Manalapan Teens' Mask Sale Raises $3,000+ For Local Charities

MANALAPAN, NJ – Pandemic hobbies range far and wide: some New Jersey residents take up a new contactless sport or try exercising at an outdoor gym. Some folks try their hand at a musical instrument or a new form of artistic expression. Others even go the extra mile to make a difference in their community through fundraisers for in-demand products.

When Manalapan resident Chelsea Geller, 13, informed her friends that she was interested in starting a mask business in order to distribute low-cost, stylish masks to friends and community members, peers Mollie Saftlas 13, Ava Bataglio, 13 and Ilana Kasner, 12, quickly joined in the effort.

It was an exciting combination of leadership, entrepreneurship and community assistance that led the girls to start their own project rooted in charity work.

“We tried to come up with roles and ways to organize the business,” said Geller. “Who to advertise, who would keep track of the money. We came up with an overall plan first for how we would do this."

An Instagram page for the finalized product, Masks 4 Miracles, was launched earlier in July. While the girls’ moms spread the word to other parents in Manalapan, Geller and her teammates advertised the colorful masks over social media for $5 apiece. Custom masks with more intricate designs were advertised for $10, while a convenient mask and hand sanitizer combo paired for $10.

“No profits went to us – all profits went to nonprofit organizations,” said Geller. “One is in our community and the other one is in our state, so we thought it was a really good idea to help both.”

Before the girls knew it, the group had sold over 600 masks during the month of July and made three times more than their original $1,000 goal. In fact, many buyers of the tye dye products were returning customers who eventually bought matching masks for entire families.

“With camp being cancelled, this was an amazing summer project,” said Bataglio’s mother Katia. “And this project turned out to be so much bigger than we even expected. They got to learn about business and sell masks and raise money for local charities.”

A whopping $3,000 was garnered from the Manalapan residents’ efforts, with 100% of the proceeds split between two organizations, Open Door of Freehold (which provides emergency food, funding and mentoring to locals experiencing homelessness) and The NJ COVID-19 Pandemic Relief Fund.

All four young residents told Patch that the experience was not only an incredible first look into the world of business, but also instilled a feeling of purposeful work within the group.

“It just feels good to know that I helped a homeless person and people who are sick,” said Kasner.

As schools begin to reopen and the summer months start to cool down, the four Manalapan students will be taking a break from Masks 4 Miracles in order to prepare for the upcoming academic year. Aug. 15 will see one of the project’s last big sales, which will take place at Jersey Freeze in Freehold Township.

Between 4 and 7 p.m., customers can purchase $5 masks and $10 chains at the 120 Manalapan Ave. location – just in time for the new school year.

“I think our thought process was that the project would be great summer work,” Bataglio’s mother told Patch. “So that was something that we did in July, and now in August, the girls will now be getting ready for school, reflecting on this amazing experience.”

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