Searcy (LP) Future Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) is a national non-profit organization that strives at Searcy high school.  The Searcy chapter had over 90 students within it during the 2015-2016 school year.   The national mission of FCCLA is to promote personal growth and leadership development through Family and Consumer Sciences education. While this is followed and praised within the Searcy chapter, the local chapter’s mission could easily be broken down into simpler terms-to lead and to help.

  Last Christmas, they joined together to bring joy to many people in our community by participating in Angel tree and adopting senior citizens.  The dedicated group helped four people have an enjoyable holiday by granting them with supplies, but every member who helped was also gifted with the joy of giving. The members joined together in their free time to buy and package gifts for their adopted senior. The care packages contained more than purchased gifts, they were personalized with letters, and ultimately love. Courtney Teasley, a dedicated member, comments, ” Everyone knows it’s better to give than to receive, but I never thought I  would realize how much better it is to give, and that’s why this experience was so eye opening.” They are not only doing amazing things for the people in the Searcy area, they are helping all of Arkansas. Over the summer, a few members and their advisor, Tommi Johnston, headed to the Arkansas food bank for an evening spent unloading donated food items that would soon be repackaged and sent to many families within the state of Arkansas.  This team of young students are striving to promote awareness and to make a difference, both of these goals are being completed.

Recent members have proved that being involved in FCCLA is more than just saying they are part of a club, it’s more than just paying club dues and never attending meetings.  When the vice president of programs, Brittney Guthrie, was asked how she felt about the organization she said,  “In the words of Rachel Joy Scott – ‘I am going to have an impact on the world.’ And FCCLA will surely help  me accomplish that very goal.”  Being a member of FCCLA involves being able to see the difference the organization is making  because the difference is the direct result that has been created by  good intentions and even better actions.   Being a member is seeing the impact, because, quite frankly, you are the impact. There are many ways to spend ones high school experience- spend it making a lifelong difference with FCCLA.