Dan Klein joined the popular, colorful wristband-for-a-cause craze to help victims of the tsunami in Southeast Asia–and his red bracelets have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Dan, 16, of Arlington Heights, decided on the color and three slogans, and then he found Quest Applied Technologies, an Ingleside-based wristband maker, on the Internet. He contacted the company, which leapt at the fundraising idea.
“I was pretty devastated by the tsunami and just wanted to help out,” said Dan, a junior who plays on the St. Viator High School soccer and lacrosse teams. “I thought I could raise more [with this project] than by just making a small donation to charity.
Dan has been selling them at St. Viator since mid-January, and his brother, Marcus, 13, has been hawking them at MacArthur Middle School in Prospect Heights.
The bracelets cost $1 each, of which 70 cents is donated to CARE (www.careusa.org).
The Klein family has sold more than 3,000 bracelets. Quest is supplying the bracelets to fundraising organizations, too. On its Web site, www.questat.com, the firm gives Dan credit for the wristbands, which bear the slogans “Students for relief,” “Tsunami relief” and “Students for Tsunami relief.”
“I figured I might be able to raise $1,000. I never envisioned this,” Dan said. “It’s pretty amazing what’s going on. And it’s kind of shocking, too, but it’s awesome, just great.”
Dan’s creation has expanded to other area schools. Dan’s friend, Patrick Tannous, 16, a junior at Wheeling High School, sold 175 bracelets in the first 15 minutes he offered them for sale at Wheeling.
“It’s nice to donate a dollar,” Patrick said. “It’s nicer to take it to the next level. Dan has shown what students can do on their own. He’s making a big difference in the community and beyond.”
