Beading for Autism

I enjoy crafting for charity, but with jewelry making, you don't always get a lot of opportunity to do that. Obviously, jewelry is not like a baby blanket that some may actually need versus a pretty necklace that someone just wants. While I have made and donated jewelry for numerous auctions and related events, it is still pretty limiting when compared to other crafts like sewing, knitting, or crochet. However, I just learned of an opportunity to make jewelry for charity that may be a great fit for anyone involved in activities such as working with youth groups, church organizations, schools, or scouts.

Beading to Beat Autism is an non-profit organization started by Michala Riggle. At the age of 10, she was able to make and sell bracelets in order to collect almost $300,000 to sponsor a special research project, one that had helped her brother who is autistic, and this one included 50 other children with Autism. Now, at the age of 14, she has bigger plans, raising $300,000,000 to build a state of the art Autism center.

This means that she is now working on a national level as far as her fund-raising efforts, and during this month of May, she has kicked off a major campaign challenge. You can find out all the details through some videos she has posted on YouTube, but generally, this is how it works: Participants register and receive a free beading kit that includes enough supplies to make 300 bracelets. (As part of the videos, she also demonstrates how to make them.) After making bracelets, participants then sell them for a suggested donation of $3 each and then send the proceeds back to Beading to Beat Autism.

At first, I thought that 300 bracelets seemed like a lot, but then I started thinking about it and realized that depending on the size of the groups, this really isn't that big. For example, I know someone who works with a young women's church group that has 60 girls in it. When you break that down, that's only 5 bracelets per girl to make and sell.

Another option for smaller groups is to consider splitting the free beading kit. The beads come in small containers along with rolls of elastic stringing cord, so it would not be that difficult to divide the materials among more than one group. I have already posted about this fund raiser on the Jewelry Making Forum, so this might be a good place to connect with other beaders who may be interested in working together and sharing or dividing up a kit.

Finally, you could always just make a donation on the organization's web site and either receive a bracelet for your donation or not.

I have two young nephews with autism, so this is a cause that is near and dear to my heart. I know that the crafting community is one of the most generous groups you can find and that Michala's vision will materialize.