As we transition from carnival season into the Lenten season many of you have bags of beads just lying around at home. Well, here at News Ten we have the perfect solution.

It’s called Mardi Gras beads-N-More and it’s put on by LARC, a local nonprofit here in the Hub City.

They provide housing, education assistance and many other programs to help those with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

“You’ve had the fun at the parades, you’ve caught all of the Mardi Gras beads you can, now they’re in your way at home and you don’t know what to do with them. So if you donate them back to LARC, it provides jobs and opportunities for individuals,” LARC’s marketing director, Billie Cantrell, told KLFY’s Kellie Brown.

Once the beads are sorted and separated they’re sold at a cheaper price than other bead stores.

“It provides them the opportunity to be out in the community, make friends while they’re here working in the get paid for the job that they do here and they take pride in their jobs here,” Cantrell explained.

Alzina Dural, who owns a business in Lafayette, takes advantage of this opportunity every year after Mardi Gras.

“I run a daycare and when we collect the beads we put them all in the fish tank and then we all ride together and then we drop them off here,” Dural said..

She’s personally seen the good work that LARC has done, “A lot of people get good help with LARC, so I think it’s a great idea and it gives back to the community and it stays here in Lafayette.”

Dural also uses this good deed to teach her students that helping others can also be fun, “The kids love it and it’s a good way to show them how to give back.”

LARC has a number of drop off locations including any Goodwill store, Raising Canes in Lafayette and Broussard and the Lafayette Public Library System.

Cantrell says they collect beads all year-round and not just during Mardi Gras.