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BIPOC Beverage School

BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) BIPOC Beverage School offers affordable wine/cocktail classes for career advancement

$10,000
pledged of$20,000 goal
1
0Days Left

Project Description

Dear Funders:

We are thrilled to invite you to help fund our BIPOC Beverage School, which we'll start building in the fall of 2020. Here's what we're asking you to help fund:

  • The BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) Beverage School will be an 8-10 week knowledge sharing and training course for BIPOC folks in the hospitality industry. It is our aim to offer this course at a low cost to participants who wish to build their knowledge, skills, and abilities in the fields of Cocktails and Wine in a culturally competent environment. Many cannot afford traditional sommelier courses where their point of view is relentlessly questioned, diminished, or outright silenced. These are the crafts of our ancestors, the ingredients for craft beverages come from the earth, and we are worthy of harvesting the fruits of BIPOC folks' labor for our collective liberation, to build intergenerational wealth, and to ensure we become invaluable in an industry that has too long been dominated by a toxic, white, male-centric culture rooted in patriarchy, sexism, racism, and systemic oppression.
  • With your support, we will offer the course for a low entry fee, will fairly compensate BIPOC instructors, and will aim to reimburse course participants 100% of their fee upon completion of the entire course. This will not only significantly lower barriers to entry, but will also incentivize participants to commit to their own learning for the course duration.
  • Should we exceed our fundraising goal for the inaugural BIPOC Beverage School, we will also make scholarships available for course materials (books, bar tools, wine and ingredient purchasing stipends, etc.) and the cost of course participation for those who truly cannot afford to pay for this educational opportunity. Because this idea is new to us, we're curious how many of you want to invest, and will proceed according to your generous support.

Thank you for helping us fortify our industry with a focus on radical inclusion, intentional diversity, and accessibility for all. The hospitality business has long been a first job or a second chance for those who lack education as much as it is for scholars, artists, creatives, and others who simply find joy in service.

With your contributions, we will continue our work co-creating a legacy for Black and brown people that we can all take pride in, a legacy that uplifts our stories, our values, our communities, and our lives.

We can't wait until every restaurant and bar in America has a BIPOC in a leadership position, whether in food or beverage, front of house service, or kitchen management. Can we get a cheers to that?

Updates

The Campaign FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions:

  • What is BIPOC? BIPOC stands for Black, Indigenous, People of Color. Read more here.
  • Why do BIPOC need access to more educational opportunities? Our BIPOC communities represent a huge majority of lower level positions in the hospitality industry, but like most industries in the United States, we are less represented in leadership positions (read: better paying jobs). With knowledge comes power, and this program is one step on a long journey for building knowledge, skills, and abilities for BIPOC's competitive career advancement.
  • Who will run BIPOC Beverage School? Thamee, Washington, DC's only full-service Burmese restaurant, is partnering with BIPOC cocktail and wine experts in the DC area and nationwide to enlist the top talent to lead courses. This project is in its idea phase, being developed with input from BIPOC locally and nationally, and we are fundraising to make it happen now.
  • How can I lean more? Email [email protected] or follow @thamee_DC on Instagram.
GingerBread Capital
06/18/2020
Monetary Contribution
$10,000
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Just Because I Care

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About the Entrepreneur

Washington, DC
Created 1 Campaign
Social Good

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Just Because I Care

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