Near the end of the school year, the Global Empowerment Outreach (GEO) Club raised money for the Malaria Consortium, an organization that provides malaria testing for children in Southeast Asia and Africa. During a week in the spring, GEO members sold tie-dyed, hand-painted drawstring bags and milk teas in various flavors. Students and faculty could purchase a pre-painted bag, request a design or paint a bag themselves. All proceeds were donated to the Malaria Consortium, which GEO members had selected to support (out of five possible charities) at the beginning of the year.

Around the same time, DECA chapter members collected gently used shoes for Soles4Souls, a nonprofit dedicated to fighting poverty worldwide. Founded in 2006, Soles4Souls’ mission is to collect new and used shoes and clothing from individuals, schools, faith-based institutions, civic organizations and corporate partners, then distribute them via both direct donations to people in need and by provisioning qualified micro-enterprise programs designed to create jobs in poor and disadvantaged communities.