PHS Students Raise Money for Chile Relief

Pictured accepting the donation for the American Red Cross is Executive Director Cheryl Klueppel (third from left). Also pictured are: (from left) Tiffany Phillips, DECA Secretary; Yezi (Amy) Yan, DECA member; Ms. Klueppel; Lacey Lohmann, DECA Fundraiser Chairperson; Tara Martin, DECA Vice-President; and Marshall Clinton, DECA Treasurer. (Photo by L. Boxdorfer, Perry County School Dist. No. 32)

Perryville High School DECA students were moved by the devastation they saw in Chile following that country's recent earthquakes and they quickly sprang into action to help its victims.

The fundraiser they sponsored called "Chile Change Drive" raised a total of $503.84 for the American Red Cross to help with relief efforts in Chile.

Event organizer, Yezi (Amy) Yan, thought it would be a good idea to get the student body involved in the fundraiser. "At first I just wanted to donate money to help out," said Yan, "but then I thought it would be better if the whole school would be involved. I checked with my teacher and got the DECA organization involved. We had a competition between the first hour classes. The top two classes that collected the most money on average per student won a pizza party. The winners were Michele Pellikan's and Jesse Laurentius' classes."