Looking for a great holiday gift? S2isters Charity makes handmade items and gives its proceeds away.
At the Gomez family home in Dover, it’s not uncommon to find a dining room table covered with fabric and sewing material. Since Kari Gomez’s school-aged daughters, Mary and Amelia Gomez, have started S2isters Charity during the summer, their clothing and accessory business has been booming — and it’s all for a good cause.
The girls make and sell wristlets, bows, wallets and bunnies. With the proceeds, they have already donated about $1,000 to charity. They have donated $300 to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, $200 to Relay for Life and $500 to the New York-based Dancing Dreams, an organization that helps kids with disabilities learn to dance.
“We wanted to donate to a dancing foundation because we’re dancers ourselves,” Amelia said.
Mary and Amelia have also sent wristlets to the dancers of Dancing Dreams and sponsored a dance class.
S2isters Charity started with seventh-grader Mary. She wanted to learn how to make a purse. After learning how to do so from her friend’s grandmother, Bonita Axley, Mary’s sister, fifth-grader Amelia, also took an interest in sewing.
The girls originally decided to use money from their startup to pay for their dance shoes but decided instead to pay it forward.
“We decided to start donating the money to other people that needed help,” Mary said.
Kari Gomez shared the girls’ products via social media. She also took one of the girls’ bags to work and asked coworkers how much they would pay for it to determine a price point. Since then, the business has expanded by leaps and bounds.
“They’ve always talked about doing a business,” Kari Gomez said. “We’re about 275 items later.”
Amelia, who is a student at Bailey Elementary School, participates in chorus and running club. She’s also on safety patrol and a straight-A student.
Mary, who attends Tomlin Middle School, is in band and part of the school’s STEM program.
“When you have a whole bunch of orders and after school activities, it’s kind of hard to find time,” Amelia said.
Despite their busy schedules, the girls find time for their work on the weekends. As the business has grown, they’ve also expanded their inventory. They make custom orders, and have started to make pencil cases and wallets. The girls have also learned how to make stuffed bunnies out of scraps of felt.
Kari Gomez, who previously did not sew, has learned a lot from her daughters’ newfound interest.
“It’s actually very relaxing for me,” Kari Gomez said. “I’ve just been more of their marketer and their cheerleader. If we need to take a break, we take a break.”
The sisters typically have between 10 to 15 orders at a time.
As the holiday season approaches and the orders continue to come in, the girls have already selected their next charity: Casa Corazon de la Misericordia, an orphanage in their father’s home country, Honduras.
Contact Emily Topper at etopper@plantcityobserver.com.
MEET THE SEAMSTRESSES
What is your favorite item to make?
“Bows,” Amelia Gomez said. “I like to wear bows a lot and they’re just fun to make.”
“I like making purses and small bags,” Mary Gomez said.
Mary’s interest in making a purse was what first got the charity started.
SUPPORT THE CHARITY
Facebook: Facebook.com/S2istersCharity/
Email: s2isterscharity@gmail.com
