by Dwight | Jul 27, 2017 | Donor Updates, Inspiration, Uncategorized
“I’ve met so many who have lost so much. But they never lose their dreams for their children or their desire to better our world. They ask for little in return – only our support in their time of greatest need” — UN Secretary-General, António Guterres
On June 17th we celebrated World Refugee Day with 100 of our closest friends and neighbors. Our awesome volunteers joined forces and with their efforts, we were able to provide an entire afternoon of health and wellness for the community. We had an art and craft station, a gardening workshop, a make shift salon, and a fitness session led by a volunteer Crossfit Trainer.
Did you know nearly half of all refugees in 2017 are children?
With the support of another Bangkok based organization, Jesuit Refugee Services, we were able to feed everyone some of our CK favorites: Green Curry, papaya salad, fish, fruit, and all the trimmings. The kids gobbled it up faster than we could plate!
This momentous occasion marked a special one for our families, as we’re typically caught up in the hustle and bustle of the kitchen. When we’re not cooking, we’re teaching English, or visiting a family in need. For Refugee Day we were able to rest our woks and enjoy celebrating the beauty and diversity that makes up Courageous Kitchen, while honoring those that make up this world.
Written by Christy Innouvong and Photos by Dew Napattaloong
by Dwight | Nov 16, 2016 | Donor Updates
Smoother Donations with Stripe
Holiday giving season is upon us and we’ve just updated our website with Stripe integration to make it easier to take donations! This means whether you’re doing a one time meal sponsorship or interested in setting up a recurring donation to help a family in 2017, it’s easier and fee free for a limited time!
The Credit Card Option & Incremental Giving
A few of you have written to us about problems with Paypal accounts, or trouble donating from certain places around the world. We’re happy to report these issues should mostly be sorted out and as a registered charity we’re approved for the Stripe Nonprofit program. This means the first $15,000 we raise online before next November, will not be charged any fees! In the future we’ll still be eligible for a discount on fees, but keep in mind this deal is exclusively for Courageous Kitchen in 2017!
When you make a donation on our website the default option should be set to credit card. This processing option is Stripe and you can enter your information securely by following the pop down menus. Paypal lovers don’t fret the option is still available for those who prefer this method and we’ve added a page to explain other donation options too.
Online shoppers can give small amounts incrementally, but these donations add up!
Finally online shoppers don’t forget you can search for “Courageous Kitchen” in the nonprofit programs on your favorite sites such as Amazon and Ebay. Select us are your charity of choice and when you check out a small percentage of your payment will go towards our efforts creating leaders!
2017 Giving Campaigns
For the holiday and on into 2017 you will see us promoting two giving campaigns. The first is to get our classes funded for the full year next year, with a fundraising goal of $10,000. This is money to cover our shopping expenses for each meal and additional would help us to get more advanced equipment (we are currently only cooking on gas woks) and much needed safety equipment for our fast action kitchen (first aid kids, new fire extinguishers, etc…). This part of the project is the heart of our story and we’ve made the options for giving flexible with a $1 donation to give a plate of food to a student, up to sponsoring an entire cooking class for $100 (you can also choose a custom amount to donate).
The second mission for 2017 is to get as many families sponsored as possible in our community. As we build stronger families, we also want to strengthen the family unit our students go back to after class. Your sponsorship could enable a family to find safer housing, afford the children in the family a chance to see the doctor, and purchase food and medication. These recurring donations are also better for small organizations like ours, as they allow us to forecast giving into the future and respond quickly to emergency needs.
Thank you for your support and sticking with us as we’ve grown over the past year, we’re confident great things are on the horizon in 2017!
