A table at Saturday’s Opp Rattlesnake Rodeo was filled with brightly colored bracelets and caught the eyes of many passing through the track at Channell-Lee Stadium.

Opp Middle School’s Student Council Association has raised more than $2,500 through the sales of hand-woven bracelets, or pulseras, to help connect Central American artists.

SCA members were on hand at the rodeo selling pulseras to the public.

“We have been selling these for two weeks,” said Brianna Bowers of the SCA. “It takes people out of camps and helps them stay with their families.”

The Pulsera Project keeps women and youth out of sweat shops and allows them to stay at home with their families.

The project buys hand-woven pulseras from Central American artists and then partners with student groups to sell them through U.S. schools.

Each bracelet has a label attached, with the name and photo of the Nicaraguan artist who created it.

Nicaragua is the second poorest country in the Northern Hemisphere.

Through the funds raised, the project provides sustainable fair trade employment and dramatically expands economic opportunities for almost 100 artists in Nicaragua.

The money also funds many programs that empower people through secondary education, university scholarships, housing programs, youth shelter support, workers’ rights advocacy and funding for environmental initiatives.

The pulseras or bracelets are sold for a nominal fee.

Organizers said they wanted to do an interested in doing one international service project this year and selected the Pulsera Project.

They had sold the more than $2,500 before the rodeo and said they hoped to sell even more on Saturday.

OMS joins more than 1,000 schools in the U.S. who have been working with the Pulsera Project.