MARYSVILLE — Two weeks of camp are covered for Nattalie Anderson.
The 11-year-old’s efforts to sell Camp Fire candy to pay for horse camp became public last month when a thief made off with her cash box outside a Mill Creek grocery store.
Hundreds of dollars in donations have come in from the community, according to the Camp Fire coordinators.
Nattalie’s still out selling though. It’s important to her to meet goals she set. That means beating her annual record of 1,311 boxes of candy. She also wants to use her donations to help other kids pay for camp, too.
The south Everett sixth-grader’s favorite subject in school is math, and she wants to be a dolphin trainer. She’s a bit embarrassed about all the attention.
“It’s a little awkward, I would say,” she said. “Not all this should be on me. They should still donate to the other kids too. We’re all working hard in the cold.”
This will be Nattalie’s fifth year going to camp. The deal always has been that her family pays for one week and she earns a second week by selling candy at $5 a box. Now she’s working on a third week.
She decided it only felt right to accept one week’s worth of camp through donations. She also wants to meet her sales goals to attend the celebrations held for top sellers.
At camp, Nattalie likes spending the night with friends, plus walking and trotting with the horses, archery, swimming “and just having fun,” she said.
After word spread about the theft, one woman handed her a $100 bill, she said.
At last count, roughly $300 had been donated through the Camp Fire office, candy sales coordinator Meagan Farrell said. Donors said they liked Nattalie’s spirit and enthusiasm. Many expressed disgust with the theft, which was reported to Mill Creek police. Several wanted to donate the same amount that was stolen, Farrell said.
“People have just been amazing,” she said. “We’re getting tons of calls and emails from people who want to reach out to Nattalie and support her.”
After school Wednesday, Nattalie and her stepmother, Maria Anderson, set up their candy stand outside Albertsons at the Marysville mall.
Wynona Garcia, 61, of Marysville, stopped to make a purchase.
She sold candy with her daughter 30 years ago, “so I know how it is,” she said.
Every donation was appreciated, and showed Nattalie, “there is more good than bad,” Anderson said.
“She’s super excited … but at the same time she has that pride of she wants to earn it,” Anderson said. “Even though camp is paid for, we will find a way to make sure their donations count, so other kids in the program can have the same opportunities that she has.”
Nattalie is grateful to everyone who has helped, she said.
“People came and bought candy, I am so thankful of that,” she said. “I want to say thank you.”
Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com.
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