Chefs & Seeds 2nd annual fundraising event will be held on Wednesday, November 4th at 3015 at Trinity Groves from 7pm – 10pm, benefiting Seeds of Africa’s mission to create world-class schools and community centers in African communities.
Chefs & Seeds 2nd annual event is part of the two-year multi-city Dream School Campaign raising $2.2 Million to build a school and community center that will serve 600 students and their families in Adama, Ethiopia. Over $1 Million has already been raised towards the campaign. Atti Worku – former Miss Ethiopia, Columbia University honors graduate and Executive Director of Seeds of Africa – says, “I was lucky enough to grow up middle class in Ethiopia which meant my parents could afford to send me to one of the best schools in town, but I realized other children I grew up with were forced to attend underfunded and overcrowded schools while living in extreme and dangerous poverty situations. I realized that the children I grew up with and the children I went to school with had two different trajectories in life that seemed to me extremely unfair.”
The Dream School will be an educational academy that competes with international standards. Worku continues, “Whether you live in New York or Ethiopia, I think every child deserves to have the best education possible. It will be the first building we actually own (the foundation currently rents space) and will house Pre-K to 12th grade, be open to the community and families of the children as well as serve as the first public library in my hometown.”
Individual ticket prices range from $50 – $150 and include the chef/vendor tasting and music by DJ. Blake Ward. Featured Talent: John Tesar, Knife; Omar Flores, Casa Rubia; Stephen Rogers, Gemma; Joel Harrington, Bolsa; Tiffany Derry, Tiffany Derry Concepts; Anastacia Quinones, Kitchen LTO; Gilbert Garza, Suze; Sharon Van Meter, 3015 at Trinity Groves; Tracy German, Tracy’s Cake Bar; Russell Hayward, Ascension Coffee and Uno Immanivong, Chino Chinatown with Wagyu beef by A Bar N Ranch and champagne and other spirits provided by Veuve Clicquot. Amy Vanderoef will emcee the event.
Seeds of Africa’s mission is to educate and nurture children and their families by providing quality education and community development programs in Adama, Ethiopia. The program moves beyond the traditional aid model by shifting from relief efforts to providing students, families, and communities with the resources and skills they need to support themselves and find local solutions to fight poverty, increase civic participation and enhance community re-investment. Seeds of Africa began in 2008 as an after-school program. It has since grown into a full-time school that serves pre-k to 2nd grade students, and a community development program that serves their mothers and other female guardians.
The Dream School will provide opportunities for expanded community development programs, including potential employment of Seeds parents in school programs, increased literacy and health offerings, expansion of our microloan program, and access to community learning spaces for people and businesses in Adama. The goal is to build an Ethiopian academy that meets the most rigorous of international academic standards by also providing students with an engaging environment with the resources they need to thrive and succeed in high school, college and beyond.
