Age: 11
Hometown: North Greenbush, NY
School: North Colonie Central School District
Community Involvement: E&D Best Stuffies, Make-A-Wish Foundation, Ronald McDonald House, Capital Cup for Kids, and American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life
She’s an entrepreneur. She’s a CEO. She’s a community advocate. She’s also 11. Meet Emily K., a 5th grader whose extensive resume of good deeds includes running her own business, E&D Best Stuffies.
Created by Emily and her younger brother David (who took a step back from the business recently to focus on his sports schedule), E&D Best Stuffies is a mobile stuffed animal business—with an LLC. It involves Emily attending parties, school events, and fundraisers with perhaps the most heartwarming piece of machinery to exist—a “stuffilator”—to allow children to create plush friends using the high-powered stuffing machine. She comes ready with a variety of animals, outfits and accessories for kids to choose from for their plush friends.
Instead of just pocketing all of her hard-earned proceeds, Emily uses them to contribute to causes and events she cares about, like the Ronald McDonald House and American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life. In one of her biggest charitable gestures yet, Emily donated Stuff-A-Stuffie Experiences to every Make-A-Wish child attending the Walk for Wishes in Saratoga in June.
“Families, especially kids, need love and support when they’re going through rough times,” says Emily, who’s pursuing a mini MBA through the Girls with Impact Business and Leadership Academy. “E&D Best Stuffies is able to use our business to help kids’ parents get the extra support they need. It is important because our customers, who are kids, are helping other kids in need.”
