Jewelry with a heart of gold

Three bighearted kids are working to "help the world" this summer, 25 cents at a time.

Katelyn Lasser, Karissa Fasano and Amanda Higgins have been turning bucketfuls of beads, string and gimp plastic lace into a way to fight the debilitating diseases they've been touched by.

As they craft and sell their handmade jewelry for change, Karissa's sister, who has mild autism, and Katelyn's grandma, who is in the beginning stages of Alzheimer's, are in the girls' hearts.

"We want to make a difference," said 10-year-old Katelyn.

"And help the world," Amanda, 10, chimed in.

The trio are selling bracelets and anklets for $1, key chains for 50 cents, and braids and twists for a quarter, calling their endeavor, Dollars for Donations.

As of yesterday afternoon, they had collected "85 dollars and 40-something cents," some from donations and some from sales, they said.

The venture started as a business idea last month, blossoming when the girls went philanthropic. They wanted to give back, and, "we had a lot of beads and gimp," said Katelyn, a fifth-grader at Stacy Middle School.

"If it's raining or something then we'd make a lot," she said. "We'd sell them the next day if it's sunny."

The girls have been peddling their jewelry around their neighborhoods, and hope to sell their crafts at each others' school events.

Karissa is a cheerleader with Katelyn, who also does tap dancing and chorus and plays basketball. Amanda is in chorus and plays basketball.

At Katelyn's Northbrook Circle home yesterday, the childhood friends were stringing, sorting and showing off their handiwork.

"I'm very proud," said Katelyn's mom, Gina Pasquarello. "It's their project,"

One of the girls' bead pieces has red stars that spell out, "Glamorous."

A key chain, touting "Peace," was made by Amanda out of blue, pink, red and ivory beads and black gimp.

Others designs are feature the word, "Swim," or "Lion," which is made of black and orange beads.

Some are made of gimp and beads. Others are simply colorful string crafted in the friendship or Chinese staircase styles.

"We're going to probably be doing this for a long time," said 11-year-old Karissa, a Stacy sixth-grader and Jillson Circle resident.

Amanda, a fifth-grader at Milford Catholic Elementary School, brings experience from a similar jewelry-making-for-charity endeavor. She donated "a hundred and three dollars and 65 cents, or something," to Children's Hospital.

"It's actually pretty fun making these," said Amanda, who lives on Eben Street.

The three touted their jeweled creations for having myriad uses.

Take the friendship-style piece Amanda was making out of gold, white, baby blue and magenta string. It's a bracelet, she said. "Or an anklet ... or a key chain ... or a bookmark," the three suggested together. A beaded creation could be a Christmas ornament, Katelyn said, or, "Hang it on the menorah," for Hanukkah, Karissa said.

"You can tape it to a card and say, 'Get well soon,' " she said. "You can make it anything you want."

They are still deciding which organizations to donate the proceeds to.
Source: milforddailynews