A new jewelry-focused nonprofit aims to teach youngsters entrepreneurship, sustainability, and science, technology, engineering, arts and math (STEAM) skills through the recycling of broken or unwanted jewelry pieces.
After running as a pilot program for the last three years, The Jewelry Co-Op will launch on March 28. The organization takes discarded, donated, and broken jewelry and works with high school and college students to upcycle the pieces into wearable products. The nonprofit is the brainchild of Teree Thomas-Perez, an administrator at Worcester Montessori academy The T.E.C. Schools.
Thomas-Perez said the project aims to tackle jewelry waste while teaching students valuable skills relating to project management, design, and marketing. The pilot program worked with interns from Clark University and Worcester Public Schools.
“It’s a top-down approach where the high school students have access to the college students in the areas of marketing, technology, and analytics,” Thomas-Perez said.
The nonprofit will include after-school programs and makers’ nights, meant to serve as a fundraiser through the sale of jewelry produced by participants.
The Jewelry Co-Op is being launched with the assistance of Massachusetts nonprofit Entrepreneurship for All, commonly known as EforAll. Tyler Ojala, director of operations at Worcester-based incubator WorcLab, is serving as The Jewelry Co-Op’s board chair.
The organization is celebrating its launch with a networking and hands-on workshop from 6 to 8 p.m. on March 28 at Downtown Worcester’s JMAC BrickBox Theater. More information can be found here.
Eric Casey is the managing editor at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the real estate and banking & finance industries.
