Friday, October 29, 1999
Teen sisters to set up charity on Web
Kenwood kiosk proved too pricey
BY BETTY KIM
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The Apana sisters (clockwise from top center) - Adhrucia, 16; Amrethat, 12; and Menaka, 9 - and Faith Hayden, 16, display their products at Kenwood Towne Center.
(Josh Biggs photo)
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For their next business adventure, the Apana sisters have their eyes set on cyberspace.
After three months at a kiosk in Kenwood Towne Centre, the Kenwood girls — Adhrucia, 16, Amretha, 12, and Menaka, 9 — have decided to move their business, Child by Child: Energy Connection, to the Internet to avoid the mall's high rent and less-than-anticipated traffic.
They hope the venue switch on Sunday will boost profits, all of which are donated to the Make-A-Wish Foundation and the Shishu Bhavan orphanage, which Mother Teresa founded in Calcutta, India.
“The work is worth it because it's not just writing a check for charity,” Amretha said. “I've learned how hard it is to raise money, even for a good cause.”
Like the kiosk, the Web site will offer costumers a range of energy-centered goods, including body jewels, power rocks and crystals, henna art, and rainbow strings.
The girls have raised about $5,000. But their profits total only $500 after subtracting $4,500 for rent, which their parents, Rajan and Ratee, help pay.
Wrap-a-thon
In hopes of increasing sales before their kiosk closes, the girls will hold a wrap-a-thon at the Kenwood this weekend . Five volunteer hair wrappers will be on-hand to weave macrame thread into costumers' locks for a trendy, bracelet-like do.
The unconventional charity venture began in September 1998 during Adhrucia's sophomore year Quest Project at Indian Hill High School. The project divides students into groups, which do hands-on work for a topic they choose.
Adhrucia's group chose philanthropy and had residents sponsor basketball players in a shoot-a-thon to raise money for Make-A-Wish, a national organization that grants wishes to children who have terminal or life-threatening illnesses.
She wanted to continue helping Make-A-Wish.
When the sisters got the green light from their parents to start a business, they combined their enthusiasm for the market with their desire to help the less fortunate.
Thus, the creation of En ergy Connection.
The kiosk has been at Kenwood since August, offering customers a range of products centered around the theme of bright colors and positive energy. Prices range from $2 for body jewels to $180 for an extravagant water fountain.
They rely on volunteers and friends like Faith Hayden of Indian Hill to help at the kiosk after school.
“I enjoy doing this,” the 16-year-old said. “It lets me experience the real world atmosphere and volunteer at the same time.”
Balancing work
A constant challenge for the girls is to find enough time for the business along with school, sports, music lessons and homework.
“Sometimes I stay up until 2 in the morning and have to get up at 6:30 the next morning for school,” Adhrucia said.
A recent day went like this fo her: School until 3 p.m.; field hockey practice after school, until 6; work at the kiosk until 7; voice lesson from 7 to 8; study group until 9; homework until 11.
But Adhrucia is undeterred.
“It's worth it because in the big picture I devote such little time to make such a big difference in someone's life,” she said.
The next step for the girls is finding a host server for their Web site, which they are fine tuning. To cut service fees, they hope to find a local software company that will donate it.
Even though the business has seen its ups and downs, the girls' parents view it as an invaluable experience.
“It has made them more community-oriented at a young age,” Ratee Apana said. “Community service is becoming a part of their lives and not just an outside activity.”
IF YOU GO
• What: Wrap-a-thon to raise money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation and Mother Teresa's orphanage in Calcutta, India. Shoppers can have colorful threads weaved into their locks for $1.45 an inch.
›When: 4-9 p.m. today 10 a.m.-3 p.m. and 6-9 p.m. Saturday, noon-6 p.m. Sunday.
• Where: Energy Connection kiosk at Kenwood Town Centre, outside Abercrombie & Fitch.
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