CFC Blog #183: Too Small to Fail
I am highlighting April Tam Smith’s note below on PS Kitchen…
For context…
I remember back in 2009 as some extremely large companies were bailed out the phrase “too big to fail” became popularized… and quickly demonized. People HATE that phrase.
I think NOW we are quickly understanding too small to fail.
I have no idea what the actual numbers are, but everyone I know knows people who will have no work and people whose small businesses may face real survival issues.
I am highlighting this note from our dear friend April.
What an inspiration she is...what an awesome communicator, so open-hearted. She runs this small business PS Kitchen – many of you have been – not just on a knowingly tight cash margin with little wiggle room for a monthly drop off, but also as a non-profit. All her profit she directs to other causes.
She talks of the difference that we have all made in joining the PS Kitchen dream … and she is not the only one in our community. There are so so many. I am not singling out April as THE place to focus energy at all. She has just communicated the story of how people are being impacted so powerfully below.
Raul, Juan, “Sarah”
Too small to fail isn’t that the people impacted are in any way small!
Hah!
While only a few could hear “too big to fail” and have it resonate… most every human gets “too small to fail."
For me, it is that the interdependencies that we may have previously ignored for now are lit up for us all to see so vividly, whereas a few months ago we may have actively pursued escaping the gravitational orbit of interdependency...as if that path of non-dependency would generate the most satisfaction.
The word “empathy” has become so popular in the past two decades. Most buzzwords quickly lose real power because we don’t really standardize in some ad hoc fashion as to what the word really means. Empathy is different. It has a narrow field about it. It is a laser-like word that might be neighbored by kindness and compassion. We can know when we are doing it and when we aren't quite easily!
- Pip
“A paradox: We are seeing that the freedom and agency we so desire is dependent on the actions of many others…”… Irwin Kula
“If your mind is a mess today, that’s probably right where it should be. It would be weird if it wasn’t messy right now…”…Ethan Nichtern
“Be kind whenever possible. It's always possible…”… The Dalai Lama
TOO SMALL TO FAIL
Hi, Sweet Friends of P.S. Kitchen:
As you can imagine, the current pandemic effects in NYC has severely impacted our sweet little restaurant and those that make it run each day.
As of Sunday, March 15th, we announced that it was the socially responsible thing to close until further notice, preventing the ability for the COVID-19 virus to spread.
My heart is breaking, especially given our mission for creating jobs for those in need ...
https://www.cbsnews.com/video/restaurant-ps-kitchen-serving-plant-based-food-spreads-generosity/
I am writing this email to ask if you might consider helping P.S. through this difficult time by:
1) Make a one-time tax-deductible donation to help us through this temporary closure.
2) Purchase a gift card to be used once we reopen and encourage friends to consider doing the same!
3) Sponsor a marginalized worker through this time as they experience a significant reduction in income. (Suggested $250 a month—put in comments in number three on the donation page that your donation is to support an employee).
4) Sustain P.S. Kitchen until we reopen, through a reoccurring donation. (Select interval under number 3 in the dropdown menu.)
*NCF Account Holders can give directly: Fund Name is “PS kitchen fund” ID 1782344
The management team at P.S. wants to provide assistance for workers who cannot afford this sudden decrease in their income. Our staff are currently assisting all those who have never applied for unemployment before and are unfamiliar with the process.
In the restaurant business, providing assistance with income for those that are out of work is not a common practice or expected—but these are extraordinary times and we are doing all we can to help ease anxieties and fears. For many, this job is a lifeline and we will make sure all feel cared for during this time of insecurity.
P.S. has gained INCREDIBLE momentum! Our sustainable and successful business model turned a considerable profit and allowed us the opportunity to build three schools in the Goma region of Congo, P.S. Justice, P.S. Kindness, and P.S. Grace. We gained notable and wide-ranging media attention after the interview with CBS, Oprah’s spotlight on our project, and endless support from Nobel Peace Laureate, Dr. Yunus.
We hope and pray to get through this unexpected time with minimal impact. Our desire is to continue to set a GREAT example and provide inspiration to other businesses and the city. We want our model to continue to challenge people to take “crazy” risks and live a life of sacrifice for those that feel like the world has left them behind!
A few examples of the people who have been impacted by our work at P.S. Kitchen:
Raul—One of our dishwashers—Seen in our video. He broke down in tears when he first got his job with us. Though he tried, he could not find work for years. Since being at PS, he has paired up with some of my colleagues for math tutoring to continue his education. He and his wife now sleep safely in a room they can afford with his wages from P.S.; they no longer sleep on the train at night.
Juan—A DEFY Ventures graduate—He started with us as a porter and has been promoted many times. He is still with us 2.5 years and is now one of our main kitchen managers. He is so proud of his ability to quickly promotion that he shares his story with joy! He now seeks to encourage and mentor other young people like him who made mistakes early in life, to overcome their backgrounds and not to give up!
“Sarah”—A doting mom and wife—She made mistakes early in her life because of financial hardship. Now, she is a proud baker at PS kitchen. She is faithful come in every day for 5 a.m. shift and travels over an hour to get to work. She told me just a few weeks ago, that she’s SO happy to be at P.S. She says she’ll never forget the gifts people here have given her here, most notably a sense of family. She told me she feels compelled to give back. She told me she always stands up to share her seat in the subway (even though it’s an hour to the Bronx and she’s on her feet all day). She gives the homeless guy near her house lemonade every time she sees him. She believes she must help him because she has been given much!
I could go on...
I will not give up on this! We have TEN more years on our lease and we are determined to make an impact with this business! We plan to come out of this even stronger as a team and hire most (if not all) the people we laid off!
If you feel compelled to give, please find the link below —anything is helpful! We’d just be encouraged if other people were in it with us. We hope to raise $45k for subsidy and zero-interest micro-loans for staff, rent, insurance and other things we still need to pay for in the next month (or 2—depending on the development of this situation), to compensate for the lack of revenue in the foreseeable future.
Similar to how we started, my partners and I were the first to stretch ourselves financially to give to this fund.
I appreciate the support and all the ways you’ve cheered us on!! Thank you so much for reading; stay healthy and safe friends!!
Love,
April
April Tam Smith
CoFounder, P.S. Kitchen
