9th Graders Create "Charitable Organizations" And Present Detailed Business Plans
Scrunchies for heart disease? Popcorn to benefit MUSC? These ideas are only a few of the creative companies that PCA's ninth-grade Computer Applications class created over the past semester. Presented with a challenge: take a (fictitious) budget of $400 and come up with a charitable organization that could realistically be functional in one month. I'm proud to say these students rose to the task.
The freshmen had to use their knowledge of Google Suite to create a business plan, including a mission statement (Google Docs), a presentation to show to potential investors (Google Slides), a detailed website to have an online presence (Google Sites), as well as a business flyer, logo, and business cards. Without hesitation, the class broke up into groups ready to explore their passions and ideas. There was a flurry of brainstorming, research, interviews, and emails that all came together in the form of eleven charitable organizations.
The companies created were: Scripture Scrunchies (scrunchies sold with designated scriptures, proceeds from sales going towards research for heart disease), We Heart Military Moms (gift baskets for military moms whose husbands were deployed overseas), Bible Bags (personalized duffle bags and Bibles given to children in the foster care system), Bee Kind (merchandise and flower arrangements sold to help save the bees), Clothes4College (donated clothes sold to raise funds for college scholarships for children in missionary families), Study Buddies (giving students school supplies and tutoring sessions), Popcorn for a Purpose (a movie in the park event where proceeds from ticket sales and concessions went to MUSC's Children's Hospital), Supplies for Success (school supplies, uniforms, and toiletries provided to children in the foster care system), TASK (an event for kids to come together to hear the word, play games, and have fun), Study Buddies (tutoring and school supplies given to kids who need support in public schools), E.C.O. Flow (an event to help gather trash that accumulates along the Charleston coastline), and Bikes4Life (an event to raise money to help families pay for their children's cancer treatments).
It is clear that our PCA students are pursuing Jesus Christ in their ideas and passions, and will certainly make a positive and lasting impact on the world both in and outside of PCA.