When the eighth-grade teams at East Forsyth Middle School began planning last November for their spring field trip to Washington D.C., Deah McRae was not too worried about the $370 needed to go.
The school offered a scholarship program but Deah did not sign up, thinking it would not be necessary. Her father, a self-employed architect, had been struggling with the economy, scrambling to pick up a few small projects here and there.
"We've always paid for everything she wanted or needed. It's never been a problem," Larry McRae said.
It would be this year, though. With two older sons, including one in college, tough economic times translated into tough economic decisions for the family.
A week ago, the school held one final meeting for parents of students attending the trip.
"She called me at work and asked if there was any possibility of her going. I had to tell her there wasn't," said Gail McRae, who works as a part-time receptionist at a Kernersville hair salon. "I had tears in my eyes. It was horrible."
The next day, Deah decided to solve her own problem.
She gathered her close friends, and they agreed to hold a yard sale combined with a bake sale on Saturday morning. Deah talked with her language-arts teacher, Shirley Hollis, who told Deah that if she paid in cash by Monday, she could go on the trip.
"I wasn't very encouraging at first. I told her that I didn't think she knew what she was getting into," Larry McRae said.
Her mother told her to go for it.
Deah and her best friend, Amber Murdaugh, cleaned out their closets and attics, finding outgrown clothes, toys and unused household goods. Murdaugh's mother, Kathryn Culbertson, donated several things for the girls to sell without accepting any of the proceeds.
Meanwhile, as Deah was preparing for the sale, she also scoured her house and came up with 35 pounds of loose change, totaling $243. Encouraged by such a good start, she figured she only needed to earn $127 at her yard/bake sale.
Friday, Deah and Amber posted messages about the sale on Facebook, MySpace and on Deah's competitive cheer gym message board. They made signs and placed them on street corners.
The girls baked cookies, brownies and cupcakes for five hours and then priced goods until 3 a.m. They woke up three hours later, at 6 a.m., and began setting up.
Friends, neighbors and strangers came. A mother of a friend bought a $7 blanket, paid with a $100 bill and told Deah to keep the change.
By the end of the day, Deah had raised $869.25, including the loose change from her own home. That not only covered her field trip and her spending money, but was enough to pay her late competition fees for cheer.
Hollis attended her student's Saturday morning sale.
"Deah totally impressed me. She told me, ‘Don't take my name off of the list yet.' She shows such leadership ability in the classroom and is really determined," Hollis said.
Gail McRae said her daughter's success left her and her husband in awe.
According to Hollis, out of the 55 students on their team, 26 are not attending the field trip because of financial reasons. Only one applied for a scholarship.
"Next year I'm going to use Deah as an example. I'm going to tell them that it is possible if you want it. She is one terrific young lady who went for her goal," Hollis said.
Deah said the experience -- she and her classmates leave today for Washington -- taught her something, too.
"I learned that if I want something. I have to work for it, and it takes hard work."
■ Monica Young can be reached at cyoung9@triad.rr.com.
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