Mahanoy City girl celebrates 7th birthday by feeding homeless
Jul. 25—POTTSVILLE — So, it's your seventh birthday, and you have two choices: a day out at Hersheypark or serving lunch to homeless people?
If you're Sophia "Sofi" Gonzalez, it's a no-brainer: You serve the homeless.
"I really like helping people," confided Sofi, who's going into second grade in Mahanoy City. "I give things to them because they need it."
Sofi and her best friend, 8-year-old Harper Earley — with a little help from Sofi's mom, Alyssa Gonzalez — recently prepared 45 ham-and-cheese sandwiches and baked 45 cupcakes with blue and pink icing.
Beneath a sign that read "Welcome to Sofi's Birthday Lunch" and festive balloons, the girls set a table for homeless people on Tuesday, Sofi's birthday, at the Servants to All agency in downtown Pottsville.
A heavy downpour shortly before noon put a damper on Sofi's project, but once the sun came out, people drifted into the agency at 4 S. Centre St.
"They handed out all but a few sandwiches and cupcakes," Sofi's mom said.
Sofi's spirit of kindness reaped benefits beyond expectation, Alyssa Gonzalez said.
"People sat down with Sofi and told her of their circumstances," the mom said. "It was so beautiful and heartwarming."
Victoria Tucker, who owns a boutique in the 100 block of West Market Street, made jeweled hats and shirts with a little girl waving a peace sign for Sofi and Harper.
Sofi got the idea to serve lunch to homeless people recently while attending a Philadelphia Phillies game at Citizens Bank Park.
Seeing so many homeless people outside the stadium touched a nerve in the youngster.
"On the way home, she said she wanted to do it," Alyssa Gonzales said of the luncheon. "She put it into motion and made it happen."
Sofi and Harper mixed the batter for the cupcakes and slathered on the pink and blue icing; blue was their favorite.
Figuring out how much ingredients were needed for the ham-and-cheese sandwiches turned into a math lesson: two slices of bread, two slices of ham and one slice of cheese equaled one sandwich, times 45.
Jeanette Triano Sinn, Servants to All executive director, said Sofi apparently inherited some of her mother's compassion.
Alyssa Gonzalez is a caseworker at Justice Works Youth Care, an advocacy group for juveniles in the foster care system.
"She's a good role model as a parent," Sinn said. "And that's how kids learn."
Julia Smith, a Justice Works Youth Care supervisor, pitched in to help with the project.
"When a 7-year-old asks you if you want to help," she said, "you can't say no."
The lobby of Servants to All, a faith-based organization, is inhabited by statues of St. Anthony, the Blessed Mother and a portrait of Pope John Paul II.
Staff members sang "Happy Birthday" to Sofi, gave her a backpack as a gift and a birthday card that reads, "May the Lord in his goodness help you to always stay as healthy, as loving and as peaceful as you are today."
Sofi's mom said it was a big day for her daughter.
"On the way home," she said, "Sofi fell asleep."
Contact the writer: rdevlin@republicanherald.com; 570-628-6007
