Dear Friends of Compassion Kitchens,
As we step into 2025, we are filled with gratitude for all the generosity and kindness that has made our work possible. Thanks to you all, community kitchens across Colombia continue to serve meals to food-insecure children. Your support is the foundation of everything we do.
(Feb 10 - Naiyeska Feeding the children of Vichada)
Looking Ahead – Our Goals for 2025
This year, we are focused on expanding our impact while maintaining our commitment to a simple yet powerful model. Our goals include:
• Continuing Our Current Food Purchases – Our top priority is to sustain the monthly food support we provide to our partner kitchens. This will be a challenge given our current finances—but we are determined to do the best we can and reach out for more support.
• Grant Writing & Additional Funding Sources – To ensure sustainability, we are exploring opportunities beyond individual donations, including grants and partnerships.
• Expanding Our Social Media Reach – We hope to connect with a broader audience by creating more content, including videos, to share our work and its impact. If you or someone you know has experience in digital content creation, we’d love your help!
• Strengthening Our Kitchen Rating System – In case of funding shortages, we are refining our evaluation process to ensure support reaches those most in need.
(Comedor Pan y Vida has reopened this week in Soacha outside of Bogota, Colombia)
Current Challenges
While we remain deeply committed to our mission, the reality is that our current expenses for food purchases exceed our recurring donations. To sustain and ideally expand our monthly food support, we will need to find new sources of funding.
To address this, we’ve launched a new fundraiser this past month: The Children's Food Fund. This fund continues to ensure that 100% of donations go directly to food purchases—a guarantee that sets us apart from many other organizations. If you’re inspired by our work, we invite you to share this opportunity with your friends, family, and local businesses who might want to help.
"2025 Children's Food Fund" Link: https://bit.ly/ck-25
($400 Food Purchase for February for 2 Partner Kitchens in Atlantico, Colombia)
Why We Believe in Our Model
Compassion Kitchens operates on a simple yet highly effective model:
• We partner with trusted community leaders who are already serving meals to children.
• We empower—not replace—them, supplying key ingredients like rice, beans, oil, and vegetables.
• We do not fully fund or directly manage kitchens, ensuring that they remain self-sufficient and community-led. Our only supervision is to ensure the proper use of our food purchases and to offer loving support and guidance when asked.
• We are fully volunteer-powered, meaning that every dollar donated goes directly to feeding children rather than administrative overhead.
Over the years, we’ve learned that humanitarian aid, when done without careful thought, can sometimes do more harm than good. Our approach ensures that support is sustainable, culturally respectful, and truly empowering.
(Comedor Dulce Esperanza in Cali, Colombia)
Gratitude & Moving Forward Together
Despite financial challenges, our hearts are full of gratitude for every donor who has made this work possible. You are the reason children are receiving meals each day. Your generosity fuels not just their bodies but their hope and well-being.
As we move forward in 2025, we will continue this mission with wisdom, compassion, and the deep belief that every child and meal matters. We invite you to share our story, our fundraiser, and our mission with others who may be inspired to join this journey.
Thank you for being part of this incredible community. Your kindness is making a real, tangible difference.
With deep appreciation, The Compassion Kitchens Team
(Children from the House of Mercy Soup Kitchen)
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