In March of 2023, I started offering a free home-cooked meal at Railroad Park in Ashland, Oregon.
Now, nearly three years later, I—along with the help of a handful of dedicated and incredible friends/volunteers—have continued to feed our houseless community members and anyone navigating food insecurity (anywhere from 45-60 people) every week.
For almost 3 years now, one day a week, we build community by sharing a meal, and it has been such a bright light in so many of our lives.
This year, for my 43rd birthday, I’d like to fundraise rather than have a party, but I’m gonna try my best to do BOTH!
On Sunday, December 28th, I’ll be hosting a fundraising event complete with live music and delicious food!
The event will cost me between $2,000-$2,500 to host, and my goal for our weekly community meal is $1,000!
There will be a suggested donation to attend this FREE event, and I will be fundraising here and accepting donations through CashApp ($RisingRogue—please include “Birthday Fundraiser” for accounting!) to help me recover the cost and put some funds into things our friends at the meal need.
Anything BEYOND the first $1,000 we raise for our meal will go back to me to help cover the cost of throwing the event.
In lieu of a cash donation, folks can also donate some of the items we are trying to raise the money to collect for our friends to get through the cold and wet winters of Southern Oregon.
Things like tarps, rechargeable hand warmers, socks, gloves, scarves, even to-go containers we can wash and reuse each week for the meal are incredible gifts that will not only make stepping into a new year exciting for me personally, but truly make a difference for people right here in our community.
This event will go on regardless of what we raise here, so even if you can’t or don’t want to donate cash, please keep your eyes and ears open for updates so you can join us that night!
All the support we can get makes a difference. Money, items, and TIME are all beautiful gifts, and I appreciate any and all of them