Posted on Thu, Nov. 19, 2009

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Class project becomes way to help family

BY LORI YOUNT

The Wichita Eagle

Most students in Youth Entrepreneurs Kansas class start a business to get their first taste of profit.

Three Northwest High School students, though, saw the class project as an opportunity to help a family coping with the death of the students' classmate and teammate.

Deontre "Tre" Reed, a 15-year-old Northwest sophomore, died Sept. 22 of lung cancer.

Between tables selling chicken wings and fried rice on Wednesday, the sophomores tried to sell fellow students on paying $2 for a blue wristband in his memory.

"It's for a good cause," Blake Benton told passing students, who were scouring the "Market Day" tables for lunch.

Traditionally, students in the business and marketing class choose to sell food and keep any profit to split among themselves, said teacher Jeff Darr. He said the three sophomores are entrepreneurs in the program in creating a nonprofit model for the project.

"For the guys to be operating as a nonprofit business is a lesson in and of itself," Darr said.

But also, he said, Tre's recent death was "still heavy on their minds."

Blake played on the football team with Tre.

"This is to raise awareness, to remember him," Blake said.

Austin Evans, who played on the basketball team with Tre, said he and his team members were deeply affected by seeing their teammate collapse on the court during a basketball game in February.

After Tre's death, Blake said that he and many of the football players visited Tre's family frequently to provide support and meals. Blake said he was inspired by the idea of a fundraiser when his football coach was able to raise money to help the family pay for medical and funeral expenses — a generous amount just from the football community.

He said he thought about the wristbands then, but he didn't come up with a way to do it until his business class project.

"We wanted to sell these, but we didn't want to keep the money," said sophomore Alex Wespi, also a nonprofit partner.

Tre's mother, Nicole McCoy, said it was good to know his friends still wanted to keep his memory alive. The bands are fitting, she said.

"He had to wear a wristband when he was sick," McCoy said. "I took the bracelet and wear it in memory of him."

The students bought 500 blue wristbands online — with the words "Grizzly Strong" and "RIP TRE" — with a $120 loan. Like a bank, teacher Darr decides the amount of the loan each student group receives out of one pot of money from the Charles G. Koch Foundation.

And as with many nonprofit operations, every penny won't go to Tre's family. They will have to pay back the loan, but unlike the for-profit groups, they won't pay "taxes."

Their goal is to raise $850. During the first of two lunch periods on Wednesday, the students sold roughly 50 bands, which is close to paying off the loan.

They plan to sell again during Friday lunch. If they still have bands left after this week, they might continue to sell them outside of the marketing class.

Some students passing by wouldn't part with lunch money for something other than food.

The sophomore boys said they anticipated being passed up for food, but they also tried to target those who knew Tre most — the sophomore class and the football and basketball teams. They created a Facebook page, and they hope word of mouth will help them sell more.

"Please tell your friends," Blake said after every sale.

Junior Chasty Waller was already sold when she bought a band. She had a class with Tre, and she knows the financial hardship, along with the emotional devastation, that comes with losing a close family member.

"I lost my mom" two years ago, she said. "We had to pay for her funeral expenses. We're still paying."

Toward the end of the lunch period, Chasty returned to the table with a friend.

Reach Lori Yount at 316-268-6269 or lyount@wichitaeagle.com.