On a humid summer day in the Dominican Republic, Anvi Vemulakonda saw something that would change her life: stray dogs, unprotected and malnourished, roaming the streets. What she didn’t know was that months later this would lead her and her friend Ksenia Ramirez to sell handmade keychains to save animal tested dogs.
K+A Keychains and Accessories was created to save beagles from animal testing, by co-founders Vemulakonda and Ramirez. Alongside their keychain business, they created Furever Friends Foundation to help raise awareness and host fundraising events.
“We wanted to do something to expand out of our comfort zone,” Ramirez said. “We both like crafting and have a passion for animals, so we started a business.”
After discovering the foundation while on vacation, the girls set out to make a change using their hobby of creating keychains to donate money to the Beagle Foundation.
“We settled on keychains because they are the most cost effective and easiest to mass produce,” Ramirez said.
After realizing their values matched the foundation’s mission of rescuing and rehabilitating animals used in research and testing, the girls decided to donate a fifth of their profits from the keychains.
“Our business gives the message of giving back to causes that you are passionate about and really helping out animals that can’t help themselves because of the position they are in,” Vemulakonda said.
In hopes of further helping animals, Ramirez and Vemulakonda are hosting many special winter events in hopes of partnering with other local animal shelters.
“We’re thinking about releasing a Christmas collection of our keychains that we want to get installed into the farmers market we work with,” Vemulakonda said. “We also are planning on making blankets for all of the animals and shelters as a winter project.”
These special winter occasions are marketed through their social media posts and videos on their TikTok and Instagram at ka_keychains_accessories as a way to help grow the businesses outreach and awareness.
“Because [Ksenia and Anvi] are important to people and animal testing [is] becoming a rising issue, I wanted to support their business and spread awareness,” customer
Madison To said. “The money [Ksenia and Anvi] are able to donate would help to prevent this issue and help support their pure intentions which is something I want to be a part of.”
If you’re interested in supporting K+A Keychains and Accessories, visit their Etsy shop to see merchandise!
