We can’t believe it’s already here, but have some good news for our supporters in the US. Our charity bank accounts are now setup, making it easier to make a donation if you’re based in the US.
You can deposit or transfer to our Courageous Kitchen Inc. by visiting a branch of Wells Fargo orCitizens Trust.
Remember to email us if you’re making a deposit and we can provide account details! We appreciate all gifts, but are required to report to the state and federal government. We will also issue you a donor acknowledgement letter so that you can claim donations over $250 as tax deductible (US citizens only).
Finally, if you have been giving to us via paypal in the coming months we hope to also be recognized there soon, making more of your gift go towards helping us feed and inspire, not fees!
PS – We’re doing a small BBQ event this Labor Day weekend in Atlanta. Find more details on our Courageous Kitchen Facebook Page.
The Courageous Kitchen is a charity that believes the heat and fast paced nature of kitchens can forge leaders and build strong teams. The kitchen is a hands on classroom and our kitchen education includes basic cooking, food safety, and nutrition for disadvantaged youth. We also provide support for students to learn other invaluable skills such as English and math.
In this quick update Dwight shares the progress on creating a new classroom for the students. For the past year and a half most of the cooking sessions have been happening in a cramped cooking space, with at times over 40 students. However, we’ve been working recently to upgrade a new space so it can be used as a classroom. This has meant doing some renovations such as raising the floor, redoing plumbing, painting, and a lot of cleaning. There were also funds to outfit the space with tables and shelves to make it more organized and conducive to teaching.
Big thank you to the Year 2 students at Bangkok Patana School and everyone else who has been supporting us!
P.S. Please mark the date August 19th, when we will debut a new documentary about our work in Bangkok. The video will be about 10 minutes and will talk more in depth about the situation and the importance of getting aid to the community we’re serving, especially the food, housing, and educational support we’re working hard to provide.
It’s still early in the days of Courageous Kitchen and we really appreciate everyone helping to let people know about the important work we’re doing in Bangkok.
For this week’s popup event in New York, Dwight made a special thank you video (sidenote: apologies for the sweaty appearance, it really is burning up in Bangkok at the moment!) to both introduce the charity and thank everyone who has put in so much work in his absence.
Special thank you to Christy Innouvong, part of the Courageous Kitchen team who has put in so many hours to make this happen. Also special thanks to the I Eat Lao Food team and everyone who attended, ate, and gave!
We’ve officially been granted 501(c)3 tax exempt, public charity status by the US government.
What does that mean?
501(c)3 refers to section of the federal tax code making some charities and foundations exempt from some taxes. US citizens and organizations making donations can claim them on their taxes, encouraging more people to give. More importantly, it is a prerequisite on many grant applications and public funding appeals (for example, some crowd funding web sites).
The status is also retroactive since our incorporation, meaning any donation American citizens have made as of December 28th, 2015 could be claimed as tax deductible.
A photo posted by Dwight ดนัย (Bangkok Fatty) (@bkkfatty) on
What’s next?
Our work isn’t finished. We still have more work to do to complete the process and contact our donors to let them know. Then we will be on the hunt for grants that will help us grow as an organization, both internally and in the outreach programs we can offer.
In the future we hope this will allow us to accept donations via paypal without incurring the 3% service charge.
How’d you do it?
None of this would have been possible without your support over the past five years. Courageous Kitchen, previously known as In Search of Sanuk, began by giving $15 to a handful of families in need so they could purchase food. Today we help about 20 families survive each month and the new charity status will help bring our form of full bellied hope to more people struggling to feed their families.
We want our students and volunteers to know the most important ingredient in the kitchen is heart. That’s why we were proud to have Siri of the youtube channel Spoon, Fork, Heart to join a special cooking session where she taught two Thai recipes.
“The chefs and foodies who make the biggest impression are the ones who love people, as much as they love food.”
Siri isn’t the first friend from Youtube to check out our program and we certainly hope not the last. We’re always excited to connect with big hearted, like minded foodies and certainly appreciate all the help we can get spreading the word about our charity!
In the main community where Courageous Kitchen operates, people struggle to feed their families. It’s not uncommon in this poor neighborhood outside of Bangkok’s tourist sites to see families scavenging through the trash for leftovers that can be used to feed their families.
“Food isn’t a Fun Topic for Everyone”
Often, this includes children who can dig through trash piles without drawing ire or attention from those nearby. So when you bring up food in this community, versus the food loving crowd of teens a similar age at Bangkok Patana (a prestigious international school in Bangkok), the reactions are drastic.
I’m proud to say we’re changing that and if you’re new to our organization we do it in three important ways:
We distribute nutritious food, most often fresh produce, to the families in the community.
We provide a pre-school for students 3-6 years old, and a Saturday school with English and cooking lessons. Lunch is provided to all of the students and adults participating.
Courageous Kitchen identifies the most vulnerable families and provides emergency support for housing, medical expenses, or emergency needs.
This three-fold, holistic approach to reaching out to the community means we’re changing attitudes about food and our students anticipate cooking classes and opportunities to practice their cooking skills at home. The proof is the look on their faces when it’s time to cook!
We couldn’t do this without your support, thank you!
