7-year-old raises $22,000 for hospital by selling her homemade bracelets

Using her jewelry-making skills, Hayley Orlinsky has raised $22,000 for the hospital that took care of her when she was an infant — and she has no plans on stopping there.

Seven years ago, the second-grader was a patient in the neonatal intensive care unit at the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago. Orlinsky told The New York Times that when the coronavirus pandemic began in March, she heard on the news that the hospital was low on personal protective equipment, and decided to start selling rubber bracelets as a fundraiser.

Orlinsky got to work making bracelets in a variety of colors and taking custom orders. Her mom spread the word on Facebook, and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot purchased bracelets in the colors of the Chicago Bears, Chicago White Sox, and the Chicago flag. Soon, people were buying Orlinsky's bracelets from as far away as Italy.

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So far, Orlinsky has sold more than 9,000 bracelets and raised $22,000 for the hospital's COVID-19 relief fund. This is beyond the $200 goal Orlinsky set for herself, and she told the Times she won't stop "until COVID is over."