Jessica,
Happy New Year! 2024 was an unforgettable one for The Ivy Table. It included 23.5 tons of food donated, more than 5,000 volunteer hours, 2 mission trips to Thailand with 5 different building projects in that country, and the purchase of a new building. We are beyond grateful to each of you for following and supporting us on this journey. Whether you gave of your time or finances, shared our posts on social media, or prayed for us, you played a part in this year's success story, a story which also had God's fingerprints all over it.
If you were not able to attend December's Gala, pease enjoy this brief video, which we played that evening to highlight our year of blessings.
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The Building:
1 step forward, 2 steps back
Although things at the new building are making progress, it is all happening much slower than we had anticipated. Every time we seem to start moving forward, something happens to set us back again. Over the holiday break, after taking 3 days off to enjoy Christmas with our families, we pulled in the parking only to discover a river of water running through it, only it wasn't raining. The water was flowing out of our new building.
It appears as though, when we moved all of the old copper plumbing from the attic to protect it from freezing, we missed one short span of pipe above the bathroom ceiling that was hidden in an inaccessible corner. Despite the heat being turned on and the attic being newly being insulated, the cold temperatures were enough to allow that old pipe to burst and flood 1/4 of the building.
Drywall and insulation were immediately removed, large commercial fans ran for almost a week to dry everything out, and the poorly placed pipe was moved to an interior wall where it belonged. Frustrating...yes, but it could have been so much worse. We are grateful that it happened now and not after all of the interior work was complete.
Bumps in the road are a part of life and they have definitely been a part of this renovation. They are meant to slow us down, but not turn us around or take us off course. We know that God has a big plan for this new space and we trust in His timing. We are not doubting the destination, but have been forced to rethink the timeline. It has become very clear that the building will not be ready to open this January as we had hoped. With several of our leadership team heading to Thailand for a mission trip during much of February, we have made the decision to postpone our grand opening until March.
Although we never anticipated the renovations taking this long, we are at total peace with slowing things down in order to make sure that no detail is overlooked. It's not just about having the building ready, we want to make sure that we have the right people in place, so that we can best serve each and every person who walks through our doors. And with the added time, we will be able to build an even stronger and more prepared team.
Drywall is being finished, cabinets are being built, flooring has been ordered, furniture is being finalized, and tile gets delivered next week. We are currently in need of the following skills:
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Tile layer for our bathroom walls and behind the new cafe counter
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Gutter Repair for leaky gutters causing icy patches on our walkways (afraid we may need to replace them completely)
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Roof Repair for a small leak over our new office (hopefully a little caulk can get us through to the spring)
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Parking Lot Striper to paint lines on the parking lot
Please let us know if you, or someone you have connections with, may be able to help
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Building Work Parties
We had to take a pause from our work parties for a while, to let the experienced tradesman do the more technical and skilled work, but we are now ready to invite you all back in to help. We currently have the following dates scheduled:
Sunday, Jan 12 from 1-5pm.
Saturday, Jan 18 from 9am-1
Saturday, Feb 1 from 9am-12
Saturday, Feb 8 from 9am-1
Details regarding what each day's work entails (although may change slightly as we get closer) can be found on the Sign Up link below. Come have fun and get dirty with us.
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Blessing Thailand
Although our ministry in Thailand has not receive much publicity lately because of the building, our work there has definitely not ended.
Every month, we continue to bless the underprivileged of that country with food and basic necessities, and as our next mission team prepares to travel there again this February, we have been reminded about just how much our presence in that country means.
Many people there cannot comprehend, with all the comforts that we have here in the US and with the major commitment that we recently made toward our new building, why we would take the time and spend the money to fly half way across the world. The answer is simple...we do it because we love them.
Just like here in Livingston County, our ministry is more than just about feeding people, its about building faith, providing hope, and showing love. Part of showing love, involves caring for others, devoting time to them, and nurturing your relationship. This is much easier accomplished when you are face to face. Even though we only visit once a year, our visits to Thailand remind the people there that they are not forgotten, encourages them to keep moving forward even when things are hard, and reinforces to them just how much they are loved. Every time we visit, we uncover new needs in that country, and if our new cafe is a success, it will not only allow us to bless people locally, it will allow us to grow our ministry abroad, blessing people who live 8,600 miles away.
You can help us be a blessing to them right now with unique two opportunities, each one not only paying homage to the country of Thailand, but also giving a sneak preview of menu items that will be featured in our new cafe right here in Brighton.
100% of funds generated from these events will be used on providing food, basic necessities, and building projects during our mission trip to Thailand this February
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National Croissant Day
January 30
We are giving way FREE 2-packs of freshly baked Almond Croissants ($12 value) and asking that, in exchange, you would consider paying-it-forward with a donation to The Ivy Table for our work in Thailand.
Almond Croissants are commonly found in Thai coffee shops, and our culinary team has worked to create a craveable recipe that we believe will become a favorite on our menu this March.
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SOUPer Bowl Saturday
February 8
The day before the big game, we will be giving away Heat and Eat Soup Meals for 2 (a $25 value). Each meal will feature your choice of soup (Sausage Minestrone or Thai Coconut Chicken), sourdough bread bowls, and a salad. Again, we are asking that you would consider paying-it-foward with a donation to our ministry work in Thailand.
Soup is a staple on the Thai menu and will be an ever changing offering on our cafe menu as well.
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Directing our Ministry
Every decision that our team makes is directed by our mission statement (Using food and hospitality to build community, provide hope, and show love) and filtered through our core values. Our core values are not just words that sound good to us. They represent who we are and what we have been called to do, and include...
LOVE- We love with kindness, gentleness, uplifting interactions. and the conscious effort to develop and nurture meaningful relationships.
CARE- We care for others with generous hearts and humble attitudes, selflessly offering compassionate support to meet needs and improve welfare.
COMMITMENT- We are committed to being good stewards of our time and resources by pursuing our mission with diligence, patience, and endurance, consistently doing what’s right over what’s easy.
RESPECT- We respect the feelings and viewpoints of others, treating every person as we would like to be treated, with honesty, courtesy, grace, and gratitude in both word and action.
UNITY- We strive to build unity within our community, respecting differences, creating a sense of belonging and value for all, and working together for a common good
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Although we have successfully run our ministry for 3 years using 100% volunteers, we have reached the inevitable point where volunteers are just not enough. Running a full time cafe and event space (in addition to all that we do in the other areas of our ministry) will take a team of talented and committed individuals, including some key staff. If you are seeking a part-time job and would like to hear more about the following positions, please send an email to theivytable@gmail.com for a complete job description and application details.
We are currently seeking the positions of:
Kitchen Lead
Kitchen Help
Server
Event/Venue Coordinator
Connecting Tables Program Coordinator
Community Relations
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Seeking Cafe Volunteers!
As we get closer to opening the doors of our new space, we are ready to start gathering up the volunteers to help us run it. If you are interested in hearing more, join us at one of our upcoming Volunteer Information Days.
We are seeking people who can greet guests, take orders, prep food, do dishes, clean the buildlng, pick up surplus food, pack meals, and deliver to free meal fridges around town.
Tuesday, January 28 from 1-2pm OR
Friday, January 31 from 9-10am
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Now Accepting Event Bookings
Our vision for the new building is that it would become a hospitality hub in our community, and part of our business plan includes renting out the space for private events. On weekdays, our beautiful glass room will be available for small meetings and corporate events. On evenings and weekends, the main dining area can be rented out for showers, birthday parties, and other special gatherings. Best of all, when you hosting an event at The Ivy Table, you are funding our mission, and making a difference in the lives of hungry and hurting individuals worldwide.
We are now accepting reservations for dates after March 9.
Contact us at theivytable@gmail.com or (810)295-1925 to learn more.
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Watch your mailbox
Year-end donation receipts are being processed and will be heading your way soon. If you donated to The Ivy Table and do not receive one by the end of the month, please contact us.
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Thanks for an amazing Gala!
December's Tinsel & Tidings Gala was a huge success. In total, the evening yielded nearly $100,000 for our ministry. Thank you to all who attended, volunteered, or donated items to our auction, and thank you to the following event sponsors:
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A BIG WIN for the Lions, for our lucky raffle winner, and for our ministry
Congratulations to our Lions raffle winner, Suzy Murphy, who had a wonderful time at last Sundays Detroit Lion's game against the Minnesota Vikings. We are so grateful to Foguth Financial for donating 10th row seats to our raffle (which helped raise over $10,000 for The Ivy Table).
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2025 Cafe Partnership Opportunities now available
Be a part of bringing this one of a kind cafe to our community. Commit to any partnership level before February 28, and receive recognition at our Grand Opening Celebration and Ribbon Cutting Ceremony in early March. Contact Jessica Smokovitz at jessica@theivytable.org or (810) 295-1925 to learn more.
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Join us in prayer
- For continued wisdom and clarity as we attempt to implement God's plan for the new building
- That remaining renovations will go smoothly
- For safety over all who are doing work at the new space
- For new corporate and private partners who wish to financially support The Ivy Table in the upcoming year
- That we are able to find just the right people for each of our open staff and volunteer positions, people that are not just a blessing to us, but are blessed by the work they will do through The Ivy Table.
- That we would receive favor with some big potential funding opportunities being announced mid-January
- For Lhen Lhen, one of our ministry partners in Thailand who recently and unexpectedly lost her youngest brother
- For health and travel mercies over our 6 mission team members, leaving February 10.
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On behalf of the entire Ivy Table team, thank you for your continued support. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions or would like to become involved in any part of our ministry.
Jessica Smokovitz
Executive Director
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