It was a grand day at WCES. Ten grand, to be exact. That’s right. Bealls Department store representatives entered our school with a check for $10,000 this morning. We were shocked, overjoyed, and yes, super excited. WCES was one of the two schools to win the Black Friday “Give Back To Education” contest.
It all started a few days before the Thanksgiving Break. An advertisement caught the eye of some keen staff members. It was an ad declaring a $10,000 school give-away for the two schools in Florida with the most votes cast between the hours of 11:00 pm and midnight on Black Friday. Are you kidding? It was time to gather key players and plan. The strategy was simple. First, we let our WCES parents and families know through our Facebook and Website pages. Please come vote, we pleaded.
That night, we offered some candy attached to a card promoting the contest: “Vote For Your Favorite School” (and please note, we’re from WCES). Staff members and their willing teenagers rotated positions (inside and out). Stationing ourselves in front of both doors, we greeted customers with a happy smile. Inside, we covered the floor and checkout lines. We must say, it was a cold night. Our hot chocolate mugs instantly became “Frappuccinos” as we shivered in our boots. But we were optimistic. In fact, it was fun.
In the end, we seized the day (or night, if you want to be technical). It just goes to show that what we teach at WCES is true, “You never know what you can achieve, unless you try.” Carpe Diem, Wildcats.
