On a hot July afternoon in New Haven, Conn., Kiya, 20, and her mother Nila, 50, dug through a closet looking for their extra air conditioning unit. Sorting through the rarely entered corner of the home, Nila pulled out a small chest of keepsakes. As the pair sorted through the box of memories, reminiscing about precious moments from the past, they ran across something that seemed out of place: a pack of Starburst candy. Neatly tucked away in clear plastic wrapping, the weathered package was torn open but the candies were untouched. Instead of the typical variety of pink, orange, yellow and red candies, all of them were covered in gold foil. Then Nila remembered what happened 15 years ago. Back in 2010, the candies were part of the “Hunt for Gold" sweepstakes initiated by Starburst. “Find the gold Starburst and you could win $10,000” was stamped on the wrapper in blue. Nila remembered that she called the number provided but was told that the contest had ended. She cried for two days about the prize that slipped through her fingers. She decided to tuck the candies out of sight, but never threw them out. Kiya, who was 5 years old when her mother bought the pack of Starbursts, took to social media to share the story. It wasn’t long before Starburst got wind of it and sent the following message to her.
Nila and Kiya say $10,000 might not seem like a lot of money, but it’s life-changing for them. Nila said she plans to use some of the money to buy an ice cream truck, a dream she’s had for some time. As for the Starbursts, she has no plans to eat the candies, but will save them.
