With numerous clubs trying to make up for last year’s lost funds, the annual World’ Finest Chocolate fundraisers has started for the National Honor Society and Speech and Debate club, which has turned October and November into the ‘chocolate months’.
“Depending on the day, people will come up to me and ask for chocolates,” junior Yusra Shafique said. “Sometimes two or three people will ask, other days there will be five or six. It’s usually because I’ll be in classes with more interaction.”
Currently, NHS and Speech and Debate are the only organizations promoting these fundraisers, but Key Club plans to begin theirs mid-November. However, the overlapping dates were unintentional by respective board members.
“NHS put in the fundraiser request and had it approved about a month before our planned start date,” NHS Treasurer Shinikee Garcia said. “There were no other clubs on the list at the time, so it was unexpected that others would be selling chocolate as well.”
Distributing the 60 count boxes to students was an easy process, and many had a smooth experience selling them.
“I can’t speak for everyone in the organization, but for me it was surprisingly really easy,” junior Jayden Licanto said. “I’ve done these chocolate fundraisers before at my other schools, so I have some experience with it. I know who to ask, and my parents even brought the chocolates to their work. If you know the right people, you can sell them really quickly.”
The fundraiser hosts will use their profits to help cover general functions and/or competition/travel fees throughout the remainder of the school year.
“The annual selling of chocolates is beneficial because it’s something all students have the opportunity to do inside and outside of school,” Garcia said. “It generates a lot of revenue in a short amount of time unlike some of the other fundraisers. All of our profits are invested back into the club and members. We can use the funds to provide snacks at our meetings and cover the costs of senior stoles for graduation.”
The club or organization sponsoring the fundraiser does not necessarily earn 100% of the profit, as it depends on the item and company’s policy.
“The arrangement with World’s Finest chocolate is to receive 50% of the proceeds or ‘profits’,” Speech and Debate adviser Henry Castillo said. “I am content at receiving 50%, but of course I wish I could increase that to a 60, 70, or even an 80% profit margin. They [the company] make it easy for me. They deliver everything, staff will bring it to my classroom, and the process of payment back to them is simple. I have no complaints.”
Students will continue selling chocolates throughout the remainder of November.
“It is more impactful for the club in general if everyone is selling chocolates,” Shafique said. “If I was one person who wasn’t selling it, in my opinion, I don’t think it would really make a difference. Though, since the club is made of multiple individuals, having us all fundraise and sell chocolates definitely makes a huge difference.”
