Jewels For Joy is a club created by Juniors Izzy Lopez Wood and Janice Garcia Hernandez. The name originates from the main principles of the club which is to create joy by making jewelry for the community. Through handmade bracelets, delivered to the people that need it most, the club hopes to spread joy and words of encouragement.
The club can be differentiated from other jewelry clubs by their main goal: to have members make jewelry that can be distributed for children that need support outside of school. Vice President Lopez emphasizes that their club is “making for a difference rather than for ourselves.” Lopez also explains that through the club’s jewelry, “children can always look down at their wrist and know they have someone out there caring.” As the board researches and identifies charities, including children’s hospitals, to distribute their donations to.
Jewels for Joy recently had an event for Valentines Day that excited many of the members and reminded the founding members the valuable purpose of the club. Members of the club were able to make Valentine’s day themed bracelets with positive messages that were later donated to members of the community in need. President Janice Garcia Hernandez emphasized that the event’s purpose is to allow members to enjoy the holiday activity while also keeping the club’s main mission of spreading joy.
Vice President Izzy Lopez Wood described the main aim of the club in the school and the wider community. Lopez explained that “[President] Janice and I like working with kids. It is important that kids have a voice. We serve to make an impact towards the youth through the jewelry that have inspirational quotes for children [in unconventional circumstances] to know that someone is out there that cares about them.” The club serves to spread kindness and care to organizations such as the Los Angeles Children’s Hospital. By giving back to children that may be struggling and not having adequate support, the club aims to let these children know that there are people that care about them.
President Garcia highlights “I chose making jewelry because it is something simple yet a powerful way to spread encouragement and happiness to my community” as a foundational passion behind the start of the club. By creating a space where other students learn to make jewelry with decorated words of encouragement, the club is able to mass produce jewelry that can be distributed to “uplift the vulnerable and essential people” in the community.”
As for future plans, Jewels For Joy will continue to organize fundraisers for material that will allow the production of joy-spreading jewelry by the members. Both President Garcia and Vice President Lopez invite new members to join in on upcoming events that will enable these donations to carry on the joy members experience while making the jewelry.
