Odessa students win $2,500 to help feed seniors
STCU awards total of $5,000 to help teens make a difference
SPOKANE, WA (December 23, 2017) — The Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) chapter at Odessa High School will receive $2,500 through STCU’s Hundred Dollar Project, to benefit the Odessa Healthcare Foundation.
The surprise check delivery will occur at 11:15 a.m. Friday at Odessa HS. The event will be a surprise for most students, most school staff and the healthcare foundation, and STCU asks the media to please keep the secret until that time.
Using $100 in seed money from STCU, the Odessa students raised $1,051. They used that money for ingredients to make 553 freezer-ready meals during a cooking party over Thanksgiving break. (Ingredients were also donated.) Then, they delivered the meals to 43 Odessa residents.
For that effort, they were voted the overall winner in this year’s Hundred Dollar Project. In addition, STCU:
- Awarded $1,500 to the Cheney High School FBLA for purchasing professional clothing, and providing help with resumes and interview training for Cheney residents in need. The students proved their dedication to the cause by developing a detailed plan that included hosting a fun run that raised $358 toward their cause.
- Awarded $1,000 to a Columbia High School in Pasco, where students Jade Tunnell and Jackson Yale collected 730 pair by organizing sock drives at the high school, middle school, elementary school and public library. The pair donated the socks to Community Action Collection, a shelter where socks are the most-sought item, and one of the least-donated.
STCU’s Hundred Dollar Project encourages teens to “start a movement, launch an innovation, brighten a life or change the world.”
Earlier this year, 20 teams of teens from Washington and Idaho submitted project ideas, and judges narrowed those down to 20 finalist teams who received $100 each to help with the work.
All finalists were invited to report back with a video showing how they used the $100. From December 4-8, STCU invited social media followers to vote on which projects deserved the prize money. The three winners were selected based on a combination of judging, and online voting.
The Odessa students – all freshmen — used their $100 from STCU to buy the ingredients for 200 caramel apples, which they sold for a $951 profit. That money was used to buy the meal ingredients. The Cheney students used their $100 to help with the fun run, while the Columbia students used theirs for the sock drives.
About STCU
Founded by educators in 1934, STCU has been voted the region’s best credit union for 16 consecutive years by readers of the Inlander newspaper. The credit union’s 246,000 members live in all 50 states, accessing their accounts through a network of nearly 30,000 surcharge-free ATMs nationwide, and through online banking and the STCU mobile app. STCU employees enjoy a full suite of benefits, including a generous 401(k) match, health insurance, in-house leadership training, tuition reimbursement, paid time off for volunteerism, and more.
