BY VINCENT TODARO
Staff Writer
PHOTOSBY JEFF GRANIT staff Above, members of two Brownie troops helped color cards being sold by Lauren Thomas, 7, with proceeds going to tsunami relief. At left, Brianna Brown (l), 8, Caterina Russo, 7, and Lauren Thomas (far left), 7, of Brownie Troop 1136 work on cards. EAST BRUNSWICK — It was a successful business venture, but she didn’t make a dime from it.
Lauren Thomas, 7, decided near the end of last year that she wanted to be like mom and run her own business. But when the precocious youngster saw the damage done last month by the tsunami in Asia, she turned her attention to what she felt was more important.
So, now the greeting cards she designs and sells will be making money for victims of the tragedy, rather than dollars and coins for her piggy bank or college fund.
Lauren’s mother, Diane, said her daughter saw her begin a business selling homemade biscotti and decided she also wanted a piece of the action. But being a bit young to make and sell food, Lauren decided to design cards for various occasions such as birthdays and anniversaries.
In late December, her parents initially shielded her from news coverage of the tsunami in South Asia, but after a week or so decided it was best to explain to their daughter what had happened. Her father, Varghese, is actually from Kerala, India. The area was affected by the tsunami, although his hometown was not, Diane said.
Wondering how their daughter would react to the tragedy of seeing other kids without homes, her parents were pleasantly surprised when she rather quietly chose to use the cards to help victims of the devastation.
Lauren, a second-grader at the Central School, designed the cards herself, using a heart shape surrounded by a bunch of little people. The card is blank inside, and on the back reads, “Proceeds go to Asia tsunami relief.” It also lists her name, age, and a number where people can order more cards. The back also has three small heart balloons.
What is perhaps most remarkable is how the idea took off, through e-mail only. Diane said she simply began e-mailing family and friends, and the next day had requests for 120 cards, a number that has continued to increase ever since.
The cards sell for $3 each, and Lauren has now raised more than $700.
“She wanted to hand-do each one, but it was too much, so her Brownie troop helped and so did another one,” Diane said.
Members of Lauren’s troop, No. 1136, and those from Troop 897 were more than happy to help out.
The design was copied onto all the cards, and the youngsters simply had to color in the heart. The heart is in red, but the people are not colored.
Lauren’s initial goal was pretty modest — to raise $100 to donate to UNICEF, Diane said. She was thrilled to reach seven times that amount.
The new goal for Lauren and her parents is to raise $1,000.
And they have received some unexpected help along the way. When buying supplies at the Staples store on Ryders Lane, Milltown, the store manager offered to donate supplies toward Lauren’s work, Diane said.
“It just seems like people really want to do something,” she said. “It makes them feel good to do something.”
Diane said that as her family watched news coverage of the disaster, it saw where the Red Cross and UNICEF were two leading agencies working to bring relief. She called UNICEF, which told her to collect the money from the cards and then write the group a total check for the donation, she said.
Those interested in ordering cards may e-mail [email protected].