Filling the Fridge, Feeding Our Families

Care to take the challenge?!

I believe in Mark Bucher’s program, We Care, so much, that all my coaching fees for the next four months (till the end of the year) will be going to his GoFundMe campaign. His fund was originally started to feed the elderly and first responders but has been expanded to feed the kids and their families too.  

The setting

On Thursday, I had my final session of three with Henry, a talented education researcher. He, like millions of Americans, was downsized as a result of the slowdown in our economy from COVID19. For 23+ years I have been successfully placing really smart people with talented companies across the STEM professions, data scientists, economists, statisticians, and survey researchers. People who know me have also enjoyed my career strategy sessions that focus on pitching, networking, and interviewing to identify opportunities. These are really important skills for these unusual times when everything is in constant change and getting downsized or laid off can happen to anyone!

The players

This is not about my career strategy coaching, but about three recent experiences I have had with; an educator, a non-profit consultant, and a socially conscious restaurateur. Sounds like the start of an interesting anecdote, right? These talented individuals motivated me to think about how I could support my neighbors more during these extremely stressful times. (Believe me, there are many others out there that have motivated me too!) Let me introduce you.

Howard Ross, an author/trainer of diversity and inclusion, has led discussions about racial bias and the need for systemic change in recent seminars with Leadership Greater Washington. Our discussions have pushed me to have tough conversations and listen to what people need and want. Check out his book, “Every Day Bias." 

Jeannie Engel, a long time non-profit consultant, founder of Neighbors Rising that gets requests from three non-profits for their clients they serve, LAYC, Identity, and Rodham Institute. With the rising hatred in our country, Jeannie founded the organization to build bridges between communities and to let our immigrant neighbors know we care and we will support them. 

Mark Bucher, founder of Medium Rare Restaurant, who in his spare time has been working to address nutritious school meals, and is currently focused on respectfully meeting the hunger needs in our region for; children, families, and the elderly. He inspires me. Through mutual connections, we were drawn into a brainstorming session and I was able to connect him to ideas on how to obtain further funding so he can keep feeding our communities. 

Eureka

My eureka moment came around 4:17 am on Friday… not ideal but I jotted it down for when I could think more clearly in the morning. After several sessions of feedback from friends and family, here are my thoughts. Because of what I learned from Howard, and the model Jeannie created of neighbors helping neighbors, I was able to see Mark’s efforts as an ideal way to help on a more impactful level. Mark believes in meeting the need across our region for food security as an imperative one that is growing each day as more and more people lose their livelihood.

Mark's idea that I support

Mark Bucher has established a GoFundMe page and all donations are tax-deductible. He has two plans, one to organize local mom & pop restaurants to feed the local communities in need. He gets lots of requests and feels with the funding he can keep the entire local ecosystem more intact by supporting local restaurants to help with feeding communities so no one is hungry. Part two of his plan is to place refrigerators across the region that will be filled daily with balanced lunches for all those kids who are not in school and who are now missing meals. To date, he already has partnerships with DC Recreation Centers and DC Fire and EMS to place fridges with them. 

What I will do. Care to join me?

Between now and the end of the year, if you need career coaching, I am your person. Together, you will acquire career strategies that will make your professional life more rewarding, and all the proceeds of my coaching will go to Mark’s GoFundMe campaign. 

These funds will help fill the gap until Mark can bring in some foundation money or more individual donations. By doing this together as a community we can help people retain their dignity, keep small businesses alive, and survive this challenge together.

• Refer clients to me
• Make donations to Mark’s We Care
• Organize your neighbors, friends, work colleagues to contribute or buy meals from Medium Rare…but wait, there’s more!  

Adapt this idea for your business, double impact

Do you have a trade, a skill, a service that you can give a portion of to the relief effort?  Sometimes we have time to give and sometimes we have treasure. Even if we aren’t rich like Bezos, Musk, or Gates, we, as comfortable middle and upper-class people can give more…here’s how!

• Entrepreneurs out there, companies out there, can you increase your giving?  
• Can you reroute your service fees directly to charitable giving?  
• Do it and tag several friends to take on the challenge as well
• Instead of charging every client, maybe ask every 3rd one to support Mark’s GoFundMe or contribute to a charity of your choice that is having an impact. 
• Instead of investing in your retirement today, give that extra bit to a neighbor who needs it now.  
• Talk to your family and see what you can forgo today, so you can help our neighbors.  

We never know when we will be the ones who will need help.  

My daughter reminded me we have to do more, there needs to be action, we need to become “co-conspirators." Remember Henry? Well, at the end of our third session he asked me where to send my payment and I was able to say, “Don’t send it to me, please give it to Mark Bucher’s GoFundMe page. I want to support his efforts feeding people, and you get a tax write off!” He was a little confused at first, but then became my first client to do this…hopefully it will start a trend and make a difference!

Let’s bring this home, because I know we all want to help. Here’s a great article, written by Howard Ross’s sibling with “Five Bold Ways White Male Allies Can Step Up to Racism”, even though it’s addressed to “White Men” it’s meant for all of us.