Giving Back: Beading Service Projects

How can you give back to your community as a beader? Here are a couple of ideas, based on some service projects I'm doing in the next couple of weeks.

Girl Scouts. A Girl Scout leader in my area who knows I make jewelry approached me and ask if I'd help the girls with a jewelry-making badge. We decided on a project (basically, my Clasp 101 bracelet), ordered some fun beads that were age-appropriate, and set up kits for the girls to make their project. Overall, it's going to take about 2 hours of my time (ordering, organizing the supplies, teaching the girls), but I know it's going to be a lot of fun.

Tip: Make sure you pick a project AND supplies that are targeted to the group age. Older Girl Scouts might want to do Amanda earrings involving a little wire work, and Brownies might be better off making stretchy bracelets. Watch lead content on anything for younger kids.

Charity Fundraiser. Someone I work with had seen my work, and she asked me if I'd help design jewelry for her charity, using their "signature" colors. I was glad to do so, and came up with several designs for men, women and kids that incorporated the colors into the design. The members of the organization will join me in a "craft day" when we'll assemble the jewelry, and then they plan to sell the work at a national convention later this year. Because I can utilize my buying power (Fire Mountain Gems and Artbeads got business on this one...assortability and free shipping were definite factors!), supply costs are kept low, and because my time is donated to teach them how to make the jewelry, there's no overhead beyond supplies.

Tip: Get a budget and plan from there. Capitalize on suppliers who can give you the most bang for your buck. Also, make up samples ahead of time if you are having a "craft day" to assemble pieces...even if you have enough supplies to allow folks to be more creative, they will have a good idea of what to make, and guidelines will stretch supplies further.

posted by Beading Help Web Editorial Team at 11:22 AM |