Hi! My name is Samantha Meyers and I'm an Elementary School ESOL teacher. Last year, my colleagues Mina Thompson and Liz Robens decided to teach vocabulary and writing in an innovative way: through cooking! They chose 12 second-grade English Learners who struggled the most in literacy, committed to meeting with them weekly and, just like that, Cooking Club was born! These students face many obstacles in their young lives. Food insecurity, language barriers and possible social anxiety from those obstacles. Their goal was to give them a special, hands-on way to learn English. It quickly became their favorite time of the week!

These are some of the most hard-working people Liz and Mina have ever met. Many of these students grew from only writing single words to writing 4 to 5-sentence recipes within 8 months. One student spoke her first words in English during Cooking Club and another taught his family how to make the recipes at home.

As we begin this next school year, Liz and Mina would like to fundraise just a bit so that Cooking Club can continue to grow and thrive. Two of our fellow ESOL teachers, Betsy Seals and Maria Dieguez, are jumping on board so that they can reach double the students. They hope to include field trips to a farm and a community kitchen. Last year, they went to a grocery store. This support would also help them provide an elaborate Thanksgiving feast where they would grow their own veggies, host a bake-off, and more!

Any financial support you are able to give goes directly to supporting our students and is very appreciated!