An Invitation: The FareStart Gala

...309 days to go...

Last week Natalie and I took a short cruise from LA to Ensenada, Mexico. Natalie quickly discovered the teen-only hangout space and mostly abandoned me other than meeting up for lunch and dinner. There may have been a boy involved.

By modern vacation standards, the whole trip was quite affordable, but obviously still vastly out of reach for the homeless people I’ve been working with the last few months. We spend so much time focused just on trying to get food in stomachs and roofs over heads, but for me trips and travel are such an important part of what makes life worth living. For Seattle’s homeless, though, vacations are not going to happen without a whole lot of upward mobility.

One of the organizations that’s actually trying to create some of this upward mobility is FareStart. FareStart is a job training organization where homeless or recently homeless individuals can become students and gain on-the-job skills to prepare them for jobs in foodservice. The organization provides wraparound social services such as housing, mental health support, and transportation to support students during their transition into employment and housing.

If you love food, you should really consider volunteering with FareStart. I’ve spent a few mornings volunteering in their community kitchen, where students (and volunteers) prepare meals for other nonprofits, shelters, schools, and daycare centers. When a student graduates from the community kitchen, as a rite of passage, they design and cook a full, multi-course meal. I had the best Banh Mi of my life there a couple of weeks ago.

I don’t have a lot of content today because I was focused on having fun with Natalie last week. Instead, I’d like to extend an invitation to my Seattle-based readers. Jen and I have purchased a table for FareStart’s annual gala, and we’d love to have a few readers join us. The event takes place from 5-9pm on October 5th at The Westin Seattle, and will feature a gourmet multi-course meal curated by chefs from some of Seattle’s hottest restaurants like Atoma and Local Tide (trust me, if it’s a FareStart event, the food will be good). Dress is black tie optional (I definitely won’t be wearing one though!)

I think job training is key to helping homeless people in Seattle, and I know I’ll learn more and generate better ideas alongside some like-minded readers (I always learn the most when readers challenge me and push my thinking). If you’d like a front-row seat, a great meal, and some stimulating conversation, please message me this week (we’ll cover the ticket costs for a few readers).