Yaga’s Entertainment is bringing something exciting to the 111th Mardi Gras! Galveston celebration. Introducing ‘Beads for Needs’ – a new program geared toward getting Mardi Gras beads out of the trash while giving Life Skills students the opportunity to build a business from the ground up and become self-sufficient.

Each year, Yaga’s Entertainment buys 3 million strands of plastic beads to be thrown during Mardi Gras! Galveston, and after all the fun is had those beads either add to the trash or get stashed away in a closet to be forgotten about.

Now, those beads will have a renewed purpose in helping the students at Ball High in Daren Muren’s Life Skills program and Rob Lewis’ entrepreneurial program – Incubator. The Incubator business students will work closely with Life Skills students to collect, sort, clean and repackage the beads for sale in their upcoming online store. 

Students will coordinate the collection of beads through community events. BHS Service and social clubs will work alongside community groups in an effort to round up 1 million beads prior to the 2022 carnival season.  Beads will be collected in specific bead drive containers to be decorated by the GISD Art Program in a festive Mardi Gras! fashion. 

The beads are just one piece of the plan for the Life Skills program and will provide funding for the endeavor. Eventually, Muren and Yaga’s Entertainment envision students who have graduated from the Life Skills program working in a community center that houses the bead project, a café, merchandise, and a laundry. This student-run operation will provide resources for the community and important entrepreneurial skills to the students. In addition, it will provide a paycheck to students so they can see the benefits of their hard work. 

Beads stay out of the trash. Students learn how to run a business. The community benefits.  

Partnership opportunities are available: 

• There is a need for containers to be used for bead drop-off locations, including space at Ball High School and Mardi Gras! Galveston.  
• Corporate bead drive events in November 2021  

For information about joining this unique collaboration between Ball High School and our business community, please contact Elizabeth Matthews with Yaga’s Entertainment at (409) 770-0999.