Boy’s cocoa stand raises $500-plus for zoo

(Courtesy Photo) Adam Crellin-Sazama (left) and friend Franz Criscione hawk their goods on a snowy day last month.

JP resident Adam Crellin-Sazama has raised over $500 this winter to benefit Franklin Park Zoo by selling hot chocolate, tea and pastries outside his Boylston Street home. He’s aiming to donate over $1,000 by late spring, he told the Gazette.

The reason for his generosity is his love of animals. Not only does Crellin-Sazama want to grow up to be a conservational biologist, but Franklin Park Zoo also has an extremely rare Amur leopard—Crellin-Sazama’s favorite—on display.

“I feel zoos help animals [like the Amur leopard],” Crellin-Sazama said. “I’ve always loved animals.”

This is not Crellin-Sazama’s first big donation. For Christmas, he asked not for toys, but for cash that he then donated to Franklin Park Zoo. He’s also sold lemonade for the last two or three summers, though those funds were not exclusively geared toward the zoo.

“This is one more example of a young person seeing a challenge as an opportunity to make a positive impact and we’re so appreciative of the effort,” Zoo New England President and CEO John Linehan said through a spokesperson. “This philanthropic spirit, especially from people so young, is a true inspiration.”

Jenny Sazama, Crellin-Sazama’s mother, told the Gazette they came up with the $1,000 goal because it’s the zoo’s highest offered level of membership.

“But that wasn’t the point,” Crellin-Sazama was quick to add. “The point was to help animals.”

Crellin-Sazama will be selling hot chocolate on Boylston Street near Centre Street on Feb. 6. He hopes to break his $1,000 goal.

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