Three students – Lynn Zhang ’23, Joanne Li ’23, and Karen Zhang ’24 – wanting to combine their passion for community service with their artistic talents – have launched Mirukafei (pronounced MEER-oo-ca-fey), a sticker fundraiser whose name comes from the Japanese word for milk and the Chinese term for coffee and was influenced by their love of boba tea.
Initially funded by the Harry Messec Grant, a grant set aside for student-led community service projects, and now financially self-sustaining, they design, produce, and sell stickers that benefit non-profit organizations.
They sold their first batch of stickers through the Academy bookstores in December and January, donating nearly $500 to Animal Humane NM. Their second series supported The Trevor Project, a non-profit organization that provides suicide prevention services to LGBTQ+ youth, and their most recent batch supports S.A.F.E. House. To date, they’ve sold close to 1,500 stickers singly or in packs.
“It’s definitely surpassed our expectations,” Joanne says, “and it seems like it’s still going strong. We’ve had lots of interest in keeping it going, and we’ve selected our next team.” Because she and Lynn are graduating, they recruited a team to continue the project next year that includes sticker designers, social media managers, and a director.
“You really get to know the organization you’re donating to,” Lynn says. “We tried to expand our support beyond the organizations our school typically works with.”
Follow Mirukafei on Instagram to see their work and what’s coming next.
