Miley Shaver (10), Ever since she was little, she enjoyed investing time in her hobbies, like art and writing. Pursuing these creative passions and interests has always been important in her life. Her imagination led her to make pieces and stories that brought joy to herself and others. She not only enjoyed the process of creating, but the happiness she got from seeing the effects of her work on others. 

This stayed true when she eventually took her passion for making bracelets with her sister and cousin, and expanded their shared love of creating them into a small business. What was once simply spending time together on family vacations and making bracelets as a hobby became Give Back Girls Jewelry.

Give Back Girls is a small business that sells handmade jewelry products such as earrings, bracelets, and rings through an online shop on Etsy. Twenty percent of all profits made from selling their jewelry are donated to Rady Children’s Autism Discovery Institute. 

The business was created back in 2020, when COVID-19 was on the rise. The abrupt arrival of quarantine in Miley’s life made putting effort into such a time consuming project, like her business, less stressful.

“With there being no school and having to stay home, it gave me a lot more time to focus on the more specific aspects of our business such as developing our products and growing our business through social media,” Miley said.

Miley and the other members of the business began advertising their jewelry through posts featuring their bracelets, rings, and earrings on their Instagram page. They also promote themselves by informing their friends and family about Give Back Girls. 

The team tracks their sales progress through setting and reaching “donation goals.” Their first goal, which when the business debuted, was 500 dollars. To their shock and delight, the goal was met in just under a year following their launch. After they reached that goal, they strived to continue achieving the accomplishments they set for themselves, the current one being a goal of donating 250 dollars within this year.

The end of the COVID-19 quarantine marked a drastic change in the lives of the team, and the old day-to-day routines of Miley, her sister, and cousin resumed. This uptick in conflicts has required Miley to reevaluate how she runs the business, but she’s managed so far.

“We have found that it’s been harder considering how much time school and sports take up,”  Miley said. “Although we have been able to stay somewhat consistent.”

During the COVID-19 pandemic, making small businesses for fun became a very popular activity, but Give Back Girls Jewelry was determined to set themselves apart from a simple pastime used to keep busy during quarantine and put meaning behind their creations.

When Miley was little, she was extremely close with a boy who had autism. They met in elementary school and quickly developed a close bond.

“He was a really sweet kid and we would hang out during lunch and play games,” Miley said. “We used to hang out outside of school sometimes. We even did this soccer program for kids with autism. We aren’t as close now but I still see him in the hallways and say hi.”

  Her friendship with him played a big role in the reason behind the effort that was put into their business. 

“We wanted to have some kind of connection and meaning to who we were donating to,” she said. “That’s why we decided to specifically donate to Rady Children’s Autism Development Institute. We just really wanted to give back.” 

Miley’s sister and cousin, also take pride in the impact they are making through their donations.

Madeline Shaver (9) believes that Give Back Girls makes an impact that transcends the simple donation of money.

“I think our business makes an impact by spreading awareness,” Madeline said. “This is because one of the bracelets we have, the breast cancer awareness bracelet, spreads awareness of that when people buy it. The bracelet has four different colors of pink to represent it, and we start selling it in October during breast cancer awareness month.”

The inspiration to include this awareness bracelet as one of their products came from families they knew were struggling with this disease. Madeline feels good knowing how much of an impact this specific bracelet has made, and plans to build the future of Give Back Girls around that.

“We had the idea of selling the Suicide Awareness bracelet,” Madeline said. “We are thinking of starting to sell that next year during the month of Suicide Prevention Week like the Breast Cancer Awareness one.”

When they consider all the progress their business has made, Give Back Girls is determined to continue their business, no matter the added pressures of school and sports. They said they only wish to keep spreading awareness through their products and donations. 

Miley finds herself astonished whenever she recalls the early stages of Give Back Girls Jewelry, seeing what it has grown to now.

“It’s crazy when I think about how much I’ve helped people by deciding to take something I did for fun and create a way to give back,” Miley said. “In all the time I thought about it, I never expected Give Back Girls Jewelry to become what it is today.”