Valentine’s Day was last week, so Huntington Beach High School’s (HBHS) Advanced Integrated Marketing Class embraced the opportunity to fundraise for their program by selling Valentine’s Day Grams. They were sold the week before Valentine’s Day in the Quad during lunch. The $3 Grams had a stuffed bear and a lollipop, the $2 Grams had a pop-it and a lollipop and the $1 Grams had candy. They were distributed to HBHS students’ second-period classes. 

With Valentine’s Day behind us, many people may be left wondering where the holiday came from. The holiday originated in a Christian tradition celebrating the legend of Saint Valentine, who is believed to have stood up for his faith in the name of love. In addition to the United States, Valentine’s Day is celebrated in Mexico, Canada, the United Kingdom, France and Australia. In the early 1700s, Americans began exchanging handmade valentines, and since then, more than 145 million Valentine’s Day cards are purchased every year.

Lola Abner, a member of the Advanced Integrated Marketing Class who led sales, said, “Our Halloween grams were a huge hit!  [They]…sold for an estimated $300. We were more than willing to do it again, and hope to hit around there.”

The HBHS Advanced Integrated Marketing Class uses the money from grams to support the program and raise money to prepare for sales competitions. The money is used to improve the decorations and features of the students’ booths to attract more customers. This year, the group selling Magique Towels qualified for the New York Competition, where they’ll compete with other groups to make the most “money” from their product while representing HBHS. The students use fake money during the event to simulate buying each other’s products. The goal: make the most profit through sales.

The CEO of the company, Magique Towels, Kiara Sims, said, “The money we make goes toward Virtual Enterprise (VE) competitions and trade shows where we get to showcase our brand, sell our products, and compete with other VE businesses. These events give us real-world experience and help us grow as a company.”

In addition to the Valentine’s Day Grams supporting the Advanced Integrated Marketing Class, they are also a meaningful gift to friends and romantic partners. When people give gifts to their loved ones, they tend to experience a “warm glow,” a feeling often compared to receiving an award or winning money. A study conducted at the University of Zurich in Switzerland gave 50 people $100 and told half to spend it on themselves and half to spend it on someone else over the next four weeks. The researchers performed a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to measure brain activity associated with generosity. They found that people with higher levels of happiness were the people in the study who spent money on others rather than themselves.

Kylie Aviles, a HBHS junior, said, “I always buy a gift for my boyfriend for Valentine’s Day, it’s a holiday about love and appreciation.”

HBHS junior, Jeremiah Dang, said, “I think it’s important to have other days of love, not just Valentine’s Day.”

This year, the Advanced Integrated Marketing Class helped HBHS embrace the sweetheart season with gift-giving, which is a wonderful way to show love and support to those who matter most. Valentine’s Day truly brought the short month of Feb. the love and attention it calls for. 

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Priscilla Blum

The sign the Advanced Integrated Marketing Class used to display prices.