Sarah's sweet story: Saultlebrity loves Justin Bieber (6 photos)
Friday, March 01, 2013 by: Connie Carello
Sarah Nelson, known as Sarah Bugs, is a candid, chatty, proud and ambitious young lady.
She's also a nine-year-old winner of a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.
In July, the Government of Canada gave her a certificate of recognition for her entrepreneurial endeavours and selfless spirit.
And she's the CEO of her own baking company known as “Sarah Bugs Sweettreats.”
Most importantly, she's a wildly popular Saultlebrity known for her generous, positive spirit.
The idea for the launch of her own business spurred from a visit to Great Wolf Lodge where she saw a series of baked goods, dipped marshmallows, chocolate covered pretzel sticks, and told her mother: “I could bake those!”
At eight-years old, Bugs was in the kitchen wearing an apron.
Over the past year and a bit, with the help of her mother, Kristen Bugs, Sarah has been able to come up with unique concoctions comparable to the whimsical desserts that you could only read about in the pages of a Dr. Seuss story book.
“I am still a kid,” Bugs told SooToday.com, as she smeared pink icing overtop of the hardened brownie batter of her “Brownie Blast Peep Pizza. “Baking is really fun and I like doing it.”
As much fun as Bugs has baking, she is exceedingly cheerful to donate fifty percent of all the proceeds earned through selling her baked goods to the Algoma Residential Community Hospice, otherwise known as ARCH.
The remainder of the profit is put towards Bug’s college fund for which she intends to use to become a teacher.
The choice to donate to ARCH was one made by Bugs as she narrowed down her choice of charity and decided that the organization’s cause was “the one she understood the most.”
To date, she has donated approximately $8,000 to ARCH to assist with programs and, more importantly, to make the families experiencing loss feel at ease.
“I really like helping out the families, it makes me feel good. Everyone is always smiling when they see me. Whenever I bring in baskets, they reach out to stuff their pockets; that’s my favourite thing,” she said.
Her favourite thing to bake however, is “Bugs Bacon and Eggs,” and a series of different chocolate molds which will become influential in the next months to come.
On April 9, her birthday, Sarah has agreed to give up her portion of her profits to Autism Speaks in order to promote awareness in the local community.
She will be baking chocolate suckers to be sold in the shape of puzzle pieces.
“She really is proud of the work she has done. She’s still who she wants to be, will go outside to play with her friends and whenever she wants to stop baking, we will stop. She is in charge of the whole operation, I am really just here to help her out with the communications and business aspect,” Kristen added.
In addition to assisting a local charity, the actions Bugs has taken to do so have allowed her to advance in her own personal growth.
“We are really impressed with how far along the business has come and most importantly Sarah herself. Between the ages of three and six years old, she suffered from a phonological disorder which made it difficult for others to understand what she was saying. She was unable to hold conversations with others, came home crying from class because she was frustrated,” she said.
“With the help of a speech therapist and with the public speaking and involvement in the community this project has allowed her to have, she is able to speak with others much better than before, it has been a huge boost to her confidence, and is teaching her a lot about compassion, a lot about life,” Kristen said.
“I am the CEO and my mom is just the assistant,” Bugs laughed.
In addition to the puzzle pieces, Bugs has offered her catering services to the community to increase sales.
This includes a variety of baked goods for weddings, birthdays, upcoming holidays like Easter and everyday gift baskets and can be viewed on her website
Orders can also be made by emailing Kristen at bugsbakery@live.ca or on Facebook by searching Sarah_Bugs_Sweettreats.
For now, Bugs is determined to raise as much money as she possibly can before her next birthday and proclaims that the operation of her business is all part of her childhood, “I am still a kid and if you could put that I love Justin Bieber in the article that would be just great!”
