My business was called Brandon’s Bracelets. The TREP$ Marketplace took place on Friday, November 15 in Academy of Our Lady’s gymnasium, in Glen Rock, NJ. For my product I decided to make bracelets because I learned how to make them at sleep-away camp and I love creating color combinations. Originally, I was going to call my business “Creative Corner” and pair up all of
the bracelets with a corresponding colored bookmark, but one day I got an idea.
In the 7th grade, my class worked on a project called “Letters for the Homebound”. We were assigned a person who is unable to leave their house and, for companionship, you sent letters to them every month. This is how I found out about Brandon Higgins. When I sent my first letter to him, I sculpted a little bear holding a heart and dropped it off along with the card. The next month was around Christmas time. For a gift, I had sewn a pillow for Brandon and was able to meet his mother while dropping it off. That’s when I
learned that they were trying to raise money for a wheelchair-accessible van. When I started TREP$, I thought it was a perfect way to incorporate fundraising for Brandon’s van. While working, I noticed that it was taking a long time to do both a bracelet and a bookmark. In order to maximize sales, I decided to focus on the bracelets and, shortly after, came up with the name Brandon’s Bracelets. All the money I collected, not just net profit, will go to Brandon and his family to help with the purchase of a van, or any other needs they may have.
The day of our TREP$ Marketplace came and I felt unprepared. Looking at other people’s fancy set ups and all the products they had made me second guess myself and the quantity of bracelets I had with me. But then I realized I could take orders since I had extra string at home and that helped alleviate my stress. I set up my merchandise, and put out an order sheet along with a donation jar. Looking at my display, I was glad that I decided to bring the bookmarks I had made. The Marketplace went great and I had just
the right amount of both bracelets and bookmarks because I sold out at the perfect time – just before the end. I even had orders to fill and extra donations in the jar! In the end, the money totaled $120. I am happy to say that my nana offered to match my sales, and my mom decided to round up the amount, so we donated $250 to Brandon Higgins and his family this Thanksgiving!
