Ramapo’s school store is back and better than ever! This past month the school store opened back up and is now in the location across from the cafeteria next to the library selling an abundance of items: Ramapo merch, DECA merch, candy, snacks, pins and more!
The school store is run by DECA members to simulate an actual business that includes inventory, ordering, merchandising, marketing and selling which exemplifies the core jobs in entrepreneurship.
The idea to open the school store back up came from DECA members who qualified for the International Career Development Conference (ICDC) as a way to fundraise for their trip expenses.
The grand opening of the new location was facilitated by DECA students to get this up and running as a school based enterprise. Some challenges faced by the store were competition from other clubs and sports that sell merchandise that was once exclusive to DECA’s school-based enterprise.
Ms. Fanale, the RIH DECA advisor, aided in the facilitation of the school store and helped the DECA members who took charge of the project in any areas they needed help in. She states, “The main goal of the store is to promote school spirit and provide students with a place to purchase various spirit items and clothing while simulating a retail store.”
Senior at Ramapo and DECA club member Sabine Kolkas has been a driving force behind the store’s success, bringing dedication, organization, and a hands-on approach to every part of the setup. Sabine alongside Hanne Loleng spent weeks setting up the store.
Sabine states, “from cleaning the space, to building all the closets and setting everything up, we did it all ourselves.” She runs the booth during 7th period every day and 4th period on B days, but the school store is open from periods 507 every day for students to purchase goods.
“We had wanted to do something with the school store for a while now, but the idea fully came to life when my friends and I qualified for ICDC, and we realized we needed to fundraise for it.” said Sabine.
The ICDC conference is held annually and the location varies year to year but has previously taken place in Anaheim, California, Orlando, Florida, and Atlanta, Georgia. This year’s 2025 DECA ICDC conference is located in Orlando, Florida RIH is sending off a good number of people who placed high enough to qualify at the DECA State Competition back in March.
“The School Store has been a part of the Ramapo community for many years. Over the years the store has been relocated several times with this latest area bringing us full circle to where it was at one point near the cafeteria,” said Ms. Fanale.
DECA members are extremely excited for the opening of the School Store and the Ramapo community as a whole is eager to bring back the store concept as it hasn’t been active for a couple of years. The response from students and staff has been overwhelmingly positive with many excited to support both DECA and their peers heading to ICDC. The store not only promotes school spirit through its merch but also showcases student initiative and entrepreneurship! Be sure to stop by and check it out during lunch to support!
