Bloomfield, N.Y. — When Jillian Cobb learned how to make bracelets out of soda can tabs, it was a crafty activity to help the holiday vacation go by. But once she started making them with her friend, fellow Bloomfield Elementary School fifth grader Karli Codding, an entrepreneurial spirit kicked in.
Four months later, the sale of the funky bracelets, priced at $2 apiece, earned $633 for the American Red Cross, including extra donations inspired by the cause.
The original plan was to raise money for earthquake relief efforts in Haiti. But when Jillian heard about the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, she wanted to help victims there, too.
“We were raising money to help people, and children, get food and shelter,” Jillian said.
So Jillian and Karli took lunch periods and recess to make the bracelets and sell them to other students, teachers and community members. Armed with a spreadsheet for orders and sale tallies, the girls found out their bracelets were an immediate hit.
“There were two lists,” Karli said, “people who paid and people who didn’t pay.”
Using around two dozen to three dozen pieces, the shiny metal soda tabs are bound together with plastic boondoggle, customizable by color.
The girls also assembled a team of other students to help with production of the bracelets — including Emily Laube, Julia Darling, Morgan Wyland, Morgan Knapp, Rachel Shaefer, Erica Coffey, Hannah Wright, Shannon Munier and Bridge Corsaro.
School Principal Mary Sue Bennett said the girls approached her in February with the idea to sell bracelets in school, and they also received guidance from their classroom teachers.
And while the adults kept the wads of cash and rolls of pennies in a safe, the business was operated by Jillian and Karli.
“That was one of the things that was so neat about this, was it was all their idea,” Bennett said. “They learned a lot about running a business, because they became inundated with orders.”
The girls collected the tabs from parents and friends, and the janitors at school kept a collection running for them.
Taryn Windheim, director of the west Ontario County office for the American Red Cross, presented the girls with certificates of appreciation for their efforts. The funds will go towards the first-response relief efforts of the Red Cross, which includes emergency food, shelter and safety needs. The donations from the girls, she said, are appreciated.
“It’s great when people take the initiative, especially at their age,” Windheim said.
Well done, girls.
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