How this Olathe jewelry maker helped raise $10K for victims of Super Bowl rally shooting

Last week, Cara Cowsert had an idea.

In the aftermath of the Feb. 14 shooting at the celebratory Kansas City Chiefs rally, the Olathe resident and business owner said she felt the urge to do something to help. And she knew how to do it — by making bracelets.

So she got to work on a new line of friendship bracelets at her online jewelry business Wind + Waves, with the intent to put all proceeds toward the shooting victims and their families. The response, she said, has been “unreal.”

Chiefs bracelets — Photo credit Lucie Krisman.

The bracelets sport the Chiefs colors

The bracelets are yellow and red, in honor of the Kansas City Chiefs. Cowsert priced the bracelets at $22, which represents the 22 victims in the Feb. 14 shooting.

Cowsert donated the proceeds to Kansas City’s Children’s Mercy Hospital. She said she hopes to use those donations to support not just the physical recovery that victims will have to go through, but the psychological impact as well.

“Knowing what these kids are going to have to endure the rest of their lives is just heartbreaking,” she said.

She ultimately had to cap orders for this particular bracelet at 450 bracelets, but she just launched a new red and yellow “KC Strong” bracelet, for which $2 from every purchase will go toward United Way of Greater Kansas City.

The bracelets raised nearly $10,000

Right after launching the bracelets on social media, Cowsert said orders began to pour in. As of this week, the bracelets had raised roughly $9,900.

“When I saw that number, my heart just exploded,” she said. “If I can just sit here and make a bracelet and six minutes of my time is being donated towards this, it’s amazing just to see this little bracelet go towards someone that just wants a piece of Kansas City.”

The bracelets have received a lot of local support. But the response, Cowsert said, goes far beyond Kansas City — with bracelet orders from 36 states across the country.

“People are ordering and sending their stories, (saying) ‘I’m not a Chiefs fan, but my heart is with you guys,’” Cowsert said. “It’s just a friendship bracelet, but it’s helping people in this terrible just have a little bit of happiness brought back to their heart.”

Cowsert has used her business to support those in need before

Cowsert herself is Jewish, and following the attacks on Israel amidst its conflict with Hamas last fall, she created a blue, white and gold bracelet in honor of the victims there.

The bracelet’s proceeds (priced at $18, a number that signifies good luck in Judaism) went toward StandWithUs, an organization geared toward fighting antisemitism. Cowsert ultimately raised roughly $2,600 from the bracelets.

Friendship bracelets themselves have drastically gained recent popularity, thanks to Taylor Swift. As the bracelets become more and more of a symbol of friendship and support, Cowsert said she’s happy to keep spreading that support one bracelet at a time.

“Everyone has them, everyone trades them and wants to have a piece of something,” she said. “It just makes people feel good, and I want to share that love with people.”