Meet the #MilKid Behind the Blue Star Welcome Week Bracelet

Published: September 28, 2021

Meet the #MilKid Behind the Blue Star Welcome Week Bracelet

Have you gotten your Blue Star Welcome Week paracord bracelet yet? The bracelet was specifically designed to be a connector and conversation starter for military, Veteran, and civilian families. The red, white, and blue colors represent military-connected families of all service branches, and the yellow ribbon represents a commitment to welcome military and Veteran families to their new neighborhoods.

Need even more of a reason to get yours today? Meet Kayla, a military kid who helped create and produce the bracelet! 

With her Dad serving in the Air Force, Kayla has lived a life of travel and adventure. “Growing up, my parents always fostered an environment of inquisitive curiosity,” Kayla shared. “By the time I turned 18, I had seen and experienced more than most people will in their whole lives. I have stood where the Berlin wall once stood, seen the Eiffel Tower, and smelled tulips blooming under a windmill in Holland. I have touched the stairs leading up to the attic that hid Anne Frank from the Nazis during WWII, visited the stone tower that inspired the story of Rapunzel, and met the president. I am thankful every day for the once-in-a-lifetime experiences that the military life provided me.”

All of Kayla’s experiences encouraged and inspired her creative spirit. Her journey brought her to jewelry making. She launched Be Beautiful Designs focused on creating quality, handcrafted products. That’s exactly what she’s done with the Blue Star Welcome Week paracord bracelet. To date, she’s made hundreds of the bracelets…all by hand! Why take such time and effort? Because, as a military child, she understands the importance. 

All of those adventures, while incredible and life-changing, have meant moving and resettling often. Kayla has felt the pain of moving away from close friends and the anxiety about making connections within her new community. Creating the paracord bracelet was a way to not only share her craft in a beautiful way, but to also have a hand in paving the way for military and Veteran families to easily forge relationships and identify individuals who are there to support them.

So, make sure you purchase your bracelet today. And when you do, here’s how to wear it:

1. Show military and Veteran families who’ve moved into your community that you’re here to help welcome them as their neighbor by wearing it on your left wrist.
2. Show that you’re a military or Veteran family new to the community and you’d appreciate a welcome by wearing it on your right wrist.

We have even more ways for you to put down roots in your community through Blue Star Welcome Week 2021. It’s all happening now! From September 25th – October 3rd, we invite you to participate in a local event, introduce yourself, and connect with us. It doesn’t take much to make a big difference for those who sacrifice in service to our country. Learn more about how you can get involved at www.bluestarwelcomeweek.org.