Jewelry

Tuesday, August 30, 2016 at 8 a.m.

Payton Migit, Emma Nesbitt and Claire Nesbitt spent a lot of their summer vacation making jewelry to sell and donate to needy social agencies. Photo by Margaret Downing

Claire Nesbitt was volunteering at the Nehemiah Center for at-risk kids when she came face to face with how much need there is in Houston. So like a lot of good-hearted teens, she wanted to do something about it. Her sister Emma, volunteering at the Lighthouse of Houston, readily agreed.

Unlike with most of their peers, though, it didn't stop there. Claire, now a sophomore at St. Agnes High School, decided they were going to raise money and donate it to certain charities, but they weren't going to be satisfied with small amounts.  

Claire decided jewelry was the way to go — a good choice because she had an expert right on hand. That would be her mom, Mary Nesbitt, who as Claire puts it "is an avid jewelry collector."  But they weren't just going to buy it and resell it. They would actually design it, order materials from Houston-area suppliers, including pearls and silk, and make it. They would even develop their own business plan. 

They enlisted some of their friends to help out, established Hope Thrives for Houston and took over the dining room table and other areas of their parents' (Paul and Mary) home in Bellaire for the duration. This past weekend they were out in front of Bering's Hardware on Bissonnet and sales were brisk. It seems pearls are in this year and the girls' price points fell within most shoppers' range. 

According to the mission statement for Hope Thrives: "100 percent of all proceeds from the sale of all jewelry will be donated to established, credible Houston non-profit charities who currently provide outstanding services to meet the high needs of Houston’s special children and special communities." 

"I worked at the Nehemiah Center. There are some absolutely amazing kids there. I found so much potential there, I wanted to help them," Claire said while working at their booth this past weekend. Payton Migit said she was invited to help by fellow Xavier High classmate Emma. 

The girls just started a GoFundMe - Hope Thrives For Houston - campaign to help with inventory and start-up costs such as a website, insurance and filing fees. They will be back at Bering's on October 15 and at Elaine Turner in October and December at the Rice Village University location.

Each event will help these charities:

The Nehemiah Center
The Ronald McDonald House
Meals on Wheels
The Lighthouse of Housron

Next up:  On October 1 they plan to go live with a website, hopethrives.org.