Mount St. Mary Academy (Little Rock, Arkansas) HoneyBelles Club Raises Money for Hive Aid in Australia

We have a student club at Mount St. Mary Academy called the HoneyBelles that maintains a bee-friendly garden and educational hive on campus. The club regularly holds fundraisers at Mount for causes that support bees and beekeepers, and its members share a lot of wonderful information about the importance of bees with our community. Their mission nicely aligns with one of the Critical Concerns of the Sisters of Mercy: Earth.

Most recently, the HoneyBelles became very concerned about the plight of bees and beekeepers in Australia because of the drought conditions and resulting bushfires. They reached out to the New South Wales Apiarist Association to find out how they could help and were directed to the Hive Fund, a drought and bushfire relief campaign managed by Rural Aid aimed specifically at struggling beekeepers in Australia.

The HoneyBelles partnered with others in our local community, such as Walnut Valley Honey Company, to learn how to make lip balm using beeswax. The club members then spent time making and selling lip balm over the past several weeks in order to raise funds for the professional beekeepers seriously impacted by the recent drought and bushfires in Australia. They were ultimately able to raise $500 for Hive Aid, a wonderful example of the HoneyBelles' effort to #MakeMercyReal.

Messages to the Honeybelles c/- Jamie Groat - Director of Communications and Marketing Mt St Mary