Volunteerism Award from 2nd Harvest

Odessa High School FBLA has been selected for a Civic Award by 2nd Harvest of Spokane. While many categories reflect their dedication to community and feeding the hungry, the Volunteerism award best represents their work over the last year. Besides raising over $6,000 in sponsorships for 50 children to participate in the weekend Backpack Program, they also raised $1,400 by decorating and selling pumpkins to provide 25 children with coats, boots, hats, gloves and snow pants last winter. During Christmas break, this group of students collected and purchased enough food to provide 14 simple meals for 47 children to eat over the two week Christmas break. In addition, senior FBLA members were selected for STCU's Credit for Kids and used their $500 cash award to prepare and cook 500 freezer meals for Odessa's senior citizens. Because of their commitment to service and leadership in our community, Odessa FBLA won the Lead2Feed Leadership Challenge for $10,000 and STCU's Hundred Project for $2,500. The chapter donated all $12,500 of the prize money to Odessa's Friends of the Pool to help purchase a heat pump and provide salaries for life guards. This group's willingness to volunteer and lead the way has made a huge impact on their community in terms of hunger and helping those in need. Their projects have impacted the young, the old, and everyone in between.