Sweet Maple Cafe's COVID-19 Emergency Fund

WHO I AM

I come from a tiny family but I have eight tios (Spanish for uncles). When my mom opened her breakfast cafe over 20 years ago, my older brother and I could appreciate some of the immediate changes in our lives: our mom’s heightened stress as she juggled motherhood with a new business; eating breakfast at Sweet Maple instead of in our own kitchen; and the names of her employees, which became commonplace in our household as she spoke about her day over dinner.

What I appreciate now at 24 years old that I did not at age 4 are the ways in which Sweet Maple Cafe expanded my family to include the many people who once worked, and still work, at Sweet Maple Cafe. Over the years, we have celebrated the births of children, grieved the passing of relatives, toasted each other’s accomplishments. Not as co-workers, but as friends and as family.


WHY I AM FUNDRAISING

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has shaken the world, this country, our city, and my Sweet Maple family. I have started this GoFundMe page because many members of Sweet Maple’s family face grave uncertainty now that Sweet Maple has been forced to close its doors. As the public health outlook for Chicago grows bleaker, and the chances of reopening to in-house diners grows more distant, I worry about the ability of my tios to provide for themselves and their family without full-time pay.  As much as we want to, my family and I simply cannot support the entire payroll for an indefinite period of time.

I am asking for contributions because I want to provide the men who I care for as uncles with support throughout the novel coronavirus pandemic. These men are hardworking, they are generous, and they are trying to support their wives and children during this horrific health crisis. I desperately want to help them.


HOW I WILL USE YOUR GENEROUS CONTRIBUTION

Our biggest concerns are food, housing, and baby supplies. I will use contributions to order food in bulk, so that everyone can feed themselves and their families. I also want to use contributions to help them cover rents. Several have infants and growing young kids, and I want to make sure they have the diapers, baby wipes, and clothing they need. Your contributions are truly for the basics, to help these men and their families weather this crisis. I would not ask for what is not necessary.


THANK YOU

I know Sweet Maple customers, fellow Chicagoans, and others sympathetic to the strains of this pandemic are deeply compassionate and generous people. This is a challenging and uncertain moment, but I believe we will emerge from it as a stronger community.

I am so thankful to those who have read this story. If you are able, I ask you to consider contributing to this fund with a donation. Any amount helps, and we will start using the funds immediately. Your support would mean the world to me.

No amount is too small. It will all help. My tios would be so grateful.