Slime may have seemed like a passing fad at first, but as teachers, parents and store owners have seen, this was a product with staying—and sticking—power. Everyone has their own secret recipe, with young teens and tweens spending countless hours finding magical combinations for their very own slime.
Jaclyn and Serena Agus of Englewood were no different from the rest of the slime-loving middle schoolers. “Any free time they had was spent in their slime room,” said their mother, Idit Agus. “It became a full-time project, finding new mix-ins, fragrances and naming their slime.” They even created their own Instagram page (@SlimeMarketSisters) to market and sell the slime. They have butter slime, glitter, scented, gold leaf mix-in and just about everything else imaginable. As an added benefit, they are safety conscious and keep their slime Borax-free.
This past year, Jaclyn, a student at Moriah, and Serena, a student at The Windward School, went with their mother and other women in their community on a special bat mitzvah mission to Israel, led by their rebbetzin, Chana Reichman. As part of the inspirational trip, the women visited Shalva Children’s Center in Jerusalem, which focuses on providing services to children with disabilities. “The children from Shalva came over to me and spoke to me and sat on my lap,” said Jaclyn. “We were both part of the experience, and the building was so bright and colorful; it felt so happy.”
“We met some of the children who go to Shalva,” said Serena. She recounted one child in particular, Yossi, who cannot speak, see or hear, and whose parents started Shalva because of him. Even without such vital senses, “Yossi still found a way to interact with us,” she said.
Jaclyn and Serena were so taken with Shalva’s facility as well as the staff and the children with whom they interacted that they decided to change the focus of their slime business. “We decided to use our slime business to raise money for Shalva,” said Serena and Jaclyn. “We want to send money so they can continue to help children with disabilities enjoy many different things.”
Their parents, though always amused and supportive of the slime fascination, are immensely proud of the direction Slime Market Sisters went in the wake of the Israel mission. “It has become so much more meaningful now,” said Idit. “It’s ‘slime with a purpose.’” She also said how their opportunity to interact with the children, and specifically Yossi, helped them see how Shalva gives children a unique lifestyle and they can now interact with other kids because of the benefits provided at Shalva. “Visiting Shalva motivates them even more and I feel fortunate that what they’re doing has a purpose,” she said.
Serena and Jaclyn have already raised $700 for Shalva and plan to keep making their slime and raising more money. They have even expanded their tzedakah efforts, and this past week attended an Emunah event where they sold slime on behalf of Emunah.
“We are so appreciative of the trip to Israel and the perspective it gave the girls,” said Idit. “The Israel mission was filled with chesed. When we went to Shalva we saw this incredible space that was created for children with disabilities. We didn’t want to leave because the environment was so happy. We are huge fans of slime and this is great.”
To see the creative slime concoctions, visit their Instagram page (@SlimeMarketSisters) or their website https://www.slimemarkets.com/.
By Jenny Gans
