9-year-old Kamryn Johnson and her friends have shown that little children have really big hearts. And that any effort towards helping others is never small – it is the intention that matters.
Kamryn, the daughter of former NFL player Ron Johnson, lives in Chanhassen, Minneapolis just about 20 minute drive from where George Floyd was killed in police custody.
Since Kamryn and her friends had a lot of time at hand with schools being closed due to the coronavirus, they came up with an innovative idea to use their time effectively and to help the communities in Minneapolis in need.
The children, who are aged between 5 and 12, decided to begin making string bracelets and selling them! As this initiative was spearheaded by Kamryn, they decided to call it ‘Kamryn & Friends: Bracelets for Unity and Justice.’
“She has a huge heart and simply wanted to be of help in whatever way she could,” Ron Johnson told CNN. “She and her friends are finding ways to feed the families of Minneapolis and give back to their community in the way they know how.”
So, at the end of May 2020, the children initiated this endeavour by setting up a tent and table on the front lawn of Kamryn’s house. They put up a huge, colorful sign that read ‘Bracelets for Sale.’ The beautiful and colorful handmade bracelets were priced between $1 and $5, based on the materials used and the intricacy of the designs.
And soon enough, the neighbors started coming in!
And they paid a lot more than the selling price of the bracelets. For instance, one customer left a $100 bill for a bracelet.
“People are giving $10, $20, $50,” said Kamryn’s father. “One man pulled up out of nowhere and dropped off a $100 bill for one bracelet. A few people have done that.”
Even with all of these buyers, Ron did not anticipate that Kamryn would have sold more than a handful of bracelets. However, he also did something that exponentially increased her visibility: Ron is a sports analyst at a local radio station and he spoke about his daughter’s initiative on air.
And as the word spread, a lot more donations began pouring in for Kamryn! And since their stand was put up a month ago, the children have raised over $100,000 through the sale of bracelets online, in person, and through donations.
The money raised will be donated to various causes in the community: the children are donating some of their proceeds to Minneapolis’ Sanctuary Covenant Church’s food drive and the Kyle Rudolph food and supply Drive. Apart from going to various food banks in Minneapolis, the proceeds will also help Black businesses that were affected by the pandemic and the protests get back on their feet.
‘When you look at Minneapolis, there is a huge racial gap in basically every aspect of life,” Johnson said. “It’s not equal. We want to be there for black businesses, especially those that don’t have insurance agents to help them out, to let them know they have people that will protect and fight for them.”
Local businesses, residents, and famous sportspersons have all contributed towards this wonderful initiative. For instance, Harrison Smith, a current Vikings player picked up a yellow and purple bracelet from Kamryn to match his team’s colours!
So inspired was the entire community with Kamryn that many of them also offered to help make the bracelets to reduce the load on the children.
“It’s become bigger than just Kamryn, it’s the whole neighborhood and community,” Ron said. “Kamryn is leading the charge, and we are all right behind her.”
This beautiful initiative by Kamryn has certainly helped raise money for charity. However, it has also opened the doors for having discussions on important topics such as racism and discrimination in the community.
Isn’t this just a wonderful piece of news that makes your day? Do let us know your views in the comments section below.
