Based on the childhood game “Bigger and Better” Barlow’s Marketing program started a tradition of trading one red paperclip. Several years ago, Ms. Lamoureux attended a conference and thought it would be an exciting assignment for her students. “It would be a fun challenge for students to challenge their marketing/sales skills,” she said.
To participate, you must be in her Marketing 3-4 or Marketing 5-6 class. Not only does this provide you with real-life experiences, but it also fundraises for travel expenses for DECA, the marketing club focused on state and international competition. This assignment started on December 10th and ended on January 14th to provide enough time for the class to prepare for the silent auction. Every student is given a red paperclip to start with. Each person has to make at least eight trades, but the goal is to try and get the biggest item. It’s as simple as that. The biggest thing Ms. Lamoureux said they ever had was a child-sized snowboard. Some examples of things auctioned this year were a Nike Air Jordan “Banned,” a Micheal Kors purse, a Sony vintage digital camera, and many other awesome items.
Funds collected for the silent auction will be distributed into the specific DECA student’s travel account and then into a general pool to help support other DECA travel funds. If an item does not sell, it will be donated to a designated school department or charity. If the marketing class exceeds their travel expenses, the funds are then put into the DECA account for miscellaneous DECA events. The Red Paper Clip is a great challenge for those in marketing and others who participate in the silent auction.
