Table of Contents

I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...................................................................................................................................................... 1

II. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................................................. 3
A. Historic background of the selected community service or charity ......................................................... 3
B. Description of the local DECA chapter, school and community ................................................................. 5
III. CONTRIBUTIONS TO A NEEDED COMMUNITY SERVICE OR CHARITY ..................................................... 5
A. Purpose of the project ................................................................................................................................................. 5
B. Rationale for selecting the community service or charitable project ...................................................... 6
C. Description of the benefits of the project to the chapter and chapter members’ understanding
of leadership development, social intelligence and community service ..................................................... 8
IV. ORGANIZATION AND IMPLEMENTATION ........................................................................................................... 10
A. Organizational chart, member involvement and job description ............................................................ 10
Chosen Business Organization Format ................................................................................................................ 10
Organizational Structure ........................................................................................................................................... 11
Roles .................................................................................................................................................................................. 12
B. Description of the project and documentation ............................................................................................... 12
C. Impact goal for the beneficiary .............................................................................................................................. 14
V. EVALUATION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................................................................. 14
A. Evaluation of the project .......................................................................................................................................... 14
B. Impact of the community service or charitable project............................................................................... 15
C. Recommendation(s) for future projects............................................................................................................. 15
VI. BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................................................................................ 17
VII. APPENDIX ......................................................................................................................................................................... 18

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 I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Within the state Utah there are at least 15,000 homeless students (Hale, 2018). That is

just those who have been confirmed as homeless. It is likely that the number of homeless school-

age kids is much higher than that. This is a huge problem. These homeless students start their

journey already a mile behind the rest of their peers through no fault or decision of their own. As

a result of their situation, these 15,000 or more children and teenagers have a disadvantage when

it comes to their education.

Copper Hills High School has 78 homeless students, however, in reality the problem is

much bigger. Rickee Stewart, a teacher who ran several successful charity projects that revolved

around homelessness, told Soles 4 Souls that, “The biggest misconception is that the only kids in

need...are the ones that are registered as homeless. When, in reality, almost half of our kids are

on free or reduced school lunch.” The chapter found out through this and other research that the

problem is affecting at least half of the student body, and must be addressed.

Copper Hills has recognized this problem and taken strides in the right direction to

alleviate the issue. It began with the creation of Principal’s Pantry across the schools in Jordan

School District. This project set out to provide food to homeless and low-income students during

lunches. From there, the project grew exponentially. An annual food drive called “Please Feed

the Bears” collects cans and non-perishable food items for the school’s pantry and has filled the

pantry’s need for food. However, few drives had collected clothing until just last year.

As Utah gets quite cold in the winter, Rickee Stewart, a Copper Hills teacher, created a

Donors Choose project in order to buy coats to keep homeless students warm in the snow. Her

project was hugely successful. Stewart filled not only Copper Hills’ pantry but also the pantries

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of other schools. Despite all the school’s accomplishments, Copper Hills’ homeless and low-

income students still have few clothing items available to them.

The chapter wanted to make a nonprofit that would help improve the learning

environment of Copper Hills. Thus, Grizzlies Give was created, however, a nonprofit that

benefits high school students is nothing new. Grizzlies Give had to differentiate the nonprofit

from others. Grizzlies Give decided to make the nonprofit about adapting to the needs of all the

people around it, so Grizzlies Give wouldn’t have to disband after the projects the nonprofit had

finished them, instead, the organization can always change and adapt to help new people. In

addition to that, Grizzlies Give is student run. This gives high school students a chance to really

experience what it’s like to run a business, and developing valuable leadership skills.

This year, Grizzlies Give decided to address Copper Hill’s homeless problem,

specifically relating to shoes. This new project under Grizzlies Give was called Soles 4 Souls and

aimed to buy new Converse to put into the Principal’s Pantry in Copper Hills.

During the course of the Soles 4 Souls project. The project collected over $1,500.

$1,000 of that money was from Donors Choose. The Soles 4 Souls project on Donors Choose

within a month was fully funded to the $1,000 requested. With that money Soles 4 Souls got its

first 17 pairs of shoes. Then Soles 4 Souls participated in the homecoming parade at the parade,

the members collected $550. One mishap that happened was when Grizzlies Give was counting

the money and getting ready to go to the Converse Outlet realized that $40 was missing.

Grizzlies Give is still not sure what happened to this $40 but it is likely that it either got stolen,

miscounted, or mixed up in Copper Hills’ Christmas fundraiser money. This was a great learning

experience for the business as a whole. Now at Grizzlies Give two people count all the money

and make sure that all the correct money in correct spots.

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 With that $510 Grizzlies Give was able to purchase 41 pairs of shoes. This was possible

because Grizzlies Give called and talked to the manager of the local converse outlet and he was

able to give an additional 20% off of his already 40% off clearance shoes.

After that, eight more pairs of shoes were donated by two private donors. That brought

the total to 66 pairs of shoes.

Soles 4 Souls has gotten offers to work with many different people including the Yellow

Shoes foundation and some app developers. Soon they will pick someone to partner with and

make the project grow exponentially.

Now Grizzlies Give will continue to do more projects in the future. The goal of Grizzlies Give is

to help as many people in as many ways as possible. Currently Grizzlies Give doesn’t know what

its next project will be. However, they aim to improve Copper Hills and benefit the community.

II. INTRODUCTION

A. Historic background of the selected community service or charity

Copper Hills High School has a large homelessness problem, and despite their numerous

fundraising endeavors, they never seem to get enough to truly help. One of the biggest problems

with the Principal’s Pantry that caters to the homeless population is the lack of new items;
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specifically, shoes. To learn more about this, DECA members went to Copper Hills’ Homeless

Liaison Milonie Taylor, and simply asked what students needed most. “The kids get weird about

wearing used shoes,” Taylor said, “but we don’t have enough new shoes to give them.” She

loved the idea of buying in style shoes to make the kids blend in, and encouraged the students to

go forward with their project. After they got the go ahead from Milonie, the students decided to

talk to Rickee Stewart, who had run several Donors Choose projects that had successfully raised

30,000 dollars to buy students in Jordan District and several others coats for the harsh Utah

winter. She said that “while Donors Choose is an excellent resource, you shouldn’t limit yourself

to one fundraising platform. People want to help, especially where the cause involves kids in

need. The problem, however, is making them away of an easy way to help. That’s you. Find a

way or better yet several ways to let them know about the need and your solution.” Members

also were invited to talk with The Road Home, which is, “a private non-profit social services

agency that assists individuals and families experiencing homelessness in Salt Lake County and

along the Wasatch Front.” In addition, the students learned about how the Road Home balances

paying their employees and buying what they need to run the non-profit.

(Grizzlies Give logo)

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 With all this information, the students decided to create Grizzlies Give, a student run

nonprofit that focuses on helping those in need. This year’s project from Grizzlies Give is called

“Soles 4 Souls” and aims to buy brand new Converse shoes for high school students at Copper

Hills High school.

B. Description of the local DECA chapter, school and community

Copper Hills’ DECA chapter exemplifies this feeling of community and emphasis on

charity, with their dedicated 54 members, 7 officers, and 2 advisers the chapter creates a

welcoming and open community that frequently collaborates with other clubs. During

Paws4aCause DECA is one of the top collectors of funds. The chapter’s shop called Grizz Fizz

sells custom soda, cookies, and breadsticks from Little Caesars during every lunch in the month

of December. The chapter helps countless students and teaches its members how to run a

business. They have also taken home a Gold Certification for School Based Enterprise three

years in a row and have competed at nationals earning a spot in the 2018 DECA International

Career Development Conference.

III. CONTRIBUTIONS TO A NEEDED COMMUNITY SERVICE OR CHARITY

A. Purpose of the project

The purpose of Grizzlies Give is to improve the learning environment of Copper Hills

High School. The organization’s most recent project, called Soles 4 Souls, aimed to do that by

providing shoes for homeless and low-income students. Every student should have equal

opportunity to succeed in their schooling. Unfortunately, homeless or low-income students may

not have the same resources as other teenagers. This creates a discrepancy in the academic

performance of students.

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 According to the nonprofit organization Schoolhouse Washington, “Students

experiencing homelessness are far more likely than housed students to score low on state

proficiency tests, miss days of school and fail to graduate on time” (Schoolhouse Washington,

2008). Not only do homeless and low-income students have lower academic proficiency due to

their situation, but they also dropout of high school at higher rates. “In 2008, the event dropout

rate of students living in low-income families was about four and one-half times greater than the

rate of their peers from high-income families (8.7 percent vs. 2.0 percent),” according to the

National Center for Education Statistics (National Center for Education Statistics, 2010).

The Copper Hills DECA Chapter had seen these things first-hand at their school and

decided this was an unacceptable situation. Grizzlies Give came into existence. This nonprofit

decided their first project would be to collect and donate Converse shoes to Copper Hills’ pantry

and closet. Their goal with these shoes was to let homeless students know that there are plenty of

people who care. This could lessen the chance that these students would fall behind in their

schooling or drop out.

B. Rationale for selecting the community service or charitable project

At the start of Grizzlies Give, the students responsible had to decide what their first

project would be and who would benefit from it. In deciding these things, Grizzlies Give studied

Copper Hills High School and the surrounding community as a whole to determine which group

would benefit the most from service the organization could provide. They wanted to create a

project that would best help the environment in and around Copper Hills become more connected

and conducive to the learning of its students. The organization settled on collecting shoes for the

homeless students in the community.

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 Copper Hills High School alone has 78 homeless students enrolled according to the

specifications of the McKinney Vento Act (as explained in Appendix One). That is a major

problem the school is working to fix. While Grizzlies Give may not have the power to solve

homelessness, the organization does have the ability to lessen the problem’s impact on the

students. There are many ways that the organization could go about doing that. However,

Grizzlies Give decided that the most important issue to focus on right now is providing shoes to

homeless students.

(McLeod, 2018)

Grizzlies Give determined that giving shoes would be the most beneficial partly due to

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. According to this theory, there are various innate human

curiosities that a person will pursue. However, each curiosity must be fulfilled in a certain order

as illustrated by the pyramid pictured. Before a person can move on to the next step, he/she must

complete the lower steps. Grizzlies Give applied this concept to the homeless students of Copper

Hills. This led the founding students to the conclusion that part of the reason homeless and low-

income students fall behind academically is that they don’t have their basic needs met.

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 In the past, projects have been formed to provide essentials for homeless and low-income

students. Since the school was established, the Principal’s Pantry has provided necessities for

students in need. At first it simply gave snacks to hungry students at lunch. Since then, other

projects have collected food, clothing, and other household items to fill the pantry. For example,

Rickee Stewart, a teacher at Copper Hills, decided that for her wedding registry she would

collect coats for homeless students instead of gifts for herself. This project gained worldwide

attention and was hugely successful. She completely stocked Copper Hills’ pantry. Thanks to

these projects, many of the students’ needs have been filled.

Grizzlies Give consulted Milonie Taylor, Copper Hills’ homeless liaison, on what

supplies the pantry still needs. Taylor explained that while the pantry is well-stocked, it would be

beneficial to collect shoes. That became the mission of Grizzlies Give. The organization would

collect money to buy new Converse shoes for students in need. Converse sneakers fit the

project’s goals perfectly as they are versatile, comfortable, and long-lasting shoes that are

popular among teenagers. This way the students utilizing the pantry can feel confident in their

new shoes. As the American novelist Flannery O’Connor said, “Even a child with normal feet

was in love with the world after he had got a new pair of shoes.”

C. Description of the benefits of the project to the chapter and chapter members’

understanding of leadership development, social intelligence and community service

As the Copper Hills DECA Chapter began this project, the members expected no benefit

for the chapter besides the knowledge of contributing to the community. However, as the project

progress, it became a way to publicize DECA. From within the context of fundraising, the school

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and community learned about both what DECA is and the many things that the club does for

Copper Hills.

In addition to informing the community about DECA, the Copper Hills Chapter also had

the benefit of creating an organization that would last for years to come. Grizzlies Give is a

group run by chapter members in order to carry out community service projects for the school

and community. It is the hope of its current members that this organization will be a platform for

the service that the club undertakes in the future. Since Grizzlies Give will already be well-

established, it will be easier to begin new projects in coming years.

This project allowed every member to participate and take initiative in the project. Over

homecoming weekend, Copper Hills hosted multiple events that gave Grizzlies Give an

opportunity to collect money from the school and community. There were two football games, a

parade, and a tailgate.

(Soles 4 Souls at the Homecoming Parade)

At these events, members carried around containers and persuaded potential donors to

give money to the cause. This was a great way to practice social intelligence by determining the

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best way to communicate in order to inspire a charitable spirit in others. Not only that, but

members also had to adapt to situations as they arose. A spot at the tailgate was taken by another

club; there was a mix-up in setting up for the game; some people who’d committed to helping

had something come up. These and other problems forced the chapter to use their leadership

skills and problem-solving ability to determine the best course of action and organize the rest of

the club.

As the project progressed, there were more opportunities for students to contribute. Each

pair of shoes had a note to go along with it that gave a message of hope for a student in need.

Members wrote by hand each of those notes. Students also had the opportunity to reach out to

other organizations for donations of money or shoes. Whatever needed to be done to increase the

donations, organize shoes, or serve the community was done by the loyal Copper Hills DECA

Chapter members.

Along with some valuable skills, the chapter members gained new experiences in

community service. For many of them, this was an introduction to the world of charity as well as

working with a nonprofit. They also found a personal connection to the service they gave. The

students knew that each pair of shoes would go to a fellow Copper Hills Grizzly in need and that

they helped to make that happen. Grizzlies Give hopes that it inspired these students to continue

their work in service far beyond the Soles 4 Souls project.

IV. ORGANIZATION AND IMPLEMENTATION

A. Organizational chart, member involvement and job description

Chosen Business Organization Format

The format of Grizzlies Give presently is a partnership. However, Grizzlies Give is

working with Yellow Shoes, a nonprofit that seeks to help the suicide epidemic, to become a

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501(c)(3). When the paperwork to become a 501(c)(3) is finished Grizzlies Give will be eligible

for federal exemption from payment of corporate income tax, which means that the nonprofit

will also be exempt from similar taxes at a local and state level. In addition, any charitable

contributions to Grizzlies Give are tax deductible.

Organizational Structure
To create a structure that reduces conflicts and maximizes efficiency, Grizzlies Give

decided to elect a Head Director and two other Directors. This format is designed to streamline

the decision-making process while also dividing the responsibilities between multiple people.

The responsibilities for each position are described below as are the qualifications of the people

now occupying the offices. Concerning the other members of Grizzlies Give, any person

involved in the Business and Marketing Club is eligible and encouraged to participate in the

organization and its service projects.

As for the process by which these positions are chosen, only the current BAM chapter

officers are eligible to fill these positions. The Head Director will be voted in by the rest of the

officers as the person with the most experience in the club and in the Grizzlies Give

organization. The Head Director will then choose the two candidates he/she feels have the best

qualifications for the roles of Director of Marketing and Director of Finance. These officers will

serve in these positions for one school year. At the start of each year, BAM officers will repeat

the process to choose new Directors.

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Roles

B. Description of the project and documentation

The project Soles 4 Souls is collecting money to buy homeless students at Copper Hills

new Converse shoes. Soles 4 Souls did this by posting a project on Donors Choose asking for

donations to the cause, collecting money at a local level and partnering with other businesses.

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 Soles 4 Souls posted the Donors Choose project and was fully funded, reaching the

$1,000 that was previously set. Through the Donors Choose, Soles 4 Souls was able to buy 17

pairs of shoes at full price.

Soles 4 Souls also raised money locally at school during Copper Hills’ Homecoming

Week. During that week Soles 4 Souls walked in Copper Hills’ homecoming parade during that

week over $500 was raised. Soles 4 Souls has received shoes from many different places, so

there are many different receipts. Some of these shoes were purchased at the Converse Outlet

closest to Copper Hills. Soles 4 Souls was able to get 41 pairs shoes for $509.19, with a 60%

discount. This major discount was achieved through talking to the store manager and telling

them about the project, Soles 4 Souls was given an extra 20% off of their clearance shoes that

were already 40%, without this discount the shoes would’ve been $1,025.

(Receipts from Donors Choose and Payless. Collection of 66 shoes so far.)

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 In addition, Soles 4 Souls has partnered with one of the head executives at the Yellow

Shoes Foundation who has generously agreed to donate more shoes to Soles 4 Souls.

During Soles 4 Souls many pictures have been taken throughout collecting money,

spending the money and the majority of everything else Souls 4 Souls have accomplished along

the way.

C. Impact goal for the beneficiary

Soles 4 Souls’ first goal was to get the 78 homeless students at Copper Hills at least one

pair of new shoes. So far Soles 4 Souls have gotten 66 pairs of shoes out of the 78 of the initial

goal. Although the goal has not yet been met, Soles 4 Souls have made a great start and will keep

on working until Soles 4 Souls has exceeded the goal, and make sure that every student at copper

hills has a good warm pair of shoes.

V. EVALUATION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

A. Evaluation of the project

(The Soles 4 Souls campaign page on Donors Choose)

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 Soles 4 Souls received a lot of publicity through Donors Choose. From the campaign

there, the money received totaled $978, which went towards 18 pairs of shoes that were

purchased through Business Amazon. Rickee Stewart partnered with Soles 4 Souls to create the

project on her page, which already had a large momentum behind it due to her numerous

successful campaigns for new coats. 8 people donated to the Soles 4 Souls project, one of those

being Chevron, who runs an initiative that funds what’s left of Donors Choose projects that

benefit students or education as a whole. Soles 4 Souls also received some publicity through

Facebook, as Rickee posted about the Soles 4 Souls project there. Two private donors came

forward to give 8 pairs of shoes that they purchased during Black Friday. In addition, the

organization created a partnership with a local realtor who provides shoes for kids in need in her

community. The Soles 4 Souls project was perfect synergy with their goal.

B. Impact of the community service or charitable project

Soles 4 Souls has provided shoes for 66 homeless students. Not only that, but when the

group went to The Road Home, the Copper Hills chapter of National Honors Society came with

Soles 4 Souls and decided to adopt The Road Home as their charity this year, meaning that all of

their service projects revolve around helping them. Some of the participants of NHS decided to

help The Road Home by making it their senior project, running clothing, food, and many more

drives that will all benefit The Road Home. The project truly raised awareness of Copper Hills’

homelessness problem, and helped provide solutions.

C. Recommendation(s) for future projects

Soles 4 Souls was more successful than anyone would’ve dared to dream, but, the

organization can do better. The organization been approached by a programming teacher in

California, who wants to have his students develop an app that would make donations much

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more quick and simple. Soles 4 Souls has a website in the process of being set up that will allow

anyone to donate at any time rather than having to set up another Donors Choose project or

collect the donation in person. The Soles 4 Souls leadership team has talked extensively about

setting up another Soles 4 Souls project in other high schools that need new shoes for their

students. This project is far from done, and the organization plans to continue it until the board of

directors feel that have served the community appropriately.

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 VI. BIBLIOGRAPHY

“Academic Outcomes for Students Experiencing Homelessness Are Far Worse than Those for

Housed Students.” Schoolhouse Washington, 22 Oct. 2018,

schoolhousewa.org/data/analysis/academic-outcomes-for-students-experiencing-

homelessness-are-far-worse-than-those-for-housed-students/.

Hale, Lee. “Helping Homeless Students Who Don't See Themselves As Homeless.” KUER 90.1,

16 Oct. 2018,

www.kuer.org/post/helping-homeless-students-who-dont-see-themselves-

homeless#stream/0.

McLeod, Saul. “Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.” Simply Psychology, 2018,

www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html.

“Trends in High School Dropout and Completion Rates in the United States: 1972-2008.”

National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Home Page, a Part of the U.S.

Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Dec. 2010,

nces.ed.gov/pubs2011/dropout08/findings1.asp.

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 VII. APPENDIX

Appendix One
McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act
This law, established in 1987 by the United States Government, was the first to incite significant
action in assisting the homeless. States that subscribe to this law are required to implement
programs which provide housing, food, and monetary support for the underprivileged.
The original McKinney Act was revised to include the protection of homeless children in public
education and became the McKinney-Vento Act. Schools are required to offer free transportation
to and from school, registration without the usual documents, and (in Jordan School District) free
or reduced school lunch to students in need. Children are determined homeless if they fit any of
the following criteria:
a) Students share housing or live in inadequate locations because of economic difficulties.
b) Students sleep primarily in public or private areas not designed to accommodate sleeping.
c) Students live in public areas, automobiles, abandoned property, etc.
d) Students are considered migratory because they apply to the above criteria.

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