Provide Emergency Relief to Asian American Elders

Dear Big Hearts,

Heart of Dinner has quickly mobilized to bring critical relief to Asian American Elders in Los Angeles, where devastating wildfires have created a storm of hardship. Our Elder community members who already face food insecurity and isolation now confront an additional challenge: toxic air quality from the fires poses a severe threat, especially to those with respiratory conditions. The barriers to accessing culturally-mindful resources and support - barriers that existed long before this crisis - have only grown more severe.

Los Angeles has long been part of our vision as Heart of Dinner's second home. The Asian American older adult community in LA faces challenges that deeply mirror what moved us to action in New York: high poverty rates, extreme isolation, and limited access to foundational essentials for survival– especially lacking in culturally-mindful resources. The wildfires have intensified these challenges, creating immediate dangers that will have lasting impacts on our Elders' wellbeing. While we've been carefully planning our future permanent presence in LA, these wildfires demanded we act now.

On January 10, we sprang into action, delivering our first wave of care packages to Korean immigrant Elders (65+) at a local LA shelter (pictured below). Each care package brought the warmth of home: nourishing Korean bone broth, roasted chestnuts, fresh produce, rice, buns, fishcake, beef kimbap, and essential N95 masks for protection against the toxic air. True to our Heart of Dinner approach, these emergency relief packages include handwritten notes in our Elders' native languages and hand-decorated bags - elements that bring comfort and emotional connection during this especially challenging time.

Born from our immediate response to COVID-19, we've built operations in NYC that remain fully operational and have steadily served NYC Elders over the years. We developed Heart of Dinner's distinctive care model to show our Elders just how loved and cared for they are through meaningful connections between generations.Today, alongside our dedicated staff, we guide volunteers who bring this tradition to life through heartfelt notes in native languages and uplifting decorated bags. These signature elements of care, which have defined our work from the start, now extend to our emergency relief efforts, bringing familiar comfort during crisis.

This experience has taught us how to respond swiftly in times of crisis. Our emergency relief effort aims to deliver 1,000 care packages to LA Elders in immediate response to this disaster and in the coming months of recovery.

Your support and it’s direct impact:

• 100% of your donation goes directly to Heart of Dinner’s emergency relief efforts to respond to crises.
• $30 provides an Elder a Heart of Dinner care package with 2-3 days of nourishing meals and protective supplies
• Your support gives us the flexibility to adapt our help based on critical immediate needs - whether providing individual care packages for home delivery or requested bulk food supplies for Elder communities sharing kitchen spaces

Thank you for standing with us during this critical time and for bringing comfort and care to our beloved Elders when they need it most.

With deepest gratitude,

Yin Chang & Moonlynn Tsai

Cofounders, Heart of Dinner