Beginning in November 2013, within Panther Creek’s very own DECA chapter, a Public Relations project referred to as Project One emerged, uniting students, teachers, and community members to come together for a major litter sweep of the nearby Jordan Lake, a popular recreational facility. Fifty members from four different Panther Creek organizations and the local Girl Scout Troop came out to clean up the area, and the result was the collection over 200 pounds of trash and recycling from the water and surrounding areas of Jordan Lake.

However, the good doesn’t stop there. Project leaders Madi Barnes, Jackie Xue, and Anna Heinen wanted to increase awareness about the amount of recycling in the community. To do so, they met with three elementary schools in the area to teach about the positive effects of recycling. By the end of January 2014, the trio educated over 300 students from three different Wake County elementary schools through the use of games, interactive stations, and educational presentations. It even continued from there: the three produced a video and published it on YouTube for presentation to the community as a whole to teach about effective ways to recycle and how to be environmentally-friendly at home.

Although already successful with providing a legacy of environmental awareness with the local youth, the group will surely continue such success at the end of February at DECA’s State Competition to be held in Greensboro. The trio has truly made their impact on the world and will continue to do so with their teaching and reaching more and more people through Project One. It is safe to say that despite its name being Project One, it has truly helped all.