Church leader who helped a ‘mom’ on TikTok asking for baby formula gets over $75,000 in donations
A pastor who aced a social-media personality’s ‘baby formula test’ says the response to his act of kindness has been “awesome and overwhelming”.
A religious leader who went viral over his response to a TikToker’s plea for baby formula says he’s overwhelmed after his church was inundated with donations.
“Testing your church”
The Heritage Hope Church of God in Somerset, Kentucky, has reportedly received over $75,000 in donations after its pastor, identified on the church’s website as Johnny M. Dunbar, was praised for his efforts to help the social-media content creator Nikalie Monroe.
Monroe, a TikToker with over 400,000 followers, did not actually need baby formula. As she explains in her bio on the video-sharing platform, Monroe has been conducting a social experiment which involves “testing your church to see if they would feed a hungry baby”.
In a series of widely viewed videos posted on her TikTok profile, Monroe has called dozens of churches posing as a mother who is seeking urgent help to secure formula for a two-month-old child.
Many of the churches Monroe has spoken to did not offer assistance - or were unable to provide it right away - but Dunbar has gained attention for his enthusiastic desire to procure her the item she claimed to need.
“We can do this”
“I’ll see if I can get somebody to do this - we can do this,” Dunbar told Monroe during their phone conversation. “I’ll just see. Tell me what it is you call it [the baby formula] in case I have to go get it myself, because I’m a great-grandpa.”
As Dunbar begins to ask Monroe whether she is looking for a particular flavor of formula, she cuts him off to tell him: “I don’t need it, I just wanted to see if you were willing to help.”
Monroe declares: “You just touched my heart - and I just want you to know that you are an amazing person.”
@nikalie.monroe Sorry people kept calling in and knocking my recording off and it was also a really long call. But this is Heritage Hope Church of God. Such a sweet soul this guy and the fact he was willing to even go get it himself made my heart melt. Loved it. 😍 #fypage #foryou #fypシ #fypシ゚viral #foryoupage #viral #viralvideo #trending #capcut #duet #wethepeople #forthepeople #wakeupamerica #worldtok #worldnews #veteran #church #churches #familiesinneed #experiment #God #religion
♬ original sound - Nikalie 🌈 - Nikalie 🌈
“Awesome and overwhelming”
In a later video, Monroe can be seen meeting the pastor in person, under the caption: “Visited your favorite Appalachian grandpa this morning for his Sunday service.”
Speaking into the camera during the meeting, Dunbar said of the attention he has received: “It’s awesome and it’s overwhelming, too, because I didn’t plan it.”
He also indicated that the donations his church has received - he did not confirm the amount, but described it as “pretty substantial” - will be used to provide food assistance to members of his local community.
“This has caused the world to put finances in our hands,” he said. “I tell my church that money moves ministry, so the money that has come in, which is pretty substantial, is going to be used for ministry.
“It will not be budgetary - it will be used for what it was sent to do in this community.
“We’re in a really troubling time in our nation and the most troubling thing is that a kid could starve, that a kid could not have the formula they need.”
@nikalie.monroe Visited your favorite Appalachian grandpa this morning for his Sunday service. This was what he wanted to share with you. #fyp #fypシ #fypシ゚viral #tiktok #nikaliemonroe #testingchurches #church #experiment #babyexperiment #testingyourchurch #viral #viralvideo #trending #foryou #foryoupage #capcut #duet #veteran #liberal #religion
♬ original sound - Nikalie 🌈 - Nikalie 🌈
Millions of Americans living in poverty amid SNAP shutdown saga
Per the most recent figures published by the U.S. Census Bureau, just under 36 million Americans live below the poverty line.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), around 42 million people benefit from the country’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), a federally-funded food-stamps scheme whose operation has been severely hampered by the record-breaking government shutdown.
Amid a lapse in federal funding, the USDA has sought to limit beneficiaries of the program to partial payments in November. The scheme is typically worth an average of $187.20 per person per month, according to figures shared by the agency.
Full federal appropriations for SNAP would, however, be restored under a funding bill agreed by the Senate in recent days.
Known as the Continuing Appropriations Act, the legislation would end a shutdown that has so far lasted for an unprecedented 42 days. Before passing Congress, it must also be approved by the House of Representatives.
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