Story

Nearly 29 years ago my dear Aunt Julia shared with me a delicious almond rocha recipe. Since then, every Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday it’s been a special part of our family tradition. For weeks preceeding each Christmas, many pounds have been stirred, cooked, packaged, and shipped all over the country to family and friends. Occasionally there was a suggestion that I start selling it as a business; my standard response was, “…making it wouldn’t be any fun”.

It wasn’t until the fall of 2008 when two of my colleagues and friends at Walla Walla University were diagnosed with cancer that selling the candy to help them seemed like a good idea. In the beginning the dream was to raise $1,000 before Christmas. Truth be told, I wasn’t at all sure it was possible. I’ve since learned that when you’re working for the Lord, you should never underestimate His power - before Thanksgiving $1,000 was raised, and by Christmas, 2008 the total had reached $5,000. Sales continued strong in 2009, with just word-of-mouth. And, for the record, selling Renee’s Rocha to help others has been more fun than my family and I could ever imagine!

Our family feels so blessed to be a part of such a generous and family-oriented community who saw the need, purchased the candy, and shared the story with others. Now we’re looking for God’s guidance as we take the sales to new heights.

I hope you enjoy Renee’s Rocha, and join our new family tradition by supporting families in need through prayerfulhearts.org.