LETTER: Ukraine fundraising dinner, auction a success

July 6, 2022

To the community: 

On Thursday, June 23, Stowe Street Cafe hosted a tender and heartfelt Ukrainian Community Dinner and Silent Art Auction as Part 2 of our fundraising efforts to help World Central Kitchen's work in Ukraine.

Part 1 of our efforts took place throughout the month of April and helped contribute $4,464.00. We are pleased to report that Part 2 will now bring another $4,145.00, for a grand total of $8,609.00.

Much like World Central Kitchen, our team at the cafe sincerely believes that food is really about community, and that food can be an agent of change.

Several of our dinner guests joined us thanks to the tremendous generosity of a community member who donated several tickets because they believe in us, and believe in Chef Stephanie Biczko's talent for preparing delicious dishes from far away places to help us discover new flavors while feeling more connected to those places, to one another, and to the fact that there is so much more that connects us than divides us.

We agreed that the donated tickets should go to those in our community who give back - be it through education, healthcare and medical services, volunteering, looking out for neighbors - and frankly - just because someone felt they should enjoy a very special evening.

The feedback from the dinner was tremendous! We were told that the dishes "tasted just like home" from those who'd know best, and that the feeling of community was just what was needed.

Thank you to Chef Stephanie, our team, to our generous donor, to the many local artists + businesses who contributed, to all of you who participated, and of course, to World Central Kitchen (wck.org) for helping to make sure that people have food, connection, and hope.

With the devastating news that broke the very next day, we are already exploring how we can best help next. Please stay tuned, and please keep taking good care of yourselves and one another.

Nicole Grenier, owner

Stowe Street Cafe