Local 5-Year-Old Starts Sophia's Sweets to Help the Hungry

Photos Courtesy Donald Martell

Donald Martell’s 5-year-old daughter Sophia told her dad she wanted to help people who did not have food and before he knew it she came up with the idea for Sophia’s Sweets.

“We have talked about this before, usually when she doesn’t want to finish her supper, but also when we have helped with food drives in the past,” Donald Martell says. “Her Daisy Girl Scout Troop in Wilmington will be purchasing and donating a Thanksgiving meal for a family in need and something in her little head must have clicked with Christmas coming up.”

When he asked Sophia how she wanted to help, she told her father she wanted to make candy and sell it.

“Sophia has a very large sweet tooth, like most kids, but she is also very creative,” he says. “I asked her if she wanted to make candy pops to sell and she was so excited. I asked her what she wanted to call her business and she said ‘Sophia’s Sweets!’ So we ran with it.”

Now Sophia is making candy lollipops to sell for $1 each and all the proceeds are going to be donated to the Tewksbury Food Pantry before the Christmas holiday.

Sophia and her dad bought candy melts, different kind of molds, bags and set a goal to sell 100 pops ($100).

Sophia’s grandmother is selling the lollipops at her business Spinner’s Pizza Parlor in Andover, where Martell says people are loving them.

“They’ve been flying off the shelf which has made her so happy, and a little tired since she has to keep making more,” he says.

Sophia’s mother Erica Martell is also helping out. She works at Carl Michael Salon in Wakefield, which has also been very supportive with the idea.

Not only have they been selling these pops over the past week and a half, but people have also donated a few dollars here and there for the cause.

“Sophia has her mom’s creativity and my sense for business,” Martell says. “It has been great to watch and is even greater that at such a young age, Sophia is learning a valuable life lesson.”

He also has no doubt Sophia will hit her goal and even exceed it.

“We have sold 40 pops to date with another month plus to go,” he says. “I have notified the pantry and they also love what she is doing.”

The Martell’s will be touring the Tewksbury Food Pantry soon so Sophia can get a true sense of what they do and why.

In mid-December they will gather all the funds raised and bring a check to the food pantry.

If you’d like to make a donation or place an order you can email SophiasSweets@yahoo.com or use the PayPal link https://paypal.me/SophiasSweets.

Martell also encourages anyone to use the email address if they want to pass along a kind word to continue motivating Sophia.

“It’s that time of year when the community pulls together so let’s hope they help with this amazing cause,” he says.