Community Service Day is a national recognition of community members who have provided services or donations for a variety of charities. This year,  Rosemont Middle School students and staff culminated three weeks of fundraising for the Pulsera Project. Students in teacher Señora Laura Rivera’s Spanish classes and in CJSF (California Junior Scholarship Foundation), facilitated by teachers Shannon Kracker and Lisa Avery, sold pulseras to raise money for artisans in Guatemala and Nicaragua. 

Pulseras are colorful bracelets woven by artists in indigenous communities. 

The Pulsera Project began in 2009 when a group of friends traveling in Central America discovered a community of artisans in the foothills of Nicaragua. The artists were masters of weaving but had little market to sell them in their country. A few of the travelers returned to the U.S. with handfuls of pulseras to sell on behalf of their new friends. 

The Pulsera Project now employs nearly 200 artists with Fair Trade jobs, while sharing the vibrant art and uplifting energy of Central American culture with thousands of schools across the U.S. Pulsera sales fund scholarships to schools and universities, healthcare, housing, social enterprise, youth empowerment and other programs in collaboration with leaders and communities in Central America.

Over the years, artisans and students alike have united around a simple idea – by sharing art, knowledge and ideas across cultural lines, lives can be enriched and expanded. 

This year Rosemont students raised over $4,300 to support the artisans of the Central American Pulsera Project. Through this activity, they helped raise funds as well as raise understanding of people in other countries and how their efforts can make a difference in the lives of others.  

The school’s top donors were Ella Abedi, Eli Bentsi-Barnes and Vivek Arunachalam. Two Spanish classes raised over $1,000 each and were awarded with a taco fiesta and movie. The UA Regal Theater surprised the students with popcorn and prizes.  

The CJSF Club bought 100 pulseras for the faculty and staff. Colin Crane, a co-founder of the Pulsera Project commented, “We [are] blown away by the enthusiasm and dedication of your school toward the pulsera sale! … Thank you for all your hard work!”  

This event was part of the real-world experience offered by the Spanish textbook. Students developed an awareness and appreciation of cultures and the importance of solidarity, working together in a partnership across communities.

Submitted by Suzanne RISSE