Two weeks into the 2015-2016 school year, Spanish teacher Lisa Plichta was ecstatic to have received a small package postmarked from Nicaragua and brimming with meaning. Excitedly, she opened the package and was greeted by hand-carved maracas and a letter thanking her for the largest donation the Nicaraguan-based organization “The Pulsera (bracelet) Project” has ever received.

“It was a wonderful surprise to find out how big our impact was,” Plichta said. “To do something so impactful and know that we can make it even bigger is more than exciting, it’s exhilarating.”

The Pulsera Project is a fair-trade organization that supports Nicaraguan artists who grew up in orphanages by selling handmade pulseras (bracelets) in over 900 schools across the U.S. All of the proceeds from each sale are returned to the artists.

Last spring, Plichta led a coalition of eager LT students in selling “pulseras” to members of the LT community which culminated in a $4,600 donation from LT to The Pulsera Project.

“[Her] positivity and willingness to try and do better for other people is really awesome,” SC Pulsera Project President Michael Henehan ’18 said.

Although The Pulsera Project is not a part of Plichta’s curriculum, she includes it in her lessons to instill the virtues of volunteerism in her students.

“I have been wanting to do a service learning project for a long time and this caught my eye,” Plichta said. “LT kids, being the best students on the planet, absolutely embraced it and ran with it.”

According to her colleague Anuja Kolathu, Plichta sets up a platform for her students to shine by introducing the idea of The Pulsera Project to them and allowing them to execute it.

“[What Plichta has done with the Pulsera Project] is revolutionary,”  Kolathu said. “The amount of money they raised for that cause is amazing.”

As a result of last year’s success, Plichta and her students will be selling pulseras at NC and SC from Nov. 30-Dec. 17. Each pulsera is $5 and is accompanied by a tag that introduces the story of its artist.

“I feel called to be a global citizen, [to] reach out and [to] guide my students to think outside the textbook and the classroom,” Plichta said. “It’s really fulfilling to work together with my students on making a difference. It has been the best part of my career.”