Mama and Tata rally their community to fund more than 4,100 meals for our clients

When the coronavirus pandemic had just started to affect New York, Candice Miller, entrepreneur and fashion influencer knew that she wanted to throw her energy into helping her home-town city. So, she called an organization with which she is closely connected, the New York Hospital to see what she could do. Her friends there, the people that she trusts the most in the world, said “what’s crucial right now is getting food to the people who are sick.” A quick search led her to God’s Love We Deliver, and she sprinted into action.

It all started with an Instagram message sent from her parenting blog account Mama & Tata. She said that she had a lot of friends who were eager to help and offered to start a fundraiser alongside donating 10% of all proceeds from her fashion business Black Iris. She asked her good friend Lainy Hedaya Hoffstein, creative consultant in fashion and interiors, to join her in building a powerful campaign. In the weeks that followed, Candice, Lainy, Mama & Tata and Black Iris started spreading the word about our work to all of their friends, calling for donations of any size and raising money through sales. Many of their friends shared the fundraiser too, and the results have been absolutely heartwarming. This campaign funded more than 4,100 meals for clients by raising more than $41,000, for God’s Love We Deliver. Ever humble, Candice says, “I’m happy that it made a difference for you guys.”

One of the things that the women were most attracted to in our organization was the idea of supporting a “healthy and sustainable” way of caring for people. By raising money for God’s Love they knew that they would be providing New Yorkers facing serious illness with more than a meal, but with the promise of enough nutritious food for a family to live and feel safe. Furthermore, they are firm believers that food is medicine. Candice says that in her household they believe that “healthcare starts with what you feed your body.” So, God’s Love We Deliver is a perfect organizational fit.

In unprecedented times like these, it is a silver-lining to watch people find ways to build community even from a distance. Candice’s campaign to get the right nutritious food to our neighbors who are sick keeps more New Yorkers out of the hospital and at home, which is where they want to be, and where they are safest. Medically tailored meals not only bring them safety and nutrition, they also bring dignity, hope, and love. Candice has been in quarantine for almost a month, but from the confines of her home, she has been able to make an immense different for God’s Love We Deliver, and the thousands of clients that we serve. To our clients, she says, “God bless you, we love you, and we will continue to be there for you.”