Pearl Bees are opportunities for you to bring a group of people – teens, young women, adults - together to make “Pearls for Girls” bracelets and to talk about what matters to you and your friends.  It is also a chance to demonstrate that you can help people in the world whose life circumstances have left them struggling and in need of assistance.  These people want to live a happy and healthy life and you can help make that possible.  When you take action to help others, you learn about yourself and about other cultures of the world.

The Pearl Bee can take place wherever you wish to organize the event – at a school, at a community centre, at your home or wherever you can comfortably and safely gather to make pearl jewelry. 

If you wish to invite friends to join you in making the pearl bracelets, then taking on the leader’s role involves the following activities:

• Contact Pearl at www.pearls4girls.org to find out about purchasing the pearls and spacers needed to make the bracelets – plan to do this two weeks before your Pearl Bee;
• Decide on the location and let people know the time and place – plan on two or three hours for the Pearl Bee;
• You will need needles, elastic thread, and glue which you can also purchase from Pearls for Girls or from a local beading shop;
• Plan to cover the work surface where you will make the bracelets with a table cloth or mats for working on so that the pearls and spacers do not slide around on the table;
• Arrange a number of small containers on the table to hold the pearls and spacers.  You will need a few scissors, the elastic thread, and the beading needles to start.  The instructions for making the bracelets follow; 

• When starting the Pearl Bee, it is recommended that the leader of the Bee first introduce the goals of Pearls for Girls and the Help Lesotho program.  You can find a video on Help Lesotho’s web site (www.helplesotho.ca) that is really helpful.   A one-page introduction that you can download and print to hand out to participants is available on www.pearls4girls.org under “Promotion”;
• As the leader you will want to check all the bracelets to ensure they meet your quality standards.  Once they do, then place a small amount of the glue on the knot to secure it – see instructions for making “Pearls for Girls Signature Bracelets”;
• Finally, you may want to offer some refreshment to participants to keep their energy up, especially if the Pearl Bee is held just after school.  Food is also a good attraction for getting people to attend any event!  Music is also a good idea.

Please note that the material costs for making the bracelets are recovered when the bracelets are sold, so there should be only small costs to the person who takes the lead for a Pearl Bee.  You can sell the bracelets or send them to Pearl for sale through Pearls for Girls.

If you have questions about Pearl Bees, please send them to pearl@pearls4girls.org .  Have fun!