Quincey Reese, Staff Writer
Last year’s Introduction to Administration and Management classes produced the biggest profit for their annual t-shirt project out of all the years it had been done. Business teacher Kim Stefkovich believed it would remain at this status until she talked to this year’s students, who are looking to prove her wrong.
Every year, Stefkovich organizes a project with her Introduction to Administration and Management classes in which each period designs and sells t-shirts to raise money for a particular cause. This is the 11th year the project has been completed, and the benefits this year go to the Saraceni family.
Over the summer, the Penn-Trafford staff learned through its former English teacher and assistant principal Greg Saraceni that his wife, Brandie, was diagnosed with stage four breast cancer. Once Stefkovich found out, she contacted the family and asked if they would mind being the beneficiaries of her business classes’ t-shirt sales. With their approval, Stefkovich went to work preparing her students for the project.
Since the Saracenis are a local family, Stefkovich said the students feel a personal connection to the cause, which motivates them to work harder.
Senior business student Athena Biondi, one of the two project managers for her class period, agreed with this statement.
“I think it’s a really good way for us to get involved, because we don’t want to over-step, but we still want to show we are here for them and that we’re supporting them,” she said. “We are all giving it our 100 percent attention. We made a minimum sales requirement, but I’m sure everyone’s going to go above and beyond for the family because of how close we are with them and the effect Mr. Saraceni has had on each of the students here.”
Economics teacher Jason Davis has known Greg Saraceni since they were hired at P-T together. He said the family is close, a trait needed during such a challenging time.
“They are very tight-knit. Brandie and Greg have a very fun way in which they handle their kids,” he said. “Sarcasm definitely plays a role in their lives, and they understand each other. It’s a very good family.”
To begin the project, Stefkovich divided each of her two classes into four groups. Each group was instructed to create a design which related to P-T, the cause, or both.
Once completed, the groups got together in their class periods, presented their ideas and eventually decided on a final concept. Both class periods based their final designs off of the phrase “Saraceni Strong,” a spin-off to the popular P-T phrase, “Warrior Strong.”
Students also thought of separate company names and logos to represent their class. Two project managers were chosen for each class period, as well.
With the help of TV and film teacher Steve Vinton, the classes each created their own commercials. They were aired on the morning announcements to help advertise their t-shirt to the school.
Although both classes have done the majority of the work for the project already, they still have to go through the selling and delivery process. Sales will take place throughout the entire month of November, with an estimated delivery time of Dec. 19.
Stefkovich said there are several things she has done differently this time from past years. She has stayed more organized and incorporated a unified sales sheet to track sales and stay up to date. She added that a lot of the changes made in the process were student-initiated and performed.
Some students, for example, obtained sponsors to donate money to pay for the shirts. In their spare time, students were able to attain 28 sponsors in both classes combined. This came to a total of $5,000 towards paying for the t-shirt production, allowing for maximum profit to go to the Saracenis.
Others offered to present their commercial, t-shirt design and the cause to schools and administrations in the area in hopes they could bring in more purchases. A few collected money from businesses, obtained donations at a midget football game and started a collection page online to raise money, as well.
In late December or early January, after the t-shirt project is completed, the business classes are also sponsoring what they are referring to as the “shave-a-thon.” They are finding students and teachers who are willing, if a minimum donation amount is reached, to shave their hair or color it pink. This is not only a way to raise money for the cause, but it also spreads awareness and shows support for Brandie Saraceni.
Overall, Stefkovich said students have put in extra work outside of class and stepped up as leaders, more so than usual.
“It’s been incredible this year with the amount of work that’s gone into it,” she said. “Really, other than me organizing it into a controlled chaos, it’s been amazing to see what these kids are doing. It shows that they are really being managers. They are really stepping it up.”
Stefkovich added she is personally motivated by the students’ goal to beat the previous year’s classes in terms of money raised.
“Every year I try to step it up and do better than the last year. I thought last year would be the biggest year financial-wise I would ever have up until after talking to these kids this year,” she said. “They are not even considering that to be the top. They want to be the best. That makes me have to step up my game.”
Stefkovich said the students are mainly working towards reaching a donation amount above or matching $12,880. To do so, each class has to sell roughly 748 shirts. Within the month-long selling period, she said this will be a challenge, but she still believes her students’ determination will pull through.
“I think that’s what people don’t get. It’s four weeks and that’s a lot of shirts to sell in that time; that’s a lot of money,” she said. “They work so hard August, September and October that once they get to November, they’re so excited to start selling that they want to put their hard work to the test and make it as worthwhile as they can.”
To achieve these goals, the students initiated a 30 t-shirt sales minimum as part of their project grade so they have an urge to sell. They also hold a detailed recap of the week’s progress every Friday in which they total the size orders in each category and find out if they are on track to meet their goals.
Students have even gone to Stefkovich to ensure that the plans they made at the start of the project will be followed through. To her, this is the best thing they could do as it shows they are executing the lessons she wanted them to learn from the project.
“That’s what I want to see, that’s what I want to hear. That to me as a teacher is better than any perfect paper I can grade,” Stefkovich said. “They can write until their hands fall off, but to show me how they’re leading and they’re ability to think on that level is phenomenal.”
As of Nov. 3, both classes combined have raised almost $3,000. One class has enough sponsorship money to buy 560 shirts at full profit, and the other has enough to do so for 470 shirts. Stefkovich said they just have to continue to implement the sales strategies they came up with at the start of the project, such as setting up a sales table during lunches and asking for sales or donations in local neighborhoods.
Although this is only the beginning of the selling process, Stefkovich and the Saraceni family alike are blown away with what the business students have done.
“They work well together, they handle feedback well, they’re teammates. I think the biggest thing I like most about this year is that even though there’s a winner with who makes the most profit, they recognize the fact that the more money both teams can raise together for the Saraceni family, the more everyone wins,” Stefkovich said. “I talk to the family frequently and they are overwhelmed by what we are doing. The awesome part about it is they don’t know Brandie and that doesn’t matter. They are in it to help her and I think that’s super sweet of them.”