Make-A-Wish is an international non-profit organization that fulfills the wishes of critically ill children. Highland Park High School has contributed to this organization’s efforts for over eight years through DECA’s Community Giving Project. According to the DECA Inc. website, this task uses the project management process to raise funds for a charitable cause. Last year, DECA members focused on Make-A-Wish for their project, winning Highland Park second place at states and making a difference in the lives of young people around the world.
This year, Megan Chiu, Tom Carmen, and Andreea Dumitru assumed the responsibility of organizing the annual DECA Make-A-Wish Carnival, which took place on November 3. The event featured various activities and attractions such as basketball, mini golf, bottle ring toss, bean bag toss, bowling, connect four, a wishing well, a photo booth, popcorn, and more. 190 people from all over the town participated in the carnival, marking its resounding success. Megan shares her thoughts on the accomplishment, stating, “This year, we got a lot more participation since we also invited the middle school to join our carnival…Many more people in town started to notice this organization because of us, which made me feel fantastic!”
No victory comes without hard work, however. Tom reflects on his efforts in preparing for the fundraiser, “I spent about 2-3 months making all of the games out of wood and other durable materials to create a more professional look, as well as allowing us to use these games for future years.” Luckily, this endeavour seems to have paid off. Andreea contributes her thoughts on the carnival, saying, “I feel confident about this project because each member put effort into their job.”
After the carnival, Megan, Tom, and Andreea were invited to the annual Make-A-Wish New Jersey President's Reception to celebrate 40 years of wishes. Hopefully, DECA and other aspects of the school community will continue this tradition of giving back.