Initially, all students planned a simple event for gathering goods.

Once junior Candace Williams came up with an idea to gather hygiene products for the Lighthouse Shelter, she knew where she needed to start. Working together with Addie Matthews, the event transformed from a simple donation drive into something truly innovative.

After getting acquainted with some couponing techniques and rewards programs, they suggested teaching their fellow SkillsUSA members and other students how to optimize spending. The main goal of her proposal was to demonstrate how people can earn cash by making purchases on particular store applications or through rewards systems and then use those earnings to buy additional items.

Working together with Sophia Leschishin and junior Scarlett Wissel, the campaign developed rapidly due to lessons within Falcon Block and multiple social network publications.

The more participants joined in, the more people shared their positive experiences, such as one student who managed to receive extra $31 after spending only $30. All of the additional funds were spent on buying other products for donation.

However, for the organizers themselves, the event was not just the final tally of numbers.

“This soon turned out to be not only a fundraising campaign but also teaching others how to do more with less,” Williams said.

It took innovative thinking, cooperation, and bold action to prove that this event showed that everything started with huge dreams coming from humble beginnings.