Salem nonprofits benefit from Curly Girl Candy Shop campaign

Aug. 19—SALEM — Her business deals in sugar, but the sweetest thing at Curly Girl Candy Shop is a calendar covered in QR codes.

This coming Labor Day, Curly Girl will celebrate one year of business downtown, and with it a chance to review how it donates to the city after effectively turning the idea of philanthropy into a monthly calendar. But like so many aspects to the still-young business, the philanthropy pops at point-of-sale — "Sweet Support" as it's called, using $1 Smarties lollipops — were "another one of these accidental things."

What kind of happy accidents are we talking about here? Marnie Greenhut, the owner and literal "curly girl" behind the brand, has a growing list.

For one, New York Seltzers are one of the hottest items for tourists, but they only entered the shop because they were the perfect size for a tiny shelf, she explained. Satellite Wafers kept selling out after becoming an unexpected hit, but waiting for restocks wasn't an issue because most customers didn't know they were there to begin with. In fact, many of the top treats for nostalgia trips — like Sky Bars — came from suggestions pitched by a single person, only for them to take off once they hit the shelf.

"My old neighbor, her daughters helped me get ready (to launch the business)," Greenhut said. "They were doing the stickering of our bags, and she asked if we were going to have Sky Bars. Now, people come and buy them six, seven at a time."

The business opened Labor Day weekend in 2021 and immediately found success from Salem shoppers. October was an explosive month that saw the shop scrambling for inventory to meet exceptional demand, according to Greenhut.

While candy stores can be an easy model to replicate anywhere, there's something special about Curly Girl: the "Sweet Support" calendar, an effective greatest hits of Salem non-profits that benefit from the business year-round.

This month, every $1 Smarties pop sold at the counter will send its profits to LEAP for Education. A jar on the front counter loaded with lollipops describes the org as empowering "underserved students to achieve social and economic mobility by cultivating personal, education, and career growth."

"Thank you for supporting the bright future of our students here during LEAP's 20th anniversary!" the note on the jar concludes. "Scan the QR code to learn more."

The idea for the philanthropy pops came from a prior confection-based business Greenhut worked with, where lollipops benefited the Make-A-Wish Foundation, she said. But ultimately, far less than half of the dollar tied to each lollipop actually went to the regional organization.

"I was like, 'it isn't a bad idea, but why not do something that actually affects your local community, where all the profit is going?'" Greenhut said. "Most of the dollar we charge goes to the organization."

Every organization to receive support is included on a section of wall announcing the recipient month to month. January sent cash to Northeast Animal Shelter; June — Pride Month — supported the Northshore Alliance of LGBTQ Youth. October, the biggest month of the year, will raise the biggest pool of lollipop cash for Salem Pantry just in time for the holidays, their busiest season for giving and dealing.

Salem Pantry has been an easy organization to support throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, as the NPO has surged in size to meet similarly spiking demand. That said, Curly Girl is doing something executive director Robyn Burns said she hasn't seen before.

"Most businesses, when they do some kind of charitable cause for the month and switch to another organization, for the past org their information goes away," Burns said. "I haven't seen that level of support for non-profits in local businesses."

Linda Sarris, LEAP for Education's executive director, described the shop's donation model as "a cast of many impressive known names in the community."

"We were totally honored to be selected for this month," Sarris said. "She's a role model for other businesses."

Like the surprises in sales, the philanthropy has at times surprised the business.

Many customers will automatically decline the opportunity to buy a Smarties lollipop, Greenhut said. That caused her to push her staff to keep the pitch going until they drop the name of the org receiving the proceeds.

"Then you say, 'it's going to HAWC,'" said Greenhut, referencing "Healing Abuse, Working for Change," a North Shore non-profit that works somewhat invisibly to help — if not save — victims of domestic abuse. "They'll say, 'oh, yeah, they helped my sister.' Or 'they helped my friend.' Then they'll tell you a whole story about how HAWC helped them."

Then, another lollipop crosses the counter, and an abuse victim on the North Shore inches that much closer to having the support of an attorney in court.

"Marnie is just very giving of her time and energy," said Kylie Sullivan, executive director of Salem Main Streets, another Sweet Support recipient. "Marnie isn't the only business that has a program like this (to donate sales), but she's made a year-round wall of it. So it isn't just showing off her good philanthropy as a business; it's also executing for all the great, great non-profit groups that function in Salem.

"We truly love Curly Girl," Sullivan said, "and we love Marnie."

Contact Dustin Luca at 978-338-2523 or DLuca@salemnews.com. Follow him at facebook.com/dustinluca or on Twitter @DustinLucaSN.

Contact Dustin Luca at 978-338-2523 or DLuca@salemnews.com. Follow him at facebook.com/dustinluca or on Twitter @DustinLucaSN.