Acts of service is Denkyem’s love language. We invest in Black-owned businesses who are involved in their communities. Acts of service can be big or small. They can require large amounts of funds, or just time and effort. Community support can be the main mission of a business or in addition to the products and services that they provide. We’ve compiled a list of 4 ways to show the community love and the local businesses doing the work.
1. Provide Food for the Community
- Feed the People Community Kitchen by Chef Tarik provides free hot meals, no questions asked 12-5pm Monday- Saturday at Coyote Central.
- Ujamaa Food Circle by Black Star Farmers and BIPOC Organic is a monthly program providing nutritious and culturally appropriate foods for Black and Indigenous families.
- Plant based Food Share by Ariel Bangs is a community resource for weekly plant-based food boxes, free for POC in Seattle and Federal Way.
2. Invest in Youth Programming
- Queen Care by Life Enrichment Group is a skincare line that benefits the variety of youth programming that Life Enrichment group offers to address the educational needs of the whole-child, including finance education and college preparedness.
- Look ,Listen and Learn by Val Thomas-Matson is a children’s television program that highlights community members of color cooking, reading, and creating together.
- Black Coffee NW integrated youth outreach programs into their business by having a youth baristas training program and providing a home for the Northside Step Team.
- SkinStatMD provides 20% proceeds from Black Girl Sunscreen sales to Project Girl Mentoring Program
3. Provide Community Space
- Boon Boona Coffee displays art by local artists and provides a space for food pop-ups, library programming, and events.
- Matice Beauty Supply brings in vendors and caterers to their Community Conference Room. Currently a different food caterer is being featured every Sunday, at a reduced rental fee in order to support those whose business was impacted by the cancellation of events over the past year.
- Estelita’s Library has plans to use their new location in the Central district to provide a community space, share knowledge and to support those impacted by the pandemic.
4. Support Mental Health Services
- WA Therapy Fund was founded by therapist Ashley McGirt, in an effort to lessen barriers to healing in the Black Community.
- Wellness Supports by Gathering Roots was established to cover 12 weeks of care with a wellness practitioner (therapist, masseuse, acupuncturist) for those identifying as BIPOC in Washington.