With over 6000 gifts to choose from, the nearly 600 students at Johnson Elementary School hit the jackpot when it comes to holiday shopping.  This year’s Santa Shop, sponsored by the Johnson Elementary PTA was one of the largest and

 

“The PTA doesn’t try to make a profit on the gifts offered at the Santa Shop,” said PTA President Belynda Kirby.  “We just want to provide an opportunity for students to be able shop for their friends and family at an affordable price and it is part of a long time tradition for the students. They look forward to it all year.”

 

The items for the Santa Shop are generally purchased by the PTA as part of an outreach program for the students.  Typically, the items sell for $1.00 each and are categorized by gifts for mom, dad, grandparents, friends and siblings.  One especially popular category is the variety of gifts for pets.

 

“Kids love to buy things for their families, but they REALLY love buying for their dogs and cats,” said Kirby.  “This year, we had the opportunity to include merchandise from the Entrepreneurship Club at BHS.  The club teaches students in grades 5-8 about opening a business and is part of a partnership with the Small Business Administration.”

 

After Nikki Bowmar of the SBA suggested the Entrepreneurship Club get involved with the Santa Shop, the student members, along with the BHS Art Club, created dog-treat-filled ornaments with paw prints painted on them and also bought dog toys to resell.  They named the business “Doggie Dabs” since both gifts involved dog merchandise and they created their own logo and slogan which were displayed on their product tags. The club is sponsored by BHS DECA, a marketing student organization now in its 22 year.

 

“Currently, the Entrepreneurship Club is very active with the Small Business Administration,” said coordinator Alden Smith.  “We have had Larry Batten work with the students to brainstorm for ideas for businesses and he led an interactive workshop for them at the after-school club.  The students were inspired to create their own business and worked tirelessly for three months to prepare for the Santa Shop.”

 

The club plans to continue creating products next semester and hopes to work with Johnson Elementary School in the future. 

 

“It was really fun to be involved with a real business and see how popular our items were at the Santa Shop,” said Entrepreneurship Club member River Blair.  The club will invest their profits into future projects and field trips to learn more about business.  Those interested in more information about the Entrepreneurship Club can email trinarunner@gmail.com.

 

As for the Johnson Santa Shop, Principal Vicki Huffman expressed her gratitude to the PTA for another successful year of wonderful merchandise options for the students.

 

“Each year, I am amazed at all the work that goes into making the Santa Shop a success,” said Huffman.  “We are so fortunate to have such an active PTA that truly cares about creating experiences that will benefit the students and their families.”