Kids’ Candy Drive Propelled by Sweet Smell of Success

Nine-year-old Joshue Hernandez is determined to become an engineer and he’s already begun investing in his future.

His mother, who earns minimum wage, might not be able to pay for his college education, so her son said he is taking steps to make sure he gets one on his own. His savings account totals $25 so far, money he’s earning from selling chocolate bars door-to-door.

“I want to be an engineer to build houses, but I have to learn how to do that in college,” he said Saturday as he worked a neighborhood near his southwest Fullerton home, selling Kit Kats and Sweet Escapes for $1 apiece. “The money in my bank is going to help me go to college.”

The fourth-grade student, who attends Laguna Road Elementary School, is one of 18 youngsters, ages 6 to 12, who are getting a jump-start on saving for college. It’s part of a candy-for-college campaign recently launched by La Escuelita del Pueblo, the Fullerton neighborhood school where free English lessons are taught to adults on weekend mornings and tutoring services are offered to kids on Thursday afternoons.

The children meet at La Escuelita on Truslow Avenue two Saturdays a month to fill their carrying containers with chocolate bars that are bought by the school’s founder and teacher, Jimmy Ramos, and his weekend pupils. Ramos said all profits go to the youngsters.

From noon to about 2 p.m., Ramos and some of the students’ mothers take the children to different parks and neighborhoods to sell thecandy. Children sell between five and 10 chocolate bars on almost every outing.

Some customers don’t want to be bothered. But when the children tell potential buyers why they are pedaling the sweets, they almost always make a sale.

“I just told one grandmother the truth--that I’m selling these candies to have a better future,” said Saturday’s top salesperson, 8-year-old Mario Rodriguez, who wants to become a doctor. “She gave me a dollar and didn’t even take the chocolate.”

The earnings and donations are placed in trust funds for the children at the main branch of the Bank of America in Fullerton.

Peter Felix, who handles new accounts for the bank, said the children’s accounts are in their names and their parents’. Anyone can deposit money into the trusts but the money can be withdrawn by the child only after he or she turns 18.

“Their goal is to go to college and this program is teaching them how to save money so they can reach that goal,” Felix said. “A lot of the kids’ parents never got the chance to go to school and this is a big steppingstone for them. They are very happy when they come in here to make the deposits.”

Carmina Delgado, mother of two of the children, agreed.

“We want our kids to excel, to go to the universities and pursue careers of their choice without any limitations to hold them back,” she said. “This program is helping them and, also, teaching them the importance of helping others once they succeed.”

Ramos, who created the program two months ago to motivate youngsters to aspire to go to college, said earning the money to do so helps youths gain a sense of self-determination and confidence in the process.

“I think that this is the best investment that we can make in our kids, especially in the barrios, where people are poor,” he said. “Education is the best way to escape from poverty.”

Education also is the ticket to a gang-free, drug-free and crime-free life, said 9-year-old Tony Salgado, who wants to be a firefighter.

“Selling this candy makes me feel good because I’m getting money for college and a better future,” he said. “I don’t want to get involved in any trouble.”