As the Advisor of the Washington Township High School chapter of the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) club, I am reaching out to the local community, especially the financial community, for support to help our aspiring student leaders attend and compete at the FBLA-PBL National Leadership Conference in June.
Our business club entered 85 students into a regional competition with other local schools in various topics ranging from Banking, Marketing, Computer Technology, Information Systems, Accounting, Leadership, and even Global Business. Of the 85 students, 16 students were invited to the SLC- State Leadership Conference on February 18-19th, 2015 in Atlantic City, NJ. We had a great conference and amazing results. Eight of our students were invited to compete at Nationals in Atlanta, Georgia from June 29th to July 2, 2016.
The following students were invited based on their performance in the following events:
| Raj, Tyler, Brian | 2nd Place | Banking & Financial Systems | 11-12th Grade |
| Ryan, Victoria, Alex | 4th Place | Banking & Financial Systems | 12th Grade |
| Allison | 3rd Place | Social Media Campaign | 11th Grade |
| Steven | 3rd Place | Introduction to Financial Math | 10th Grade |
Attending this four day conference usually costs the students between $850- $1,200 EACH. These children are extremely motivated and will be tomorrow’s business leaders. Unfortunately the costs are too high for individual families to pay on top of the multitude of other costs that students have during their later high school years. Many of these students have already paid between $200-$500 to attend regional and state competitions for our FBLA and DECA business clubs already in 2016. We complete fundraisers to defray these costs but that alone, is not enough.
Below are first hand testimony’s from some of our competitors. The experiences they gain from these leadership conferences are priceless.
We would love you to sponsor our club in any way that you are able. All donations are tax deductible. A banner will be created and hung in the CORE Hallways of the High School sharing your sponsorship with our school community. Please contact Sara Simpson, FBLA Advisor at ssimpson@wtps.org. Checks can be made directly to “FBLA” and mailed to 519 Hurffville Cross Keys Rd, Sewell, NJ 08080, Attn: Sara Simpson.
Dear local business,
Being a part of FBLA has taught us a variety of important life and business skills. Developing leadership, communication and critical thinking abilities have prepared us for success in future business endeavors. Recently, we had the opportunity to compete in the prestigious FBLA state conference in Atlantic City. By competing in the Banking and Financial Systems event we gained knowledge about the banking industry and investment management. In doing so we were able to demonstrate our aptitudes in real life during our business role play. Prior to our role play we attended seminars that educated us on various business degrees and pathways to becoming business professionals. Afterwards, we competed and finished in fourth place in the state of New Jersey for our event, and qualified for the national conference in Atlanta, Georgia. Due to monetary constraints, we are unable to afford the steep cost of the trip and ask for any financial assistance you can provide.
Sincerely, Alex Brennan
Dear Local Business,
Hi, my name is Allison Gracie and I am a junior at Washington Township High School. Recently I have had the privilege of attending the States level competition for Future Business Leaders of America, an organization that helps students like me learn business concepts, network with people my age and older, and participate in competitions. At the state level of competition, I participated in the Social Media Campaign event, where I had to use social media platforms to successfully market a catering business. Overall, there were over 35 entries, and I placed second in the entire state. This qualifies me and to move on to national competition, located in Atlanta, Georgia, with 7 of my other classmates. This experience would be absolutely amazing, and allow me to learn even more about both business practices and my own ambitions in business. Attending this trip will cost, though, and any donations to help us go would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much!
Allison Gracie
Dear Local Business,
FBLA has provided me with a multitude of valuable opportunities and experiences that I would not have had otherwise. As an aspiring businessperson, the opportunity to showcase my knowledge and compete against like-minded individuals has helped to show me how I can utilize my knowledge of business. I recently competed in the state-wide competition, where I placed third in Introduction to Financial Math. This allowed me to qualify to compete at the national competition in Atlanta, Georgia. In addition, I took FIRST place at the State DECA competition in Professional Selling and was invited to Nashville to compete nationally there as well. Both of these trips will cost my family over $1,500. Would you be willing to make a donation to our business club to help fund the trip so I can maximize my potential and prepare for a future in business? Thank you for your consideration,
Stephen Cozzone
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