NEWSLETTER NOVEMBER 2021

CTF Serves Up the Chowdah!
Chefs Table Foundation participated in a fundraising event at the Plainridge Park Casino in Plainville, MA on Saturday October 16, 2021.  This was a terrific opportunity for CTF to reach to a new audience and raise money, by offering up some tasty chowder.  For many nonprofit organizations like ourselves, it has been difficult to get out in person and meet people, so this event was a true blessing.  CTF was the only nonprofit of record active at this event.
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​We at CTF continue our fundraising efforts. We are pleased to hear that the management of the casino will be inviting CTF to future events.  We thank Warren Frank, Joe Williams, and Paula Sullivan for their selfless volunteerism to CTF. 

​Two members of the West Roxbury and Roslindale Kiwanis clubs also came out to support us.  One member, we’ll call him "Rumor Control" stated CTF had the best clam chowder at the event!

Meet Board Member “Inky”
Sengil Nganda Inkiala, otherwise known as “Inky,” has come a long way from his roots in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Africa. As a teenager, he and his family came to the Unites States seeking a cure for his vision, which was rapidly fading. Despite multiple surgeries, he became totally blind at the age 16. In spite of his vison impairment, Inky went on to finish college and received a graduate degree in Special Education/Rehabilitation for the Blind and Visually Impaired.  He returned to the Congo to help the government create services to help blind students and returned to the US nine years later. Since 1998 he has worked at the Massachusetts Commission for the Blind.  He is currently the Vocational Rehabilitation & Children’s Services Supervisor.
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Inky met CTF Founder Joe Murphy when Joe became blind.  Recognizing Joe’s skills, he had some ideas about how Joe could help his clients. “There’s a good opportunity for you. I bet a lot of people would like to know how to make meals,” he said to Joe. He added, “I’m in charge of the youth as well and I asked him to make a program.” Inky suggested that Joe creates a proposal to help young people and adults to learn to cook at home.

Inky believes in the CTF mission of teaching the visually impaired culinary skills. He sees it as a necessary vocational training. As such, he supports the idea of a mobile kitchen that can reach those in need of these skills, as traveling to a location can be difficult.  “Take the kitchen to the people.”

Raffle Update
CTF will announce the October 2021 Raffle Winner on November 9. In the meantime, see the dates and prizes for the upcoming raffles

Our Raffle Items, Dates, and Prize Schedule
Purchase tickets for all six raffles ($20 savings!)

• November 30, 2021:  Weber Grill with BBQ Provisions (Valued at $1,000.00)
• December 31, 2021:  Ten (10) $100.00 Boston area Restaurant Gift Certificates (Valued at $1,000.00)
• January 31, 2022:  TBD Murder Mystery Package (Table of eight) or Valentine’s Romance Package. Each valued at $1,000.00.
• February 28, 2022:  One 70-inch Flat Panel Smart TV with 2 Tickets to Local Sports Teams (such as the Sox, Bruins, Patriots, Celtics, or Revolution) Tickets. Valued at $1,000.00)
• March 31, 2022:  Florida Condo + 2 Round Trip Air Fare & $100 Grocery Gift Certificate (Valued at $2,000.00)

To purchase tickets and for more information go to: https://www.chefstables.org/raffles-and-events.html

CTF Participates in Giving Tuesday November 30, 2022
On November 30, Giving Tuesday will help the Chefs Table Foundation (CTF) move forward in expanding its mission in 2022.  We are opening up our campaign on November 22, 2021 and it will remain open until December 31, 2021. CTF has been partnering with The Massachusetts Commission for the Blind to increase its service to the visually impaired and blind.  We’ve been asked to revise our current eight-class culinary course for the blind to include more cooking.  To that end, we’ll be teaching a 20-class culinary course starting in 2022.

​Click on the video to watch Joe Murphy discuss the Giving Tuesday campaign:

​We are fundraising through Giving Tuesday to help us purchase more cooking equipment for home use. We wish to buy 10 countertop convection ovens, 10 countertop griddles, 10 countertop chargrills, 10 countertop fryolators, 12 voice activated thermometers and 12 thermal oven mitts and 12 side towels. The total amount for these is $10,000. If you would like to contribute toward purchasing a particular item, an individual countertop convection oven is $300.

Your active support is extremely important in helping us as we expand our work with the blind.  To donate, click here.

​As we expand our fundraising efforts, we also need to increase our number of dedicated volunteers.  If you have some extra time to spare, please consider spending some of it helping struggling veterans and the visually impaired.  For more information, contact Joe Murphy at 617-645-9043 or [email protected]

Thank you for your consideration.
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​And to those who already donate their time and talent to CTF,
a big THANK YOU!