RainyDayChefs

Paws fundraiser (July 21st, 2018)

 

This month, we decided to host an ice cream stand, in celebration of summer! For this fundraiser, I decided to support the organization PAWS. PAWS is a non-profit organization that helps rescue animals and finds them new homes so they can live better lives. PAWS has always been dear to me. I support all organizations that help animals, but this one, in particular, has always been my favorite. I have supported PAWS since I moved to Seattle. When I was 7, I had heard that PAWS was hosting a walk to raise funds. I helped my mom set up a team for my puppy, Rio, and we had a blast. That day, I realized how good it felt to do something to help and support a special cause. It was PAWSwalk led me up to starting RainyDayChefs.

If you have ever hosted a lemonade stand as a kid, you would know that there are steps that you have to go through first before you actually set up the stand. It's the same for hosting an ice cream stand. I needed to plan out everything that we needed to make it possible. The table, the dates, the posters- and most importantly, the ice cream! I also needed to advertise that we were hosting the ice cream stand. I remember sitting there with a big list of to do's and supplies, and I realized that I needed some help!

The week before we hosted our ice cream stand, we needed to come up with the most important part of our stand. What flavors were we going to make? After spending some time thinking of the best summer flavors we could make, we came up with mango with cardamom, and rose ice cream, which is a popular flavor in Indian and Middle Eastern cuisines. For the mango ice cream, we used special cardamom powder that we got from India, and for the rose, we had to go looking through many stores to find rose syrup. We decided to top the rose ice cream with crushed pistachios for a delicious touch.

I had decided to call my friends over on the day before we hosted the stand. We had a great time coloring posters and making signs to hang up on our table! That night, I also made the last of our four batches of ice cream, and at that moment, I knew that our ice cream stand was going to be a huge success!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One thing I remember was the night before the ice cream stand, I was talking to my mom. She told me that something very exciting was going to happen during the ice cream stand. I wondered how it could get any better, and then she told me that our state senator, Manka Dhingra, was going to swing by our ice cream stand!

The next day was really fun, but busy. We had to set up our table, hang up our posters, and make sure that our ice cream didn't melt while we were serving it! My amazing friends decided to join me and help me serve that day, and I have to say that I couldn't have done it without them. This experience gave me an insight into the restaurant world, which I had never experienced before! While we were serving ice cream, someone came up to our stand. It was Manka Dhingra! I had never met her before, and it was amazing to meet someone representing our state.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the day of our ice cream stand, we had so many people support us and contributed to the $321 dollars that we made! I didn't even know that we would raise even as close to that amount. I want to thank everyone who stopped by and picked up an ice cream, and I want you to know that your contribution is helping a puppy or a kitten find a new home.

If you want to sign up for the 2018 PAWSwalk, go to https://give.paws.org/rainydaychefs-for-paws. It is hosted on Sunday, September 16th at 10:00 AM at Magnuson Park in Seattle.