Mandeville Mini-Moguls Sell Hair Ties For Haiti

08/23/2018

Leslie T. Snadowsky,

Mandeville mini-moguls Mia, 9, and Ava, 7, are on a mission.

In June, the Cresap sisters were attending Sunday Mass at Mary, Queen of Peace Catholic Church when they listened to a speaker from Food For The Poor, an interdenominational Christian ministry serving the poor in 17 countries throughout the Caribbean and Latin America, talk about the plight of poor families in Haiti who didn’t have homes of their own.

Mia and Ava’s mother Renee Cresap said the speaker’s message of compassion touched the entire family, and both daughters were driven to make a difference.

“When we got home from church, Mia and Ava asked my husband Doug and me if we could find a way to build a house in Haiti,” said mom Renee. “We said ‘yes,’ and held a family meeting to discuss how we could come up with the money. A few days later, the girls said they wanted to start a business to sell a product to help fund their Haiti house.”

The crafty Cresap sisters created a business plan called “Hair Ties For Haiti,” and found seed funding by cashing in their piggy banks and selling an old piece of furniture. Both parents helped buy the necessary supplies, but it was the pint-sized philanthropists who enlisted the help of their cousins, friends and neighbors to help them manufacture 620 pairs of hair ties.

“I feel like my project is important because Jesus commands us to help the poor,” said Mia. “It’s important because if other people, especially children, see us raising money for the poor then maybe they will want to do it. My parents have taught us that God gives us each special talents, and that we should use those talents to help and serve others. My sister Ava and I like to craft, and we love making hair ties.”

“They have the biggest hearts and an entrepreneurial spirit,” said mom Renee. “They came up with everything on their own from the name of their business to the designs of the hair ties.”

The Cresaps are selling their handmade elastic band hair ties for $3 a pair. The hottest sellers so far are those with New Orleans Saints and LSU football themes and those that feature fall and Halloween colors.

As a little lagniappe, each hair tie set comes with an inscription of the New American Standard Bible verse, “Let all that you do be done in love.” (1 Corinthians 16:14) on a keepsake card that can be used as a bookmark.

In seven weeks, the savvy sisters have almost surpassed their original $3,600 goal.

“My dining room has been turned into a Hair Ties For Haiti headquarters,” mused mom Renee. “It’s really awesome what they are doing, and we’ve been pleasantly surprised by how many hair ties they have made and much they have sold. In fact, they don’t want to stop. This week they upped their game and changed their goal to earn enough money through sales and donations to build three houses.”

“By blessing others, we also are blessed in profound ways,” said proud dad Doug. “Whether it’s a local person or someone halfway across the world, we trust in Him when God calls on our hearts to help those in need.”

“I want to help build a home in Haiti,” said enterprising Ava who turns eight next week. “Jesus tells us to give to the poor, and building a house will change a family's life forever!”

To buy Mia and Ava’s hair ties email HairTiesForHaiti2018@gmail.com.

To donate to the Cresap’s cause visit this site, where the sisters’ $3,600 goal was recently bumped to $10,800.

“On the girl’s donation page 100 percent of all donations go straight to Food For The Poor to build houses in Haiti,” said mom Renee. “Due to their recent success, Mia and Ava said they now want to build an entire village!”