Daughter of furloughed federal employee starts small business to help family

When 11-year-old Bella Berrellez learned that her mother was furloughed from her job at the Food and Drug Administration, she immediately started thinking of ways to assist her family.

"My mom’s not getting paid so I thought about ways I could help," the fifth-grader told The New York Times.

The Maryland resident and her mother, Jessica Berrellez, began making sugar body scrubs in December at the start of the government shutdown.

Bella, who is partially blind, has since created Bella Sweet Scrubs and has sold more than 500 of her $7 products to family, friends and Etsy users across the nation, according to Good Morning America.

Since the Berrellez family is able to get through the shutdown as a dual-income family, Bella decided to donate some of her earnings to a local nonprofit that helps feed families in need. She donated $100 to Nourish Now earlier this month, helping provide meals to those less fortunate.

"I’m really proud of myself and I’m really happy that I have supportive parents and the chance to do this," Bella told GMA.

The current government shutdown is the longest in history, stretching 28 days, and currently has no end in sight as President Donald Trump and Democrats continue to struggle to find common ground on the funding for a wall on America's Southern border.

"Government has a big role," the young entrepreneur told The Guardian. "I would like it if [Congress and Donald Trump] could send them back to work."

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