March 18, 2024

Spaghetti dinner planned to raise funds for FCCLA students

Clarke FCCLA chapter, along with more than 500 members from FCCLA chapters across the state, attended the Iowa FCCLA State Leadership Conference March 24-25.

State leadership conference is an opportunity for Iowa FCCLA members to celebrate the past year of hard work on various projects, as well as develop their leadership skills with members from around the state.

The 2013-2014 yearlong theme was “Treasure the Past, Transform the Future.” Outstanding leadership was demonstrated through participation in STAR events, national programs and peer education by students in grades seventh through 12th.

STAR events (Students Taking Action with Recognition) are competitive events where members are recognized for proficiency and achievement in chapter and individual projects, career preparation and leadership.

The members receiving the highest score in each event category qualify to move onto the National STAR event competition held at the 2014 National Leadership Conference in San Antonio, Texas.

Members from the Clarke chapter received the following medals in their respective categories:

Samaria Parada received a silver in entrepreneurship

Cassidy Bierbrodt received a gold in leadership

Sofia Contreras and Dania Echveste received a gold in illustrated talk.

Bierbrodt, Contreras and Echveste not only received gold, but they earned the highest points in their categories, making them state champions. They will compete in San Antonio this July.

To raise money to attend the conference, Clarke FCCLA chapter will be hosting a spaghetti dinner Thursday, April 24, in the high school cafeteria.

Serving will begin at 5 p.m. and end at 6:45 p.m. before the middle school and high school band concert. Dinner will include spaghetti, sides, drink and a dessert for $5 per person.

FCCLA (Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America), formerly FHA, teaches students financial literacy, health and nutrition, career preparation and early childhood development skills through Family and Consumer Sciences education.

FCCLA is a unique organization because its programs are planned and run by student members. It is the only student-led organization with the family as its central focus.

FCCLA has more than 220,000 members and nearly 7,000 chapters in 50 state associations, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands. The organization has involved more than 10 million youths since it was founded in 1945.