Friends,
I was reflecting on this quote this AM: “No matter what accomplishments you make, somebody helped you.” And ain’t that the dang truth, Althea Gibson.
Alright y’all, real talk. I get a lot of credit for Table. And while it’s true that I was the one nutty enough to say that Raleigh needed a pay-what-you-can cafe back in early 2014, I certainly cannot take the credit for this amazing cafe that we all get to be a part of every day. As Althea said, somebody helped me. In fact, lots of somebodies. And you continue to help me every day.
The team at Table is one of a kind.
Chef Andrew – serving up the best food in town and creating a kitchen culture other restaurants long for.
Amanda – our Cafe Manager, making you feel loved the moment you walk in the door.
Amanda, Cheyanne, Davon, Eliot, James, Jerry, Jeremy, Ke’Ciana, Mael, Mark, Morgan, Thabiso, and Tracey – steady and kind, showing up daily to love on Table and all those we serve.
Emily – the rockstar leading the hundreds of you who volunteer and give tirelessly 6 days a week. You, volunteers, are the real heroes.
Sophia, Heather, Sam, Vrutika, and our 15 board members – rocking it behind the scenes, keeping us growing and sustainable. (Thanks for doing all the hard math things.)
And of course, of course, we could not do it without each of you dining with us often, being a Table neighbor and giving monthly, and loving our community as much as we do. It is such a gift to do this work with each of you.
Many folks don’t get this lucky. Many folks don’t have a team and family this good. And many folks don’t get to have a team that can confidently say, “Maggie, we got this – go!”
Starting in a few short weeks, I will be leaving to hike the Camino de Santiago in Spain for 6 weeks. I will be gone through mid August and I couldn’t be more excited. Not only am I excited for miles and miles of hiking, community meals with new beautiful faces, and time to rest and recenter, but also I am thrilled for our team here who will rock the cafe better than ever. I cannot wait to be back and hear all the stories of waffle mishaps, friendships built, and new staff hired.
If you need anything while I’m gone, don’t hesitate to reach out. The powerhouse friend of mine and our Operations and Finance Director, Sophia Woo, is here and available via email.
Friends, thank you. Thank you for loving me for years. Thank you for supporting me and this awesome Table community since 2014 and thank you for supporting me in taking these 500 miles across the world. Already looking forward to seeing you when I am back.
Ultreia, fellow travelers! We’ve been on this journey together, and I’m excited to see where it takes us next.
Hugs,
Maggie
PS. I also know how rare this is to get this time off and I know we all can relate to the burn out & exhaustion. For me, I knew it was time to take this time before all of this began happening. I hope for each of you that you are able to find some rest and a mental health break away, no matter what that looks like. And if you are a fellow nonprofit-er or board member of a local org, I challenge all of us to begin thinking about how we can make this a common part of how we take care of our teams.
