Established bakery owners give newcomers a gift to jumpstart their business


Thanks to some help from the Sugar Sisters, the Little Sistas will be able to serve up more of their dessert creations.
Zyaire Hawkins, 11, and Charl'Les Hawkins, 9, enjoy baking, and came up with a recipe for ice cream cones filled with cheesecake. They experiment with flavors, and add sprinkles and other toppings. In June, the sisters from Highlands Ranch, Colorado, started their own business, Little Sistas Treats, and have been doing research on how to run a successful dessert company.
Their mom, Marietta Hawkins, went to the Sugar Sisters Bakery in Castle Rock to pick up a cake, and told owners Molly Witt and Rebekah Lydon about her daughters. She asked if she could bring the girls in one day to get some tips and see what their business might turn into, and when they came to visit, they were shocked to learn that Witt and Lydon were giving them a gift of $1,015 to get Little Sistas Treats off the ground.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Marietta told KMGH she was so excited and appreciative. "I think it's a great lesson to my daughters: When you give, it comes back to you," she said. The girls were also thrilled, and have been inspired by Witt and Lydon to grow their business to include a food truck; they also hope to hire other young girls. "The Little Sistas and the Sugar Sisters," Lydon said. "It was just meant to be." Catherine Garcia
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Book reviews: 'The Thinking Machine: Jensen Huang, Nvidia, and the World’s Most Coveted Microchip' and 'Who Is Government? The Untold Story of Public Service'
Feature The tech titan behind Nvidia's success and the secret stories of government workers
By The Week US
-
Mario Vargas Llosa: The novelist who lectured Latin America
Feature The Peruvian novelist wove tales of political corruption and moral compromise
By The Week US
-
How to see the Lyrid meteor shower
The explainer A nice time to look to the skies
By Devika Rao, The Week US
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wife
speed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Giant schnauzer wins top prize at Westminster show
Speed Read Monty won best in show at the 149th Westminster Kennel Club dog show
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar take top Grammys
Speed Read Beyoncé took home album of the year for 'Cowboy Carter' and Kendrick Lamar's diss track 'Not Like Us' won five awards
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
The Louvre is giving 'Mona Lisa' her own room
Speed Read The world's most-visited art museum is getting a major renovation
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Honda and Nissan in merger talks
Speed Read The companies are currently Japan's second and third-biggest automakers, respectively
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Taylor Swift wraps up record-shattering Eras tour
Speed Read The pop star finally ended her long-running tour in Vancouver, Canada
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Drake claims illegal boosting, defamation
Speed Read The rapper accused Universal Music of boosting Kendrick Lamar's diss track and said UMG allowed him to be falsely accused of pedophilia
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
'Wicked' and 'Gladiator II' ignite holiday box office
Speed Read The combination of the two movies revitalized a struggling box office
By Peter Weber, The Week US