Originally published in the Baton Rouge Parents magazine's April 2021 issue and on its website.
While most kids took advantage of additional screen time when quarantining in 2020, Annie Engholm used her extra time at home to craft. She turned her hobby into a lucrative Etsy shop and has given away all her profits.
“I wanted to get rid of COVID, and I was feeling like everyone else wanted to do that as well,” says Annie, a 10-year-old fourth grader at Episcopal School of Baton Rouge. “I thought of the store to raise the money to do it.”
She launched Annie’s Ever After Etsy shop (etsy.com/shop/AnniesEverAfterShop) in March 2020, and has since raised more than $500, which she has donated to Baton Rouge General. “My goal is to give a thousand bucks to them,” she says.
Annie sells jewelry, keychains and an original creation called click clack clams, “two clams that are painted and decorated by pretty tape and googly eyes and you can click them together.”
Her parents, Ginny and Scott Engholm, pay for all of the supplies and shipping out of pocket, so everything customers pay is donated.
Every Sunday, Annie rides horses, and her favorite school subject is science. Artistically, she loves to sing, and she looks forward to being able to sing in school again.
“Annie has such a big heart,” Ginny says. “She sees something and wants to make it better and is always thinking of ways she can do that and make the world a better place.”