Last fall, the BHS DECA organization partnered with students from Richwood High School and created a unique upscale consignment store in Richwood with the intent to give proceeds to those students who were affected by the floods.  The project took 13 weeks, with BHS students traveling frequently to Richwood to implement every aspect of entrepreneurship.

 

“Through this project, we learned everything from writing a business plan, to inventory control, pricing strategies, and visual merchandising,” said BHS Student Brook Russell.  “Mostly, we learned to be resilient in the face of challenges and to utilize our resources so that we could meet deadlines while working with the team from Richwood.”

 

After the store opened on December 10, insurance issues, school relocation challenges and the onset of winter all contributed to the postponement of the store staying open.  Once Nicholas County makes a decision about the school locations, the store will reopen full time and be run by the Richwood students as part of a continuing entrepreneurial project.

 

Bridgeport DECA students, however, will be implanting a smaller scale of the original concept in pop-up stores designed to sell gently used clothing.  The BHS students will delve deeper into learning about advertising and publicity, along with community service and will donate the proceeds to those in Richwood who were affected by the flooding and school displacement.

 

The first pop-ups store is scheduled for February 25 in the BHS Cafeteria and the students will be collecting donations of clean, gently used clothing and accessories through February 20.  Donations can be dropped off at BHS or at the Bridgeport City Hall during the hours of 9:00a.m. to 4p.m.  Additional information is available by emailing Trina Runner at trinarunner@gmail.com.

 

“Our goal is to fill the cafeteria with high quality merchandise that will provide affordable options for the local citizens while raising money for a good cause,” said Russell.