A Tapestry

Friends, here we are, months later and it feels perhaps like it has been years. If we could all gather around the table and share stories of how life has changed, perhaps the gift is that life has changed us. That we ourselves will never be the same. That this is the year we tell the truth.  This is the year we understand what empathy is. To hear and see the stories of those around us with clarity.. We begin to see the tapestry being woven before us. Sometimes it is the most beautiful thing we have ever seen. And sometimes all we can see are its flaws. But if we never see the flaws we won’t change, and change is where the growth comes. 2020 has to be a year of change. We have to grow. We have to begin again. 

This Spring when the world went into a collective quarantine the volunteers and board members of Goldfinch Cafe were busy coming alongside other nonprofits in the community like Aurora Interfaith Food Pantry and Marie Wilkinson Food Pantry doing the work that needed to be done, and helping them. All the while thinking and planning what was next for Goldfinch Cafe. We were so grateful to partner with Hesed House and serve lunches every week this spring and summer. This month we have now transitioned to once a month hot lunch. Volunteers would come (socially distanced and masked) starting three times and then once a week to pack over 140 healthy bagged lunches to be delivered to our neighbors, it was a great opportunity to connect and know we weren’t alone. Since the week of May 18  through the support of our volunteers and donors we have been able to provide over 3,180 meals to our neighbors at Hesed House during this time of Covid. 

As the weeks went on we were able to have our first “Pancakes for Everyone” event. A Saturday morning filled with laughter, syrup, and rainbow goodness. Hosted by our friends at Branch Gardens in downtown Aurora, we couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful morning. The community came out to spread kindness and hear about what was coming next for Goldfinch Cafe. It was a day we will never forget. It was what community should be. 

You can check out some of the highlights of our last few months here.

Here we are now and it is Fall, where did the Summer go? We ended August with another fun event with our friends over at Wyckwood House on a First Fridays, where this dream of Goldfinch Cafe was first launched.  The support and love we have felt from our friends and community is overwhelming. We can’t say thank you enough.

 

Where are we headed now? What does the future hold for Goldfinch…..

We want to come to YOU. We have decided that Goldfinch is becoming MOBILE. Goldfinch Cafe wants to be able to come to the areas most affected by food insecurity and offer healthy meals to everyone, no matter the means. When the pandemic hit we knew that the need for food access rose but also we wanted to be able to go into communities and not expect communities to come to us. When we are fully operational with a working menu and not in fundraising mode…..we will be on a FOOD TRUCK! We have been in conversations with a local company in the planning and dreaming of what that could be. We are beyond excited that this change has led us to this place. 

 

Until then we will continue to have community events, and “pay what you can” fundraisers. Because we now need to “BUILD THAT TRUCK!”.

If you would like to become a community partner and sponsor an event or be a donor towards the food truck  you can donate here.

Or if you are interested in volunteering with us at a future event or please sign up here. 

If you are interested in hosting an event or would like to speak with me you can contact me here.

 

Continue to see the beauty all around you. Continue to see and call out the systems that need to be changed and be a part of the change. Don’t wait for someone else to change them. This is the year that we begin to tell the truth. Tell the truth, and speak it loud so the whole earth shakes. We have work to do.

 

Everyone. Always.

Sheli