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Friday, November 20, 2009   48º F

Updated 05/12/2008 05:43 AM

Chocolate maker donates to needy kids

By: Jessica Mokhiber

DELMAR, N.Y. -- Annika Pfluger always knew two things ..

“I really wanted to be a mom,” Pfluger said.

And she says she always wanted to work with chocolate.

“Who doesn't love chocolate?” Pfluger asked.

She has succeeded in both and both are connected.

Pfluger, a single mom, knew she wanted to have a child. She traveled to Guatemala, a country with thousands of orphans, and adopted her son Danny, who is now 5.

She also runs a chocolate factory out of her home called Red Thread Confections, a name based on a Chinese proverb that has special meaning.

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“An invisible red thread is tied to you from birth and is tied to everyone important to you. The thread may stretch or shrink over time, but it will never break, and so in that sense, my son was adopted from Guatemala and this is a saying that is really close to the hearts of a lot of adoptive parents," Pfluger said.

Keeping with the theme of the thread and her connection to Guatemala, Pfluger gives ten percent of each sale to Guatemalan orphanages and charities that help needy kids.

"Once you travel down there, the need is so apparent and I just really wanted to do something to help the children," Pfluger said.

She's helping the children she doesn't know while raising a son who may not have otherwise had the same opportunities. Pfluger says in the process, she has learned something she didn't expect.

“The depth of the love I feel was surprising, although I shouldn't have been surprised because I really wanted to be a mom so much,” Pfluger said.

And on her fifth Mother's Day, Pfluger has many more years and Mother's Days to look forward to.

For more information on Red Thread Confections, visit www.redthreadconfections.com.