As we enter the holiday season, and step towards our 10th year of Anh and Chi, it is my utmost honour and pride to share some amazing news!!
Together with our patrons, staff, friends and family, Anh and Chi and Good Thief have reached a deeply impactful milestone of over $500,000 in donations raised and shared through the Reservation by Donation (RBD) program.
We officially launched RBD in December 2020, making it the first program of its kind to allow reservations to be made (where it used to be a first come first serve only basis) by donating $10 per person to a rotating selection of local charities. The initiative came into fruition during the peak of the pandemic, when the need for community support and collaboration in the greater Vancouver area was magnified. Shortly after, our team decided that the program was here to stay, and every quarter, Anh and Chi and Good Thief staff selects three public-nominated charities to receive the donations; this supports organizations working to support upstream prevention, marginalized communities and priorities across our city, around food security, homelessness, mental health, re-settlement, identity, sustainability and so much more.
We started reservation by donation to do our part in keeping our team and patrons safe, and to share resources with marginalized communities through the pandemic and a recession. This idea turned into a realization that what we have created through the program is a community of staff, patrons, friends and family who care deeply about our greater community, and that small businesses, and grassroots movements like this CAN make a difference. We invite more people and businesses to play a greater part in the communities we live in.
Over 40 non-profit organizations have felt the positive impact. So how has this half a million dollars supported communities over the past four years? Here are just a few...
- Aunt Leah’s received $26,960 from the program, which has contributed to preventing foster care youth from homelessness, and vulnerable mothers from losing custody of their children. Funds supported accommodation services for young people growing out of the foster care system.
- Lookout Housing + Health Society received $16,280 to revitalize the Yukon Housing Centre’s residential wing and building’s condition, making the space a real home for adults facing housing and basic need challenges. This has helped many adults gain independence, build dignity and reduce harm.
- Backpack Buddies delivers food to thousands of BC children facing food insecurity. As one of the very first beneficiaries of the Reservation by Donation program, Backpack Buddies received $5,410 to help purchase additional food and feed more children across the province when the pandemic meant the need for food support was higher than ever.
- Treehouse Vancouver Child & Youth Advocacy Centre received $16,590 which was used to support child victims of abuse. The donations helped fund access to child protection, the police, victim services and trauma-focused counselling in one safe, child-friendly space.
- Indian Residential School Survivors Society (IRSSS) supports survivors and their families experiencing intergenerational trauma during healing journeys. Since 1994, IRSSS has provided culturally sensitive services, and received $13,070, allowing for counselling, advocacy and crisis support services that aid strength and resilience reclamation.
The full list of organizations impacted by RBD:
A.WARE Foundation
Aboriginal Front Door Society
Aunt Leah’s Place
BabyGoRound
Backpack Buddies
Battered Women’s Services
BC Hospitality Foundation
Contributing to Lives of Inner City Kids (CLICK)
Coast Mental Health
Covenant House
Dan On Foundation (Golden Age Village of BC)
David Suzuki Foundation
Directions Youth Services
Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre
Dress for Success Vancouver
Elimin8hate
Food Stash
Growing Chefs
Help Change My City
Immigrant Services Society of BC
Indian Residential School Survivors’ Society
Lookout Society
Mission Possible
Moon Time Connections
NexUp
Pacific Immigrant Resources Society (PIRS)
Potluck Cafe Society
Rainbow Refugee
Sheway
Spectrum Society
The Bloom Group
The Greater Vancouver Food Bank
The Treehouse
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
Vancouver Black Therapy Fund
Vancouver Firefighters Charity
Vancouver Food Runners
Vancouver Fruit Tree
Vancouver Hospice Society
Watari
Writer’s Exchange
Thank you to our patrons, staff, and partner charities!
“We always wanted to find ways to do more outside our doors here at Anh and Chi. Our community has supported our family for decades and we wanted to find a meaningful way to give back. It was a risk and there was always the chance of receiving backlash (which we still do), but trusting our instincts and staying true to ourselves paid off. We encourage other restaurants to follow suit, as some already have, and continue to support their communities both financially where possible, and also by raising awareness of the many great causes that surround us.” - Vincent Nguyen, Co-founder & Owner
