Help The House Foundation Launches To Support Hospitality Workers

Help the House Foundation Launches To Support Hospitality Workers

Help the House Foundation aims to create a space to show true hospitality to those who know it best.

A new nonprofit has launched to support hospitality workers. Help the House Foundation aims to create a space to show true hospitality to those who know it best.

'What can we do as a community to make some change?" said Kate Meier, founder of Help the House Foundation.

All four of Meier's kids are in the hospitality industry. Her daughter is a front of house manager and her three sons are chefs. Meier started her business, Craftmade Aprons, after one of her sons came to her asking if she could make him a custom apron. She then worked with her other sons to come up with an apron that fit the needs of those in the restaurant industry.

Based in northeast Minneapolis, Craftmade Aprons can be found throughout the world.

"In that process for me, I was learning about individuals in the industry and how you've got a family within each kitchen," Meier said.

It's how Meier met Chef Yia Vang of Union Hmong Kitchen and Vinai.

Vang said on how Meier got her start with Craftmade Aprons, "It was a mom going, 'How can I take care of my boys?' So she made an apron that was created in a way to protect them, literally. Because if you think about what the apron does, it protects them... Now she wants to put the apron on the world and say, 'How can I protect all these people in this industry? This family of mine.'"

Vang added, "Our focus is so much on hospitality of others that there's this forgetfulness of... we have to start with ourselves first."

Chef Vang, along with Chef Nettie Colόn and Chef JD Fratzke, serve as board members for the foundation.

"The biggest issue I've seen in the restaurant industry is this idea that this is just a passing through kind of thing where it's like, I'll do this until I find my grown up job," Vang said.

Meier added, "It's not a passing thing. You should be able to have that passion be your career, and be your life, and be your livelihood. Supporting that and caring about that has become my mission."

Help the House Foundation aims to support those in the hospitality industry nationwide by bridging the gap to physical health, mental health and general wellbeing resources.

For example, that could mean anything from help with rent or a phone bill, to mental health support, to ESL classes.

"There's this thing my mom taught me where she said, 'You know, we were once cold and there was this blanket of grace that was put around us. Sometimes we get so warm in that blanket of grace that we forgot what it was like to be cold once.' With the House fund, what we're saying is, 'We remember what it was like to be cold. Here's this blanket of grace and we want to wrap this around you. We invite you in,'" Vang said.

Those who want to support Help the House Foundation can donate online. They also will be holding pop-up fundraisers.

Beyond donations, they are looking to make connections with people to see how else they can build their support network. Those interested in helping can email kate@helpthehousefoundation.org.

SOURCE: KARE 11