Rainbow looming for a good cause

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 02/04/2014 (4270 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Computers, laptops, iPods, iPads, iPad Minis — technology and all it has to offer has sure come a long way from the Atari I had back in the ’80s.

Kids have a world of possibilities at their fingertips every day and they don’t even realize how wondrous it all is.

Still, it’s refreshing to see that a simple bracelet-making toy called Rainbow Loom has captivated the hearts of 10-year-old girls throughout Winnipeg. It’s really a simple device — a plastic rack about one-foot long with four or five rows of plastic pegs. Little multi-coloured elastic bands are wrapped around the pegs. Once you’ve made a pattern, you use a stick, kind of like a crochet hook, that pulls the bands together and you’ve made a pretty little friendship bracelet.

Recently four Grade 5 students at Island Lakes Community School came up with an idea to make Rainbow Loom friendship bracelets, sell them and then donate the money to the Children’s Hospital.

The four girls — Hanna Peters, Madison Brown, Madison Chen and Kennedi Stubbs — got gather Sunday afternoons at alternating houses to sit and patiently make these bracelets.Once they had enough, they approached Island Lakes Community School principal Darcy Cormack with their plan. She gave the girls permission to sell the bracelets at school and they sold their individually packaged bracelets to their Grade 4 and 5 classmates during lunch hours, at designated times during the school day and at the middle school concert.

They offered an assortment of colours and patterns and sizes and the bracelets ranged in price from 50 cents to $2. In total, the girls raised $300.

Last month, all four girls made the trek to the Children’s Hospital to make their donation. As a final gesture, they all decided that the additional bracelets they had made — about 40 or 50 that didn’t sell  — should be given to the sick kids staying there to brighten their days. The girls’ story and picture was then posted on the hospital website out of appreciation.

 
Congratulations to Hanna, Madison, Madison and Kennedi on spreading some cheer at the hospital.
 
Jasmine van Gerwen is a community correspondent for Island Lakes. She can be reached at jasvangerwen@shaw.ca