I cope with political anxiety through art, and I have long sought to pair creativity with action. So far, with my crocheted turtles, my customers and I have raised:

• $125.50 for the Marathon Turtle Hospital
• $60 for Heal Palestine

I’m autistic, and my special interest is turtles. In June I started crocheting turtles, and pretty soon I had a box full. In October I sold them for the first time at the Heurich House Mini-Markt, with 10% of each turtle’s funds going to the Turtle Hospital in the Florida Keys. I’m not affiliated with the hospital in any way, but I love keeping up with the sea turtle patients and the fantastic recovery stories the Turtle Hospital posts on their social media pages. Each crocheted turtle I sold included a fact about turtles or a nonprofit dedicated to turtle conservation, teaching customers about the ways humans can help protect endangered and threatened species.

At the 2025 Fall Festival for the Franciscan Monastery Garden Guild in Washington. D.C. I sold my watermelon turtles for the first time and they were a fan favorite. 50% of their proceeds went to Heal Palestine, another organization I am in no way affiliated with, but wanted to do my part to support.

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