The story behind the colorful, beaded bracelets, bearing the tiny "Hope" charm, being worn by some girls and women in Pittsburgh's eastern suburbs began in June 2005.

Rachel Tobin, who will be 14 on Sunday, hadn't been feeling well for a few months, so she and her mother, Linda Tobin, went to the doctor for a check up.

	Lake Fong, Post-Gazette Rachel Tobin, almost 14, of Churchill, sells beaded jewelry to raise money for research on juvenile-onset diabetes. Diagnosed in 2005, she has raised at least $9,000. Click photo for larger image.

That day, "we got the call that changed our lives," Mrs. Tobin said. The family, which also includes dad, David, and little brother, Josh, 11, lives in Churchill.

They found out Rachel has Type 1, or juvenile-onset diabetes, for which there is no cure.

At first, like any family facing this serious disease, they struggled to keep Rachel's blood glucose levels at an even keel. They relearned what healthy eating patterns were. And they began to find out more about research being done to find a cure.

Rachel believed she could contribute to that research through the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International, and she knew how: She would sell bracelets she learned how to make from her grandmother, Carol Lewis, an avid "beader."

Rachel's family and some friends got down to work. The Tobin house became bead central as they put together the jewelry Rachel had designed.

Color is the hallmark of Rachel's bracelets, and she wanted it that way.

"Our look is more fun," she said.

Mrs. Tobin told her friend, Carol Kinkela, of Plum, about the bracelets. Ms. Kinkela owns the women's clothing store Carabella in Oakmont. Soon Rachel had a bigger outlet for her creations.

Ms. Kinkela offered to provide space to sell the bracelets at $25 each. All of the money was earmarked for Rachel's charity. Ms. Kinkela said she thought the bracelets were beautiful and would sell.

Using her store as a conduit to gather money for research for a disease affecting her friend's daughter was not a problem at all.

"I just recognized the talent," Ms. Kinkela said.

They raised $9,000 between September 2005 and March 2006. The endeavor allowed Rachel to be named Western Pennsylvania Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Student Volunteer of the Year in June.

After that, Rachel took some time off from her fund raising for school activities at Shady Side Academy in Fox Chapel, where she's on the lacrosse, field hockey and basketball teams. But she never believed she was done with the project.

Cindy Friedman, owner of Moonrise Beads in Monroeville, is Rachel's source for beads. Ms. Friedman also sells Rachel's jewelry and suggested other bead enthusiasts who use her shop might help Rachel make more bracelets.

Work on Rachel's bracelets started again this year, when volunteers began using a big classroom in Ms. Friedman's shop to assemble the bracelets according to the girl's designs.

In her first effort, the family covered the cost of the beads. Since the project has resumed, the cost has been deducted from the funds raised. The bracelets cost about $5 each to make.

Volunteers who believe in Rachel's cause work on the bracelets there; so do some of the bead store students who take time out of a class.

Customers for Rachel's bracelets include some men, as well as women. Ms. Kinkela said one businessman bought 52 of them for his company's female employees.

Carabella customer Frani Caplan has bought a few, too.

"I buy them for all my friends," the Churchill resident said. She especially likes giving them to someone who has had bad news or might need a bit of cheering up. Ms. Caplan said the little "Hope" charm can mean many things.

Those who buy or receive the bracelets take them home in a small organza pouch with a little tag on it. The tag explains how the charm is a symbol for hope for a cure and that all proceeds go to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Mrs. Tobin said Rachel is managing her disease extremely well. She now has an insulin pump, which has made her and her family's life a bit easier. It automatically releases the proper amount of the medicine she needs during the day. The Tobins still must get up around 3 a.m. every day to check Rachel's blood glucose levels, though.

She goes to "sleep-over" camp like other kids and someday will go away to college, Mrs. Tobin said.

Rachel doesn't limit her fund raising to bracelets, either. She assembled a team named Rally for Rachel, made up of 75 family members and friends, who raised $10,000 during the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Pittsburgh Walk for the Cure in Schenley Park in September.

Rachel's favorite subjects in school are Latin and math. But she sighs and answers "I have no clue" when she's asked what she might want to do when she grows up.

There's no lack of passion there. Raising enough money to find a cure for a disease that changed her life is something she wants to do and she doesn't want to wait until she's grown up to do it.

Carabella is located at 328 Allegheny River Blvd., in Oakmont. Moonrise Beads is at 3948 Monroeville Blvd., Monroeville.