Last year students did a community project for the muscular dystrophy association so they did many projects to help fundraise the MDA” Larsen said. “We did a miracle minute at a basketball game we had the ping pong tournament and many others”
Through the fundraisers the DECA team has given a majority of their profit to MDA. It has helped through research and the MDA summer camp. Executive Director of MDA Sue Wiger states how the money was used.
“The kids really like to focus on our MDA Summer Camp program and with the dollars they raised last year it helped to support and give two kids the opportunity to attend the MDA Summer Camp. MDA provides a week of summer camp to all children with neuromuscular disease, ages 6-17, at no cost to their families. But MDA’s cost per child is $800. We rely on the donations of organizations like the West Fargo DECA and individuals to support this program. This is a week when our kids, who are so used to hearing “you can’t do hockey” or “you can’t play basketball”, for this one week in the summer there are no boundaries” Wiger says.
With the money from DECA going toward research it has helped the organization by being able to help families offset costs and fund for over 300 research projects.
As the New Year starts for DECA they have already begun setting up fundraisers and they have even donated another 1,500 dollars toward MDA this school year. They already have begun their big plans to help the community this year.
“The nice thing is the dollars raised stay right here in the state of North Dakota and the 18 counties in Northwest Minnesota that we serve. I think people in our area like to know when they are donating that the dollars we raise stay local. We serve just under 300 families at the present time, but our numbers are on the upswing. Our hope is that one day the dollars we raise will not only support our families but that eventually we will find a cure. No matter the size of any donation we receive, from $1, to $100, to $1,000, every dollar counts and helps our families in the area.” Wiger said.