DECA club revs up for car show benefit
BY JESSICA SMITH
Staff Writer

SCOTT FRIEDMAN Monroe Township High School senior Nicole Lawrence (l), junior Priyanka Parika and senior Andrew Stern of Monroe Township High School's DECA club take part in a recent car wash to raise money for their trip to a leadership and marketing conference.

MONROE - A group of students at the township high school is gearing up to help children with cancer.

The school's DECA (Distributive Education Clubs of America) club will hold its fourth annual car show Sunday, the first of several fundraising efforts this year for the organization. Proceeds will benefit Alex's Lemonade Stand.

"Our organization promotes community service and social intelligence," said DECA State President Gina Antoniello, a senior at Monroe.

Alex's Lemonade Stand is a nationwide charity that benefits pediatric cancer research. The organization was started by the late 4-year-old Alex Scott, who had sold lemonade in an effort to raise enough money to help doctors find a cure for her cancer. The child's namesake charity has raised over $5 million.

Students in Monroe's DECA club are hoping to raise at least $2,000 for Alex's Lemonade Stand, according to Chapter President Andrew Stern.

Registration for the car show is open to the public for a $15 fee. All entrants will receive goodie bags, and attendees will have a chance to win door prizes. Registration begins at 9 a.m., and the show runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Trophies will be given for best car, best motorcycle, best truck and best student car.

The car show is only one of several fundraising events planned for the school year. DECA will also fundraise at Oktoberfest, the township's yearly fall event. Proceeds from that will go to the pediatric oncology unit at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, New Brunswick.

The students have also organized a basket raffle, with 10 baskets filled with donated goods from local businesses, totaling over $2,000. Chances for the baskets go for $2 each, or three for $5, and will benefit Alex's Lemonade Stand. They will be sold at the car show, and the drawing will take place Oct. 23.

DECA Week kicked off Monday, with club members giving gifts and goodie bags to faculty and staff members there. The group was planning an open house for today as part of the yearly observance.

DECA is an international organization for students with an interest in the fields of marketing, management and entrepreneurship. Members compete with one another on regional, state and national levels.

"Beyond the business aspect of learning to be a leader, I learned a lot of social skills interacting with other people," Stern said. "I learned that it will take hard work to be successful in whatever you want to achieve."

Both Antoniello and Stern are seniors who have been members since they became eligible as sophomores.

Last year, there were 113 members of the organization at the high school, and Chief DECA Adviser Debbie Stapenski hopes to get at least that number through this year's membership drive.

"DECA has given me so much," Antoniello said. "Before DECA, I was less confident, less know-ledgeable about the business profession. When I was a sophomore, I had the opportunity to step up and run for a state officer position. When I got elected, it gave me the opportunity to be a leader and learn more about myself and different people."