I hope this email finds you well and you’re having a lovely autumn!
It’s hard to believe, but we’re coming up on our tenth year in the classroom next year. We have big plans. Last year, we were in 34 classrooms across the province. This year, our goal is 42 classes. We want to give more than 1200 students the opportunity to learn first hand where their food comes from and get them excited about eating healthy. That’s a big jump for us!
I want to share with you an excerpt from a letter we recently received from a grade four student.
“I only liked meat and I hated vegetables, but Growing Chefs! made cool and creative ways to have vegetables and make it taste good. Now not only [do] I like meat, I like vegetables too.” —Harry, Gr. 4 student
I love getting feedback like this from our students. We see examples like Harry all the time—kids that have no interest in healthy food or eating vegetables that become kale crusaders by end the of the Growing Chefs! program.
It’s an inspiring reminder that the hands-on growing and cooking lessons that our volunteer chefs do with our students has a direct impact on the students’ health. Getting their hands in the soil, caring for the plants, harvesting their vegetables, cooking their own meals—it gets kids thinking about the food they eat and how their food choices affects their health, their community, and the environment.
It costs us $3,800 per classroom to run the program. This covers all the cooking equipment, gardening materials, transportation, staff time and volunteer training and resources we need to deliver our seven hands-on lessons to the kids. Our goal, to increase the program by eight classrooms, will cost us $30,400.
I’m writing you today to ask if you’ll help us reach this goal. Help us raise the $30,400 to inspire more kids like Harry.
Becoming a monthly donor means providing a consistent, reliable, and predictable source of funding. This is an exciting new program for us. Join as a founding member and become part of Growing Chefs! history. Even a gift of $5 a month can make a difference.
What your monthly donation will do:
$10/mo – pays for the entire program for one student (That’s right—just ten bucks a month pays for the whole program for one student.)
$20/mo – covers one volunteer training session
$125/mo –buys gardening and cooking equipment for one classroom
$315/mo – pays for the Classroom Gardening and Cooking program for one entire classroom
Appetizers
Soil for a classroom $25
Classroom manual for volunteers $30
Mains
Portable stoves for a classroom $75
Entire program for one student $125
Volunteer training session $250
Dessert
One classroom kit $1500
Gardening and Cooking Program for one classroom $3800
Give the gift of healthy eating.
Not sure what to get friends and loved ones this holiday? Consider giving an In-Honour gift to Growing Chefs! On our Canada Helps page, you can make a gift in honour of a friend or family member. It will let you set up an e-card notifying them of your thoughtful donation on their behalf.
Give the gift of wine.
La Stella and Le Vieux Pin wineries are kindly donating 15% of sales from their beautiful gift packs this holiday season. Order online at La Stella or Le Vieux Pin or contact Michelle. Be sure to mention Growing Chefs! to Michelle or in the comments section for online orders.
I know there are lots of choices this time of year, and we would be honoured if you would consider supporting us. If you have any questions about our plans in 2015, or donating to Growing Chefs!, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Monthly, single and in-honour donations can be made on our Canada Helps page. As a registered charity, we are able to issue tax receipts for these gifts.
