SMITHFIELD, Va. — Daniel's Blessing changes the lives of children locally and abroad.
The nonprofit is named after a special child to Executive Director Candy Hayes.
"Daniel was a baby I had twenty-something-odd years ago," Candy said. "He only lived three days.
"And so, when I came up with the idea to start an organization, my daughter, Amber, said, 'Well, Ma, you always said, be a blessing,'" Candy said. "And then, we were like, 'Oh, let's do Daniel's Blessing!'"
Through the nonprofit, Candy said her mission is to improve the lives of children facing poverty however she can.
"Toys, food, I mean, you name it," Candy said. "Any way we can help a child, we'll help them."
Daniel's Blessing is based in Smithfield. But Candy said it came to be after what happened hundreds of miles away.
"2010 was the earthquake in Haiti in January," Candy said. "I said, 'Lord, please, let me do something to help, especially the kids.'"
Everett Hayes, Candy's husband, believes she was meant to make a difference in the lives of children all over the world through the nonprofit.
"She prayed about this, she thought about it. It woke her up in the middle of the night," Everett said. "The idea was planted in her."
Daniel's Blessing not only supports children at-risk or facing poverty in Haiti but in Hampton Roads as well.
"We help the kids, the foster care kids with birthday presents every month, Christmas presents," Candy said. "I mean, people will call me and say, 'This family needs something'. If it's with kids, they already know we're there."
"When you look at the mission of Daniel's Blessing, I think that you can boil it down to service to these children," Everett said.
Daniel's Blessing also provides mentorship, outreach, and advancement through programs like Powerful Pearls.
"It was started — because I teach etiquette — to teach girl etiquette," Candy said. "But it has gone way beyond that."
"We took them to make jewelry. We take them to the Botanical Garden," Candy said. "We do different things with them just to get them out and about and out of the house."
As Daniel's Blessing enters its 13th year of impacting children's lives, Candy and Everett believe there's still a lot more work to do.
"13 years ago, some of those kids are 26 now. But there's another group of kids that are 10 or 9 or 8," Everett said. "And so, I think this is something that you will not run out of need."
"I just want to get the word out, do more, and have somebody come behind me," Candy said. "Come behind me and take it over."
You can nominate a child in need to receive help from Daniel's Blessing.
Girls can also apply to join Powerful Pearls. The next group starts meeting in September.
For more information, contact Candy Hayes at (757) 404-6235 or candy_hayes@danielsblessing.org.
You can make a donation to help Daniel's Blessing continue its work and connect with the nonprofit on Facebook.