How it Started...
Tinley was playing at home as the television was tuned to what she refers to as "a mommy show". Like many of you know, it is hard to predict what is going to come on the TV so the majority of the time it is off. During this occurrence, a commercial came on with crying children and a voice spoke about the children being hungry. Tinley stopped in her tracks, immediately came to me, her mother, while fighting back tears wanting to know why those children were crying and hungry. I believe God uses moments you do not expect to teach you lessons. Long story short, we had a conversation about how not everyone in the world is as blessed as we are, and that we are here to help God spread his love to less fortunate people. Her initial response was to invite a couple of children to live with us so we could give them food and they could sleep in their bunk beds. We brainstormed various ways we could help spread God's love and give those kid's food.
Why Tinley's Candy?
Like many 3 year old children, candy has a lot of influence. When talking about our goals, Tinley said she wanted to give all the kids a piece of candy. Being the realistic mother, I asked her if that was healthy? Her response, "How about they have one piece of candy after they eat their dinner because candy isn't healthy?" Perfect, so we decided on asking for family and friends to help support her in trying to provide dinner and a piece of candy to kids who don't have any. Tinley said that she is going to put the money her great grandparents gave her to the cause. While she is a pretty special girl with a huge heart, I want you to know she is still a 3 year old girl who was unwilling to give up birthday presents in lieu of donations to Tinley's Candy (so we still have some work to do).
.
.
The Cause
Our family has a relationship with Go Ministries in Santiago, Dominican Republic, and my husband and I will be visiting there this spring and we plan on taking our children with us in the near future. With that being said, we have had the opportunity to talk about the work we will be doing and the people we see on these trips with Tinley. The money from Tinley's Candy will go towards feeding the people that Go Ministries serves in Dominican Republic. We look forward to the day when we are able to take Tinley with us and she is able to see firsthand how God is using her to help the less fortunate.
Support Tinley's Candy
An online fundraiser has been setup and will be given to Go Ministries on behalf of Tinley's Candy. Tinley hopes you can help her provide children with meals and a piece of candy. Thank you for your support! XOXOXO, Tinley, Lyndee, Josiah & Bo