Support from Food Revolution Network and...
Welcome and welcome back. It's another amazing day in paradise. Thank you so much for being here.
Life has been such a whirlwind of emotions and activity lately. And I'm so grateful for that. Some of that has lifted my nervous system to a state of rest and digest. Some of it has knocked my nervous system into fight or flight. All is welcome as part of this incredible journey called Life!
Part of this incredible journey has been to received a visible donation and word of support from the Food Revolution Network, specifically Ocean Robbins, CEO. They are supporting the work I'm doing to build Homesteads for the Homeless. This is an incredible honor. You can see it for yourself on the donation page.
Will you please join them with a contribution of your own? You can find my fundraiser called "Help Momma Kai Eliminate Homelessness" here:
For more details about how this happened, please keep reading!
On Thursday, June 8th I was presented with a unique opportunity. I pitched my plan to eliminate homelessness to the Homelessness Task Force, a joint effort of the City of Raleigh and Wake County. The next day I met one on one with a member of the Raleigh City Council.
In anticipation of those days I wrote an email and sent it out to several of the people who have been influential in my growth and development. The group included, but is not limited to, the Jai Institute for Parenting, Food Revolution Network, Goodness Lover and Earth Conscious Films. The path I've been walking was moved in rapid motion by the training I received through the Jai Institute for Parenting.
Docuseries by Goodness Love magnified the knowledge I had gained with Jai. Earth Conscious Films made changing the world seem more possible after I watched "A Need to Grow". And the Food Revolution Network gave me the opportunity to improve my craft with a full scholarship to their plant based coaching certification program.
The scholarship was not just based on my financial need, it was also based on my desire to impact those who are in the most vulnerable populations. Those without housing are among them. I'm so grateful to be a part of their first cohort. To say what they've created is phenomenal is an understatement. And I'm not just saying that.
I appreciate that the 3 pillars the program stands on are marketing, nutrition and coaching. I started learning about all of them from the very beginning. And while I'm learning about starting a business as a plant based coach, I'm also learning life lessons.
For instance, the first marketing lesson was on your why and the second was on how your values influence the culture of your business. Ever since I watched that module, I've noticed the culture of various businesses I patronize. I can't say I didn't notice it before. It just now I have a name to describe it.
Anyways, I digress.
From that one email, I received 2 really special gifts. One was to hear from Rob Herring. He's the one who produced "The Need to Grow". He was one of two contributors to the last fundraiser I hosted.
(Just a quick note about the PayPal fundraisers. You can generate up to $20K within a 30 day period. I was so busy preparing for the 8th that I never had time to market it. So when it ended on June 4th, I started a new one.)
This correspondence means a lot to me because it was so genuine. It was a reminder that many of the people behind the businesses we admire are real people. I really didn't expect much when I sent the email but I got the impression to do it and that was one gift.
"Thank you Rob. I'm gonna get that GPH here in NC somehow. It might not be in Raleigh but it's coming here!" (IYKYK)
I also received a message from Jai, congratulating me on the opportunity before me. That was super special because they are such a small company and to have anyone reach out is a mindful act as they attempt to manage all their creating. Those were the two responses I got via the email and I'm really grateful for them.
Now the Food Revolution Network (FRN) was also on that list because, for one, they introduced me to the movie "The Need to Grow" and two, I'm a student of their plant based coaching certification (PBCC). The server came back after several days of trying saying it couldn't complete the send. That was disappointing. So I moved on.
As the date of the presentation got closer, I started getting anxious so I started reaching out to people to ask for support. Our PBCC cohort has a community page so I posted something there about it, asking for good vibes for my presention. To my surprise and great honor, I received an email from Ocean Robbins, CEO and co-founder of the FRN asking for more information.
I responded with a link to my blog and he responde with a message of encouragement saying he wanted to contribute. He did and left the very awesome message of support you can read above. I appreciate that he was so intentional in the way he left the message. But that wasn't all.
We exchanged several emails and had a great conversation. I shared with him my heartache after my presentation before the task force didn't go as anticipated. He responded to that in a way that meant the world to me.
And I also shared with him the joy after meeting with a member of the city council one on one. Most importantly, we talked about parenting, the heartaches and the joys. It was a genuinely heartwarming exchange.
With 3 of the businesses who set the stage for this endeavor cheering me on, I'm grateful and humbled. Validation is powerful. Again, I invite you to join them with your financial support. Will you please contribute to my fundraiser called "Help Momma Kai Eliminate Homelessness"? You can find it here:
My goal is at least $10K, up to $20K, since that's what PayPal allows. There are two major reasons for this money. One is to get me and Wis settled. We're house-sitting at the end of June. And it's possible we have a place to go for most of July. I'm not worried about what's going to happen after that. It would be helpful to have a place to lay our heads so I can get more work done, faster.
The majority of the funds are for me to complete the launch of the business I've been led to create. It has already been registered with the Secretary of State and was officially recognized on May 30, 2023. All the paperwork and the payment was handled by Liles Law since I was a recipient of their Spark Grant. I'm so grateful for the recognition of what I'm doing.
Moving forward I need to protect my intellectual property and draw up contracts as another step to opening homesteads for the homeless. The need is urgent. I still have a vision for an event called "Christmas in July: Merry Homesgiving". In order to launch that I'll need contracts for several partners in this endeavor.
Whatever is left over I intend to use to help people, no questions asked, no strings attached. We live in a world where we make people jump through hoops to get the help they need. I can't do that.
Wisdom and I have been the recipients of so much grace that I just want to pay it forward since I know we'll never get a chance to pay it back. So however you can support us to do so would be amazing. All dollar matters, we don't discriminate. Since we've often had only the least to give, receiving it is an honor. It's more work but it's an honor too (wink, wink).
Thank you again for being here. Thank you in advance for your support. Enjoy the amazing day you're creating. Peace, Love and Double hugs from me and Wisdom...
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