– Our Mission –

To Inspire and sustain kindness and joy by supporting the needs of individuals and communities

The Cynthia Rose Foundation was created out of a desire to be a positive force in the world in any way for any person in any place.

The foundation was born out of gratitude for all we have received and an unrelenting feeling of responsibility to return all of the gifts we have been given back to the world in a real and tangible way.

We believe the small things matter as much as the big things – and any positive act, no matter how small, holds the capacity to have a huge impact.

We are committed to doing what we can right now – providing school books for someone who can’t afford them, paying a utility bill for a family in need, handing out Hawaiian leis to honor and inspire kindness, or simply spending time with someone on a random Wednesday afternoon.

Doing anything we can, with what we have, right now.

The Cynthia Rose Foundation is named in honor of Cynthia Rose Austin Goad and the spirit of her son, Tyler Darin Goad.

Cindy passed away suddenly during Christmas of 2004 and Tyler, who had special needs, passed away two years later at the age of 4 ½.

Cindy was an exceptional human being, filled with grace, kindness, love, humility, humor and strength…a perfect person to receive the special gift of Tyler in the world.

Though she had to move through the normal phases of acceptance when she started realizing Tyler had special needs, she quickly realized the importance of her role as a mother of a special needs child and the unique opportunity she had.

She did not take the “oh poor me…or oh poor us” approach. Instead, she celebrated all that was right with Tyler and nurtured acceptance and understanding in herself and in anyone they encountered.

She showed the world how to love anyway, and taught all who knew her that a special needs child truly is “special”…not lesser than, not damaged and absolutely just as perfect as anyone we might call normal…and actually, even more so in some ways.

The Cynthia Rose Foundation strives to embody Cindy’s spirit of kindness, strength, acceptance, and unwavering positive outlook in any situation. While we are undoubtedly honoring Cindy’s spirit, we feel our true purpose is to actually continue her work and to spread kindness, joy, love and acceptance in the same way she did during her days on earth.