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Komachin students in Lacey exceed their March of Dimes donation goals, QR code sharing strategy used

Future Business Leaders of America chapter at Komachin Middle School

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The Komachin Middle School chapter of Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) has raised $2,177.00 of its $500 goal starting in January 2023 for its national service partner, the March of Dimes. Last August, the Komachin Middle School FBLA chapter set two goals for their work program: A goal to raise awareness and funds for the FBLA National service partner March of Dimes, raise awareness, and drive donations to the local non-profit 'All Kids Win.'

"We coordinated our team to pass out QR codes, participate in a FlapJack fundraiser, and set up a cider station at our PTA's Bazaar," said chapter secretary Andrew Sullivan. "We directed these projects towards our March of Dimes initiative. The 'All Kids Win' awareness campaign included QR codes and packing events."

In October, 65 members of the Komachin FBLA chapter raised $903 in a flapjack fundraiser, "We sold $700 in tickets and used QR codes for donations that were deposited directly to the March of Dimes site," said Chapter Vice President Spencer Hall. "We met our original goal of $500 and raised it to $1000. It seemed like a tough goal at the time."

The FBLA chapter public relations officer, Jordan Kaye, worked with the team to raise awareness about the mission of March of Dimes (MOD). A team of 12 FBLA students set up a cider and sweets station at the Komachin PTA Winter Bazaar. Students served cups of free cider and talked with Bazaar goers about the chapter service initiatives and handed out QR codes for donations.

"By using QR codes, we reached a broader audience and made it easier for them to support the project," said Kaye. "It allowed us to connect with people and spread awareness about two super important organizations. And we found an additional $44 in donations for the MOD project."

The FBLA middle school chapter also worked with another Career & Technical Education (CTE) team at their school (HOSA) to celebrate the student's accomplishments in CTE. Students invited parents, teachers, and other CTE students to a CTE night hosted at the Lacey Community Center. "Our school building is under construction, so we searched for a space to celebrate our CTE program with parents," said FBLA Adviser Kate Reece. "We have hosted two CTE nights so far and have one more planned for June."

The Komachin FBLA Officer team used the CTE night to explain the service projects and gain more support. Chapter President Satapat Tatarian presented the two-chapter service initiatives to the audience and encouraged them not reach into their own pockets, but instead to share the QR codes with friends, family, and professional contacts. "We are proud of the outcome from our CTSO night," said chapter treasurer Tiffany Lam. "We raised an additional $319 for our March of Dimes Project, for a total of $1319. So we raised the goal to $1500, thinking would be good to round it up."

March of Dimes

Ten walkers representing Komachin FBLA participated in the Seattle March for Babies on May 6, 2023. This state-wide walk provided an opportunity to raise further awareness and rally support for the cause with a MOD community goal of $300,000. "We rallied together one last time for the year, the goal was to raise at least $25 per walker on our team," said eighth grader Nnyl Darby. "People surprised us. Friends of my family rallied and brought in $467, putting us way over our first goal." The Komachin March of Dimes team raised 458% of their original $500 goal with $2,177 as of the walk day.

The Komachin FBLA team has two more events to finish the season of service.

"We are taking 40 students to Ocean Shores to support the 'Clean Shores' cleanup and we are working our second AKW packing event," said eighth-grade chapter president Satapat Tatarian. "Finding non-profits that already have structures in place helped us focus on bringing awareness to them. 'All Kids Win' and the March of Dimes make a difference every day and it feels good to help."

Marcus McLeod is a student at Komachin Middle School. Want to know how to use a QR code? Click here to learn.

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