Interact Club, Latinos, and Amigos and Spanish Honors Society partnered together to host a Pulsera Project sale of pulseras and bolsitas from November 28th, 2022 through December 12, 2022.  

On the Pulsera Project website, the nonprofit organization explains that its goal is to educate, empower and connect Central American artists with students in more than 3,000 US schools through the sale of colorful handwoven pulseras, or bracelets in English. The movement employs Guatemalan and Nicaraguan artisans, and the sale proceeds benefit the creators and their communities.

The bracelets and bolsitas, a type of small purse, were sold by members of the three clubs in front of the East auditorium. The pulseras were sold for $7 and the bolsitas for $15. Students could buy the items via cash or Venmo. General members of these clubs could purchase the items to keep or resell to receive one hour of community service. 

Spanish National Honor Society advisor, Señora Eister, first discovered the movement through the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese, an organization that prepared her for the responsibilities of being the Spanish Honor Society advisor. 

“They first reached out to me with the idea, and I was more than happy to participate on behalf of the Spanish Honor Society,” said Eister. 

As the holiday season was approaching, Señora Eister decided to pursue the sale. It was a way to bring joy during the holiday season, provide a gift for loved ones and connect East to the Spanish-speaking world. 

Señora Eister proposed the idea to Ms. Barr, the Interact Club advisor, as a fundraiser. Barr agreed to have Interact participate. In doing so, Interact was also able to fulfill its international project requirement. 

“We were hoping to sell out, so we could support the artisans who created them, but sadly we couldn’t achieve that. We only sold half,” said Barr.

In total, there were 500 pulseras and 15 bolsitas to sell. All of the bolsitas were sold, while only 250 of the pulseras were sold. 

“We thought since the bracelets [were] colorful and cute, people would be excited to purchase them. I was really shocked by the lack of sales. I thought the sale would be more successful,” said Barr.

Ms. Barr would like to revisit the project in 2-3 years when the school is made up of new students. She believes that the project would be most successful if it took place every couple of years rather than every year.

Interact and the Spanish department clubs plan to follow up on the project through social media, to follow the success of the artisans they are supporting. 

While they didn’t get the numbers they were aiming for, they are still proud to have gotten the sales that they did and to have the opportunity to support artisans in Guatemala and Nicaragua.