ARTICLE
Brainerd Dispatch - A sweet conclusion to a sour beginning. That’s how a group of Brainerd women are looking at the end result of a story that started out frustrating and heartbreaking for one area mom. Irene Rivera took to Facebook to vent after her 10-year-old son, Andrew, was the recent target of bus stop bullies. While waiting for the bus one day, Andrew was taken advantage of by older students, who stole some of the candy he was supposed to sell for a fundraiser at Forestview Middle School. Rivera said her son is autistic and likely didn’t understand what was happening at the time. The post struck a chord with family friend Cindy Tuil, who shared it with a friend to see if there was anything they could do to help. That message snowballed into a group effort to sell candy bars on behalf of Andrew by Tuil, Theresa Barnett and Cindy Plante. Barnett and Plante work at Mid Minnesota Federal Credit Union, a company that encourages community outreach. “We’re about community — always,” Barnett said. “Not that it’s through Mid Minn, but just being community based and knowing what happened with him, it was kind of a no-brainer.” The idea was not to focus on the bad behavior of the older kids but on what could be done to help Andrew. And help they did. Within 48 hours of putting a call out on Facebook, the ladies sold a lot of candy. Thirty-one boxes to be exact. At 30 bars a box and $2 a bar, the sales added up to $1,860 raised for Forestview on Andrew’s behalf. Add that to the boxes Andrew already sold on his own, and the total surpasses $2,000. “I’ve been at a loss of words for the last week, crying endless tears,” Rivera said in a Facebook message. “... The tears turned to appreciation as people slowly reached out and started ordering bars and donating money just to tell me, ‘Have Andrew pick out some chocolate for himself.’” Tuil’s friends were strangers to Rivera but still rallied around her son as if he were their own. Later on, Barnett learned her daughter had gone to school with Rivera, so there was more of a connection after all. “And I love Brainerd for that,” Barnett said, noting she isn’t originally from Brainerd and continues to be amazed, even 23 years after moving here, by the close-knit community and the amount of kindness that can be found there. The three women met up with Rivera and Andrew Sunday, Oct. 8, at Coco Moon in downtown Brainerd to distribute the candy, giving those who wanted to meet Andrew the opportunity to do so. Sales came from not only the Brainerd lakes area but all over the state and even the country, with some buyers as far as South Dakota, North Carolina and Texas. Tuil will ship some of the boxes to their out-of-town buyers, while others from far away asked that their boxes be donated locally. Candy will go to the women’s shelter and child safety center at the Relationship Safety Alliance and other local nonprofits that can use them. And Andrew will get prizes for the sales, including an Apple Watch and a drone. But perhaps more importantly, he’ll get to know there’s a whole community who cares about him and that his story might help prompt more discussions around bullying and empathy.
Brainerd Dispatch - A sweet conclusion to a sour beginning.
That’s how a group of Brainerd women are looking at the end result of a story that started out frustrating and heartbreaking for one area mom.
Irene Rivera took to Facebook to vent after her 10-year-old son, Andrew, was the recent target of bus stop bullies. While waiting for the bus one day, Andrew was taken advantage of by older students, who stole some of the candy he was supposed to sell for a fundraiser at Forestview Middle School. Rivera said her son is autistic and likely didn’t understand what was happening at the time.
The post struck a chord with family friend Cindy Tuil, who shared it with a friend to see if there was anything they could do to help. That message snowballed into a group effort to sell candy bars on behalf of Andrew by Tuil, Theresa Barnett and Cindy Plante.
Barnett and Plante work at Mid Minnesota Federal Credit Union, a company that encourages community outreach.
“We’re about community — always,” Barnett said. “Not that it’s through Mid Minn, but just being community based and knowing what happened with him, it was kind of a no-brainer.”
The idea was not to focus on the bad behavior of the older kids but on what could be done to help Andrew.
And help they did.
Within 48 hours of putting a call out on Facebook, the ladies sold a lot of candy.
Thirty-one boxes to be exact.
At 30 bars a box and $2 a bar, the sales added up to $1,860 raised for Forestview on Andrew’s behalf. Add that to the boxes Andrew already sold on his own, and the total surpasses $2,000.
“I’ve been at a loss of words for the last week, crying endless tears,” Rivera said in a Facebook message. “... The tears turned to appreciation as people slowly reached out and started ordering bars and donating money just to tell me, ‘Have Andrew pick out some chocolate for himself.’”
Tuil’s friends were strangers to Rivera but still rallied around her son as if he were their own. Later on, Barnett learned her daughter had gone to school with Rivera, so there was more of a connection after all.
“And I love Brainerd for that,” Barnett said, noting she isn’t originally from Brainerd and continues to be amazed, even 23 years after moving here, by the close-knit community and the amount of kindness that can be found there.
The three women met up with Rivera and Andrew Sunday, Oct. 8, at Coco Moon in downtown Brainerd to distribute the candy, giving those who wanted to meet Andrew the opportunity to do so.
Sales came from not only the Brainerd lakes area but all over the state and even the country, with some buyers as far as South Dakota, North Carolina and Texas.
Tuil will ship some of the boxes to their out-of-town buyers, while others from far away asked that their boxes be donated locally. Candy will go to the women’s shelter and child safety center at the Relationship Safety Alliance and other local nonprofits that can use them.
And Andrew will get prizes for the sales, including an Apple Watch and a drone.
But perhaps more importantly, he’ll get to know there’s a whole community who cares about him and that his story might help prompt more discussions around bullying and empathy.