Community Spotlight: Project Sparkle
No one could have predicted how devastating the effects of COVID-19 would be on every aspect of life, including tennis. As we all have settled into what our new normal looks like, there are those that have chosen to rise above the negativity and spread joy where they can. One such individual is Christine Lammers of Canton, Ohio.
Lammers recently joined the Park Lane Jewelry team before stay-at-home orders were put into place. When she joined a Park Lane leadership call in mid-March, the focus shifted to how they could assist essential workers. It was one of the leaders from Texas that suggested the simple act of delivering packages. Lammers recalls how this idea began to grow among her colleagues and morphed into a nationwide effort: Project Sparkle. At its core, Project Sparkle aims to bring a smile and joy to all essential workers across the country through jewelry deliveries.
Lammers began her work right away in promoting the initiative and starting her deliveries across the Midwest. As a tennis player of the Ann Arbor community, Lammers started with her teammate and registered nurse Heather Cooper of St. Joe’s Hospital in Ann Arbor. As Lammers began to explain what she was trying to accomplish to Cooper, it was clear that this was exactly the positivity that everyone needed.
“The impact has been huge across the country, which has been amazing,” said Lammers. “It really started with wanting to show these essential workers, not just hospital workers, but essential workers of any kind, how much they are appreciated.”
Following the initial delivery at St. Joe’s, Lammers was featured on the local news, and from there, it snowballed. Lammers was fulfilling orders in three different states and has delivered well over 600 packages to essential workers.
“It started as us being able to share a little token of appreciation on one hand, and then it gave business owners who weren’t quite sure how we would be affected by this…a way to continue our business and something to focus on in what was a super uncertain time for us as well,” said Lammers.
Lammers says she has been amazed with the overwhelming positive response and humbled that her efforts have even inspired others throughout the Ann Arbor community to create their own acts of kindness.
“It’s just a piece of jewelry, I’m not saving lives out here, but it provides a smile and serves as a token of appreciation to people, who at this point in life and with the pandemic, could really use it,” said Lammers. “It’s all I can do, so that was kind of my message.
“I know jewelry, this is what I do, so this is how I’m going to choose to give back.”
With the hope that individuals can safely resume daily activities soon, Lammers is looking forward to the next phase of Project Sparkle, Random Acts of Sparkle. As Lammers describes it, this new phase will still embrace providing jewelry as tokens of joy, gratitude and positivity. Until then, Lammers will continue to do what she knows best for essential workers: spread a little sparkle.
To learn more about Project Sparkle, contact Christine Lammers here.
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