On March 25th and 26th, students in Mr. Klepadlo’s Accounting class at Camden High School were competitors for a cause as the class held its annual “Accounting Apprentice Challenge” in the school’s cafeteria. CHS students and staff were lining up for a taste of the action - literally - as two competing teams held lunchtime bake sales to benefit a charity of their choice.
This year’s teams were “St Jude’s Sweets”, which worked to benefit the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and “Heart and Soul”, which raised money on behalf of the American Heart Association.
The project serves as an immersive, hands-on business operation simulator, with the goal of raising as much money as possible. Students get experience sourcing products, developing a line of in-demand goods, marketing and selling their wares, and keeping diligent accounting records. For the sake of keeping the cost to students at a minimum, products and raw materials were primarily sourced through donations.
Over the two-day run of the challenge, students were tasked with attracting their peers to buy their product during lunch periods using any tactics at their disposal. Whether it was some old-fashioned carnival barking outside the cafeteria, or a flash sale to move a slow-selling item in an effort to mitigate sunk costs, almost nothing was off the table. And potential customers responded with long lines. In keeping with the good spirit of the challenge, sometimes the teams did business with each other.
Between the two days, the students also get the opportunity to adapt in real time, which teacher Steven Klepadlo noted as one of the biggest benefits.
“It’s awesome for myself and the staff to see how they grow over that 24 hour period,” he said. “They evaluate what they did on day one, make changes, and it’s always so impressive what they go on to accomplish in such a short period of time.”
When all was said and done, the two teams combined to raise $3,370 in revenue this year. The winner was St. Jude’s Sweets, with over $1,900 raised. Win or lose, the value goes beyond dollars and cents for each participant.
“What I love about this is that students get a chance to do project-based learning,” Klepadlo. “I’m very hands off throughout the process. They have to show their organizational and leadership qualities.”
