As the holidays approach, many of us are lucky to have a roof over our heads and food to share with our family and friends. There is a growing number of people all across New York that are less fortunate than us, searching for any means to afford at least a meal a day. Especially under the circumstances we are in for the year 2020, it has become even more challenging for the homeless to attain basic needs. We are hosting this fundraiser in hopes of raising money to support our homeless population in NYC while simultaneously supporting black-owned restaurants. We would love to reach our goal of $1,500 in order to feed at least 150 homeless people across NYC on Thanksgiving. Along with that, we are accepting clothing donations! We know how cold our winters can get and are positive that they would be appreciative of clothing to keep them warm over the winter. The funds we raise will go straight to black-owned restaurants in order to purchase meals for the homeless and will be distributed across NYC along with the donated clothes on Thanksgiving Day.

According to the University of California, "41% of Black-owned businesses have shuttered since February, compared to 17% of White-owned businesses. Black-owned restaurants in the New York City area have seen their revenue fall as much as 70% to 80% since the start of the pandemic, according to local culinary business owners." (source: Riley de León, @RILEYCNBC).

"Black restaurateurs face far more hurdles due to systemic racism: It can be harder to raise money, and many don’t have resources to pay for social media managers or pricey public relations firms, which tend to be luxuries." (source: Tanay Warerkar and Luke Fortney , EATER NY). The Coronavirus pandemic has only exacerbated the existing struggles of these restaurateurs.

"In August 2020, there were 57,660 homeless people, including 12,866 homeless families with 19,006 homeless children, sleeping each night in the New York City municipal shelter system. Families make up two-thirds of the homeless shelter population." (Source: Coalition for the Homeless)

For many homeless New Yorkers, this is their only meal of the day. It would mean a lot if you could contribute towards this cause. We would be incredibly grateful for any contribution that would allow us to bring our homeless brothers and sisters a hot meal on thanksgiving day while helping out black-owned restaurants. We will be purchasing meals from Zaca Cafe, Sol Sips, and Country Lite Jerk. If we exceed our goal, our reach can be even greater. We can feed more homeless people and support more restaurants. Thank you so much in advance for your support!


Thank you,
Noor and Andrea