Junior Catie Schwartzman Designs Necklaces for Charity

Junior Catie Schwartzman has found a way to give back to the community by creating original and symbolic necklaces to help raise funds for the VACC Camp, or the Ventilation Assisted Children’s Center Camp.

After volunteering at VACC Camp for two years, junior Catie Schwartzman began to make necklaces under the charity name "Breathe by C. Sloane." Once she can, Catie plans to donate all of the proceeds to the camp itself. To purchase a necklace, either find Catie at school or go to her Facebook page "Breathe by C. Sloane." Photo by Monica Rodriguez. — After volunteering at VACC Camp for two years, junior Catie Schwartzman began to make necklaces under the charity name “Breathe by C. Sloane.” Once she can, Catie plans to donate all of the proceeds to the camp itself. To purchase a necklace, either find Catie at school or go to her Facebook page “Breathe by C. Sloane.” Photo by Monica Rodriguez.

The VACC Camp is a program where one can volunteer to help kids with breathing issues. In the camp, volunteers help kids who live with ventilation-assisted devices experience things they are usually not capable of experiencing.

Schwartzman has volunteered at VACC camp for the past two years. She discovered the camp during Key Club when the director came to talk about volunteering, “Seeing the video of the kids made me so emotional, I wanted to help,” said Schwartzman.

She started her charity “Breathe by C. Sloane,” during the summer of 2015 as a way to further help the organization beyond volunteering. Schwartzman will donate all proceeds from the sale of her necklaces to VACC Camp,

“I hope this collection of hand-crafted pieces creates a greater awareness of tracheostomies and the people who rely on them to thrive,” she said.

The necklace design, which can also be worn as a wrap-around bracelet, was inspired by the tube that extends out from a patient’s neck after having to use a tracheostomy ventilator. To create these simple but elegant accessories, Catie uses two strands of a leather cord folded in half to then push in two metal nuts with a washer in between to make it look like the tracheostomy. A knot is then tied after the material is strung through, making the necklace adjustable. A tracheostomy delivers oxygen to the lungs of anyone who cannot breathe on their own. The kids that have to use ventilation-assisted devices were either born prematurely or involved in accidents that now require the device.

Necklaces may be purchased through Schwartzman’s Facebook page, Breathe by C. Sloane, or directly through Schwartzman.

VACC Camp has been supported by Nicklaus Children’s Hospital for the past 29 years. To volunteer at the VACC Camp one must be 14 years old or at least a freshman in high school, and apply online.

The camp takes place every year during spring break, with many families coming from out of town to participate. The goal is to help provide simple life experiences like swimming or playing outside. The camp’s goal is to help the patients socialize more and raise their self-esteem so they understand they are not alone and can feel like ordinary kids.