Island children raise money, and hope, through custom Christmas ornaments

The Stubbert children love walking along the beach, collecting shells and sea glass, and cleaning up trash along the way.

It should serve as no surprise that Adison, 11, Hayes, six, and Katie, five, have called themselves Beachcomber crafts.

The three are selling handmade ornaments, raising money for charity this Christmas season.

"We are already going to the beaches all the time winter, summer, spring picking up garbage. They've done it for the last four years," said Denise Metcalfe, the children's mother.

They are turning oyster and clam shells into Christmas ornaments.

They don't keep the proceeds. Metcalfe mother wanted this Christmas to be a learning experience.

"With everything going on in the world right now, it's very important that they understand that there's people that are much in need," she said.

The hard part was getting the kids on board, said Metcalfe.

"We wanted them to understand giving is more important, but they are still kids and they like to have their getting."

The children selected Hope for Wildlife, a charity they knew because of the TV show. Hope for Wildlife, based in Nova Scotia,is dedicated to wildlife conservation and preservation.

"She is an idol in our house," said Metcalfe, speaking about Hope Swinimer, the organization's founder.

The children hope the organization uses the money to buy tools,as well as supplies made necessary by the pandemic.

"Things like more masks and all that stuffbecause now it's really hard for people to get close together and help move the animals to different spots," saidAdison.

The fundraising has already left a lasting impression on the children.When asked if they will be doing it every Christmas from now on, Hayes said:"No, every day."

"We'vealready kind of won our goal already," said Metcalfe. "And every time we sit down to do crafts, we talk about it. So it kind of opens the door to have more discussion about giving."

The children have sold a handful of ornamentsand hope to deliver the money they raise in person when travel between provinces is allowed again.

But, if those restrictions don't change, Metcalfe said she hopes they can arrange a virtual meeting with Swinimerso the kids can see the results of their giving.

"I can only guess how happy she's going to be, and they'll see that it really pays off," she said.

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