Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Bella Mattozzi shows her sticker collection.
HARRINGTON -When Bella Mattozzi was at home during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, she decided to put her artistic skills to use by drawing a vintage van. Her parents, Darren and Carolyn Mattozzi, took notice and suggested she turn the art into a sticker.
This sparked an idea for the now 16-year-old Bella, a sophomore at Harrington High School. Her talents at creating these stickers were vast enough for her to sell the stickers to eager customers, but she didn't feel it was right to keep all the proceeds to herself.
That's when she decided to donate a portion of every sale to a charity of her choice.
"There are a lot of nonprofits that could really use a little bit of money," Mattozzi said. "I think it's better to continually give."
Since then, Mattozzi has donated between 10% and 25% of her sticker earnings to charities around the Inland Northwest and country, including the Lincoln County Lost and Found Pet Network, Hope For The Day, 4ocean, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Camp Fire Inland Northwest, Women & Children's Free Restaurant & Community Kitchen and The Trevor Project...to name a few.
Mattozzi, who has enjoyed art since she was a young girl, has created various sticker campaigns since 2020. Customers who buy the stickers are informed which charity their purchase will help benefit.
"She comes from a long line of servants with a passion for helping others," Darren Mattozzi said.
He noted that after a family staycation in Spokane, Bella noticed people experiencing homelessness under a city bridge.
"It affected her so much, that when we got home, the next day she was working on a campaign for Union Gospel Mission," Darren Mattozzi said,
Sometimes, customers will donate a little extra money to the charity the sticker campaign is benefitting, Darren Mattozzi said.
Beginning next week, Bella Mattozzi is launching a sticker campaign with four different Christmas-themed designs to help benefit Tree of Sharing, which helps "often forgotten" community members receive a holiday gift each year.
Interested customers can purchase stickers in-person at Home and Makers on Third Street through the holidays, or through Bella's sticker Instagram account bellas_art_with_a_heart. The Mattozzis are also working on setting up an Etsy account for a third sales option.
Drew Lawson is the editor of the Davenport Times. He is a graduate of Eastern Washington University.
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