Alumna’s Bracelet-Making Raises Funds for Direct Relief

Alumna Marissa Christy’s business skills are put to use as she and her sister make bracelets to support pandemic

Making bracelets began as a fun way to pass the time during the pandemic, but quickly turned into a successful fundraising initiative started by Sacred Heart University alumna Marissa Christy ’16 and ‘17 and her sister Juliana Christy.

In about a month’s time, the Long Island sisters raised $15,000 by creating colorful bracelets with positive messages. The money goes to Direct Relief, a humanitarian aid organization with the mission to improve the health and lives of people affected by poverty or emergency. The organization is currently working to get protective gear and critical care medications to health-care workers.

How it started

Marissa Christy, who works as a revenue insights analyst for Warren Media in New York City, was self-isolating at home with her family. Her sister bought beads and string from Amazon so they could craft together. Juliana Christy said they used to do this activity as kids and thought it could be entertaining.

Inspired by close friends who work at nearby hospitals fighting against COVID-19, the sisters mailed out a few bracelets to their nurse friends, letting these critical employees know they were appreciated. The sisters received positive feedback.

“They thought they were really cute,” Marissa Christy said. She received her undergraduate degree in marketing and her master’s in business administration from SHU. “We thought, ‘Well, maybe we should sell them and put the proceeds toward the pandemic.’”

Marissa Christy said she talks to her best friend — a nurse at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, and a fellow SHU alumna — every day. She heard her friend talk about the shortage of supplies and the stress all health-care workers are dealing with. “I just want to help,” she said.

While studying to be a nurse, Juliana Christy has learned about the importance of personal protective equipment (PPE). At the same time, she’s hearing the stories about the PPE shortages on the news and through friends. “It’s scary,” she said. “I just knew we could donate and help the cause, it’s really the least we can do.”

Toward the end of March, the sisters posted on social media about their bracelet-making in support of Direct Relief. They put up a Google Form that allows customers to customize their bracelets. Customers can also choose bead colors, and even spell out a name or a message like “hope,” “stay strong” or “kindness” on the bracelet. The posts were shared online, and requests from friends and family started to pour in. What came next, they never expected.

“We knew family would support this, so we thought maybe we would end up donating around $500,” Marissa Christy said. “Then I think over the course of three days, we had raised $2,000. I never thought we would have that kind of impact. It’s been really awesome. Surreal, actually.”

Major impact

To date, the sisters received over 700 orders from all over the country, totaling more than 1,600 bracelets.

“We’re really good at it now,” Marissa Christy said. “It probably only takes about 2 minutes to make one.”

Marissa Christy’s business knowledge from SHU came in handy with keeping track of funds and supplies. “There’s a lot of project management involved,” Marissa Christy said. “We don’t want anything to fall through the cracks.”

“To keep up with the demand, we’ve been ordering supplies every other day,” Juliana Christy said. “We’ve been lucky and the supplies have been coming in quickly.”

The sisters send all the bracelets with a thank you card to show their gratitude. Because they reached their goal of $15,000, they stopped taking on orders. They are thankful for the support and appreciate the health-care workers risking their lives every day to fight COVID-19.

Photo caption: Juliana and Marissa Christy
Inset: Elisa Robiglio and Dana Cosmedy wear their bracelets.