While COVID-19 has impacted everyone in negative ways, local teens have decided to use this time to create businesses and positively impact their community through entrepreneurship.

Specifically, teens used social media platforms to reach out to the community. The Harriton Banner spoke to several entrepreneurial Harriton students and alumni about their quarantine businesses and organizations.

Former Harriton Graduates Kate and Jack Adler recently started a social media challenge known as the $3 challenge. Their followers were asked to post a video on their Instagram story, donate $3 and tag five more people to pass it along. The results have been astounding: the college students raised over $70,000 in just a few weeks. All of the proceeds are going to Feeding America, Direct Relief, Family Promise and the CDC.

The siblings were inspired to create this challenge because of their productive nature and desired to make a difference during this difficult time. “We brainstormed ways that our generation could make a difference for those impacted by the coronavirus and eventually felt that the power of social media was strong enough to do this,” Kate Adler explained.

Harriton junior Julie Hersh also made strides to support COVID-19 relief, by taking her love for fashion and turning it into a business. Hersh is donating a portion of the proceeds from Wrapped Apparel to the Ardmore Food Pantry. She began to tie dye sweatshirts and sweatpants with bleach and advertised her business through social media, specifically Instagram. Julie and her sister are successfully balancing school work and attending to Wrapped Apparel each day. They are both extremely enthusiastic about the success of the business and how they are doing their part to help others.

Fellow junior Mandy Becker put her artistic talents to use during this confusing time. “I originally started refashioning clothing items because I was bored,” Becker told the Banner, “I posted… and people wanted to buy them! I was surprised, because I started this for fun, but I realized that I could continue to redesign clothing items and sell them to people.” Mandy’s business also heavily relied on social media to get the word out and get in contact with those interested in purchasing. “It’s a great way for me to take my mind off of the craziness in the world and I really enjoy making one of a kind items that make people happy!” Currently, Becker is designing masks with the “Black Lives Matter” logo and donating all proceeds from the product to The Bail Project.

Although the pandemic has disrupted the world and resulted in tragedies, it has also been a time where students in our community have recognized their potential to create a positive impact. There are large business concepts that have been created, but there are also small acts of kindness that are creating ripples of generosity. Since March, Go Fund Me has been another well used resource that is a tool for people wanting to make an impact. Over the past few months, the country has been on a stay at home order and this has made it difficult to have personal contact. Although these contributions seem small, they are creating a much larger network of philanthropy than originally anticipated.