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Caps for Kids benefit several local children’s charities

CARMEL VALLEY — It is often said that “one person’s trash is another person’s treasure.” Ethan Epstein, a 12-year-old student at Carmel Valley Middle School, has proven this adage with his growing business called “Caps for Kids.” Epstein, an active Kids Korps member for more than seven years, started his Caps for Kids project about a 1 ½ years ago, when he introduced his project of turning bottle caps into fun magnets, to his Kids Korps chapter at Solana Pacific School. His peers enjoyed making the magnets and then sold them, raising $120, half of which was donated to the Make-A-Wish Foundation and the other half to Conner’s Cause. Since then, Epstein has taken his cap designs to another level using different designs to make different style magnets and adding necklaces to his product line. Ethan’s Caps For Kids program has raised more than $1,300 in profits donated to various causes that benefit children.
Epstein and his friends, Sean Colford and Dylan Metz, participated in the San Diego Family Fair selling Caps For Kids and raised money for “Habitat for Humanity.” His most recent goal is to use some of his Caps for Kids proceeds to fund the production of portable multi-sensory units that he and two peers, Mandy Wirt and Brandon Liu invented. This invention won them national recognition as they earned awards from two prestigious science/technology contests. The PMSU helps severely, multiply handicapped children’s development and, and to more positively relate to their environment, by stimulating the user’s five senses. Epstein hopes to earn enough money with his Caps For Kids to build several units to be donated to schools, agencies and families in the San Diego area.
For more information about Caps For Kids you can e-mail Ethan at [email protected] or visit www.capsforkidssd.com.