Senior Claire Bushnell and junior Linh Le are both active members of Olympia High School’s DECA chapter. But these two girls aren’t just competing in regular business role-play or creating mock marketing strategies. They have created and organized a comprehensive campaign for something bigger than themselves: Breast Cancer Awareness. It all started in September, when Le was asked to make “Pink Out” t-shirts for a football game in honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. She joined forces with Bushnell to organize the game.
Through their work on the football game, the two discovered the Pink for the Cure foundation. Both Le and Bushnell decided to champion this cause as their focus for the Community Service Campaign DECA event. This meant not only organizing support for their cause, but also writing a thirty-page paper on the project and giving a fifteen-minute presentation to a panel of judges at the DECA state competition. After committing to the cause, the girls began brainstorming different methods of advertising and spreading their message. Their solution? The March for the Cure 5K on January 7 will raise funds for the National Breast Cancer Foundation.
While the DECA project has helped the girls create a timeline and pushed them to be organized in their efforts, their motivation for spreading breast cancer awareness extends beyond just a competition. “All we usually do for breast cancer awareness at Oly is the Pink Out game, so I wanted to raise more awareness amongst students,” Bushnell says.
The message is applicable to OHS, too. Three members of the faculty are breast cancer survivors. For Le, Mrs. Markey, one of the faculty who had breast cancer, makes her feel most connected to the cause.
Bushnell is driven to advocate for breast cancer awareness recalling the struggles teachers and families went through in her elementary school community due to breast cancer. The broad connections inspired them to invite the entire district to participate in their 5k “because we want to get more people than just our school involved,” Le stated.
So far Le and Bushnell have made and sold over 200 shirts for their Pink Out game, garnered the help of DECA chapter members to create signs posted around OHS and facilitated a “miracle minute” which raised almost $600 for the National Breast Cancer Awareness Foundation. But the majority their time and energy is spent on the March for the Cure 5K, which they hope will bring in the most donation money.
The race starts at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, January 7 with participants arriving at 10:30 a.m. The event is completely donation-based with a suggested donation of $10. Starting at Ingersoll Stadium, those who participate in the March for the Cure will walk, run, jog, or amble through a 5k, known by many as the “Safeway Loop”. While there’s no prizes for top finishers, there will be door prizes, fruit, water and music provided. Long sleeve shirts will be available for purchase and 100% of the proceeds go to breast cancer awareness. A breast cancer survivor will be a guest speaker at the event. All are welcome and the girls want the March for the Cure to be a huge, unifying and supportive community event.
Already, Bushnell and Le have experienced an abundance of support from both OHS staff and outside sources. Mr. Grant, the Olympia High School principal, was instrumental in securing Ingersoll Stadium as the starting point for the 5k. DECA advisor Mrs. Fabritius has assisted them in making t-shirts, organizing event details and providing the girls with important contacts. Local businesses, including Harbor Wholesale, Spud’s Produce Market and South Sound Running have supported the event by contributing generous donations of needed items. Numerous shops and businesses have also provided free advertising for the event.
Tessa Effland, owner of FitLife Studio, has been instrumental in making the 5k happen. “I text Tessa all the time to ask her questions and she’s always wiling to help,” Le expressed gratefully. She’s given them step-by-step guidelines for how to organize a 5k and is always available to support the girls.
Both Bushnell and Le are heavily involved in several extracurriculars, take challenging courses and have busy social lives. So why do they bother adding the extra stress and time commitment of a project as big as this one? Le had a clear answer. “All my DECA events have always been for myself, but this is something that’s actually going to benefit my community and other people, besides myself. It feels good to know you are making a difference.” Bushnell felt the community aspect of the project was especially rewarding. “It is a great feeling to have your fellow students and community participating in something with you.”
Both girls have high hopes for the project and with all the hard work and dedication they’ve given to the cause, it’s sure to be a success. They feel it’s important to start this tradition of district-wide recognition and want the event to continue in future years. “Even though it’s a lot of work, this event is important. We both want to make time for it,” says Le.
Learn more online about March for the Cure 5K and how you can participate in this family friendly walk, run, jog event along with how you can support Le and Bushnell’s Breast Cancer Awareness campaign.
