Fayetteville teen entrepreneurs embody spirit of giving back

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (WTVD) -- As people across the world, celebrate Giving Tuesday by making their communities a better place, two young Fayetteville entrepreneurs are using their creative talents to help other kids their own age while teaching others to pay it forward.

"It makes you want to help more, especially when the pandemic hit, it really opens your eyes," the sisters say.

For Cali-Rai and Cheyanne Campos, giving back to the community has been a part of their lives from an early age.

"I donated my first backpack to my school, and I really enjoyed how that felt, so we tried to figure out how to help out more, feeding people on Thanksgiving and try to do the best we can for our community," Cheyanne said.

Cali-Rai, 13, and Cheyanne, 15, are aspiring models and actors who used the money they made off gigs to start their own charity called Giving Back Warm Hugs. They aimed at other kids their ages by donating things we take for granted such as jackets, shoes, and socks.

"At any moment that could have been us, that could have been someone I know, so why not make a difference and be a part of the change?" said Cali-Rai.

While the pandemic brought many charities to a screeching halt, these two teens doubled their efforts by starting their own businesses.

"Everything was shut down due to the pandemic and we needed to make some quick cash from our charity so, I told Cheyanne that we can make bath bombs to make money for our charity," Cali-Rai said.

Fizzy Friendz Bath Bombs was born -- all-natural, handmade bath products just for kids with proceeds going to their charity.

But it's just the beginning. Both teens are enrolled in business classes at Fayetteville Technical Community College and are members of both the Fayetteville and Hope Mills chambers of commerce.

But if you ask them, it's even bigger than all of that.

"Not only helping other people but helping other kids realize if we can do it then so can they. It doesn't matter if it's something small. It makes a huge difference," Cali-Rai said.

Both teens said that no matter where their modeling and acting careers take them, Fizzy Friendz Bath Bombs is the No. 1 focus.

Reporting by ABC11 photojournalist Chris Hemric