cuddle+kind: Providing One Million Meals a Year, One Doll at a Time

This is a sponsored post through Brandbacker. All opinions are my own.

My husband and I just returned from a week in Ohio, where we enjoyed quality time with friends and family. Possibly the highlight of our trip was spending time with our new nephew, Nathan. While Dan and I had video-chatted with our nephew before, nothing beats baby cuddles. I might have cried snuggling him good-bye on our last night in town.

Nathan was born a few weeks early, but he’s happy, healthy, and growing. With two doting parents and a large extended family to be his village, Nathan will never hunger for nourishment or for love.

Unfortunately, not all children across the globe share the same blessings. Even here in America, almost 16 million children lived in food-insecure households in 2013. In developing countries, 1 in 6 children are underweight.

An Ontario family wants to change this. With your help, they hope to provide one million meals a year through their new creative endeavor: cuddle+kind.

Parents to three young children, Jennifer and Derek Woodgate believe every child should have sufficient food to eat and the opportunity to thrive. They founded cuddle+kind to feed children across North America and the world.

Even if cuddle+kind didn’t provide meals for hungry children, I would want to buy one of their hand-knit dolls! Nathan isn’t old enough to read my blog yet, so I think he’ll still be surprised when he receives one of these snuggly dolls for Christmas. The purchase of every doll donates 10 meals to hungry kids. My little nephew will be helping others before he learns to walk!

These beautiful cuddle+kind dolls do more than provide meals for children. Peruvian artisans hand-knit each cuddle+kind doll, earning fair trade wages. By empowering women to earn a sustainable income, cuddle+kind can target hunger at the source. According to World Food Program USA, a partner of cuddle+kind, when women control increased family income, their children’s health and nutrition improves.

If you don’t have a snuggly baby or other adorable child in your life, check out the cuddle+kind prints. These colorful 10×10 inspirational prints will brighten any room in your home. The only dilemma is which print to buy! I love the quotations, “Throw kindness around like confetti” and “Leave a little sparkle wherever you go.” Either one would look perfect in my home office! When you buy one these unframed prints, you provide 5 meals to kids in need.

Right now, cuddle+kind is in the middle of their Indiegogo campaign to raise $20,000 (which they’ve already surpassed!). You have until October 17, 2015 to donate to the campaign. Indiegogo contributors will have the opportunity to buy any of the 9 original cuddle+kind dolls before anyone else. Dolls will ship before Christmas! This is a great opportunity to get your Christmas shopping done, all while supporting a good cause.

If you’re not ready to commit to a purchase yet, follow cuddle+kind on social media! For each new Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest follower through October 16th, cuddle+kind will donate one meal to a child in need. If you follow cuddle+kind on all three social media platforms, you’ll provide three meals!

Which cuddle-kind doll or print will you buy? I already know which one Nathan will receive for Christmas… but I’m not sharing until then!