Making Change
Caring for our community
Fairfax High School DECA
High schoolers with a passion for financial literacy get a helping hand
On an April day in 2024, a delegation from MainStreet Bank trooped over to Fairfax High School with a $7,500 Making Change donation. The funds were given to help three students who created a prize-winning financial literacy program for elementary school kids present their project at a competition.
The trio of 12th graders earned 1st place for best financial literacy project in the Virginia DECA State Leadership Conference for the program, Make It Market. The program teaches 4th to 6th graders how to create, produce and sell products—which ranged from popcorn to fruit-scented slime. In the process, it teaches them the fundamentals of being an entrepreneur.
The students used the funds to travel to Anaheim, California, and present their program in the international DECA competition. DECA is a club that prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs in marketing, finance, hospitality and management in high schools and colleges around the globe.
One of the students, Sami Moudarres, learned about the Making Change program when he attended Virginia Bank Day at MainStreet Bank. He followed up with a written request for support, which Trish Smith, EVP for Human Resources, relayed to employees.
Mimi Hailegiorgis, SVP for Retail Banking, picked up the challenge. She rallied support from herself and eight colleagues.
“We are so proud of these kids for the important work they’re doing, and we wanted to support their dreams,” Mimi said. She expressed pride in MainStreet Bank for offering employees the ability to direct contributions that, in most banks, are made only by the most senior executives.
Two of the attendees—Shah Shafi and Lily Grizzle, AVP and consumer compliance manager—are Fairfax High School alumni. Lily was president of the DECA chapter there before transferring to Oakton High School, where she continued to lead the DECA chapter.
Since MainStreet Bank presented the donation, the Fairfax High School students have gone on to enroll in college, studying fields like business, economics, and cybersecurity. But they continue to take an active role in the Make It Market program, helping the next generation of entrepreneurs get a head start on their dreams.
Marco Vincencio, Sami Moudarres, and Austen Mitchell at the DECA competition in Anaheim, California. (Photo courtesy of Sami Moudarres)
To learn more about DECA visit deca.org
