Vivian displaying some of her bracelets.
Stein Assisted Living resident Vivian Goldstein is using her love of beading to support another of her passions – helping others. Vivian, 93, has raised over $1,000 to support humanitarian aid to Ukraine.
Vivian was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY where she lived until moving to Stein Assisted Living in September 2021. Vivian explains that she led a very active lifestyle in Brooklyn and loved volunteering and helping those in need. As a volunteer, she ran the patient library at Maimonides Hospital for about 30 years. According to Vivian, giving to charities is also something that has always been important to her, explaining that she carefully selected least three charities to donate to each month.
Moving out of Brooklyn was a difficult but necessary step for Vivian. Moving to Stein Assisted Living in order to be closer to her daughter, Sara Fiore, she had to find new passions and ways to stay active. She says what she enjoys most these days is anything that allows her to be creative – painting, crafting, and of course, beading. In fact, she enjoyed the previously once-per-week beading workshop at Stein Assisted Living so much that she requested that a second weekly session be added, which Stein staff was happy to do. She also beads on her own whenever she has free time. “She loves making bracelets,” says Sara.
Vivian with her daughter, Sara.
Seeing how much her mother loves beading and making bracelets, Vivian’s daughter, Sara had the idea of turning her mom’s passion into a business. She even recruited the help of a Facebook mom’s group to help her come up with a name for the business – Brooklyn Beads By Viv. Sara first thought of creating an Etsy page for her mother, but as she was contemplating that idea the war in Ukraine had begun. A conversation with her mom quickly turned into a charity project where Vivian would create 50 blue and yellow bracelets that could be sold, with the profits donated to the Ukrainian Cultural Center of NJ in Whippany.
The bracelets sold for $20 each, mostly on the Facebook mom’s page and to friends. One hundred percent of the proceeds, $1,000, was sent to UCCNJ a few weeks ago. Interest in the bracelets has been so high that Vivian is currently working on more bracelets and is hoping to donate another $500 soon. She says, “I’ll make them as long as people want to buy them.”
“I enjoy doing it and I’m happy to see that the money is going to the right place,” Vivian says of her project. “I feel good. I am very anxious to do what I can to help and also to keep me busy. I feel I’m doing something good.”
If you’re interested in purchasing a bracelet, email Vivian at [email protected].