Bracelets for Good

Casey O’Donnell has always been passionate about increasing access to education, but she hasn’t always known how to make her mark. As a senior at Lansdale High School in Lansdale, Pennsylvania, O’Donnell searched for ways to make a difference in developing countries. O’Donnell notes, “I have always felt called to help children who have not been as fortunate as I have been and weren’t given the opportunity to grow and learn and achieve their dreams.”

After a tour of the College of William & Mary, O’Donnell met with the Assistant Dean of Admission, Taylor Stephens, who quickly gave her a path to get involved.  Stephens introduced Casey to Global Playground. Inspired, O’Donnell chose to contribute to Global Playground through a ‘legacy project’ in her high school A.P. Literature class.

One of the prompts for the project read, “In what way do you want to make a change in the world but were too afraid to do it? What is that tiny whisper inside yourself that is telling you to make a change that you have been suppressing for years?”

“Global Playground immediately came to mind,” said O’Donnell.   

The purpose of the project was to inspire students to dream big, leave their mark, and ultimately create a miracle in the lives of others, and O’Donnell did just that.  After seeing many people her age wearing rubber bracelets to support different causes, O’Donnell decided selling custom rubber bracelets might be a great way to raise money for Global Playground. O’Donnell designed bracelets with the word love inscribed in all the languages native to Global Playground’s project sites.  

O’Donnell ultimately raised $352 selling the bracelets, $102 hosting a bake sale, $160 using a GoFundMe page, and approximately $142 via a charity collection through her school’s ministry program. Altogether, she raised more than $750 for Global Playground.

 When asked why she decided to fundraise for Global Playground, O’Donnell responded, “[Global Playground isn’t] just creating educational opportunities, but [is] also promoting cross-cultural understanding. I think one of the main reasons why there is so much racism and hate and bad in this world is because we don’t understand other cultures.”

O’Donnell hopes the money she raised will further support Global Playground’s efforts to promote understanding and sensitivity across different cultures.