You may not realize it, but the smiling, upbeat, servers, bartenders, hostesses and staff at your favorite restaurant or hotel are often those facing the greatest challenges. All encompassing, the hospitality industry is the largest in the nation and the one most severely impacted through the constant shutdowns of the pandemic.
Founded in 2009, Big Table was launched in the middle of a recession to care for those most in need — the employees who keep the hospitality engine running. The industry often serves as a catch-all for some of the most vulnerable demographics, including single parents, at-risk teens, immigrants, seniors and more. Hospitality is frequently one of the only places where anyone willing to work can get a job. However, putting so many of these at-risk individuals together leads to a group with some of the highest rates of addiction challenges, divorce and single-parent households, stress, job instability, minimal insurance and almost no safety net when things go wrong.
Over the past 15 years, Big Table has worked to provide short-term and transitional aid to those in crisis or who have fallen through the cracks, having a tremendous impact: Providing care to over 12,000 recipients with over 60,000 individual encounters, translating to over $10 million in care impact.
What makes Big Table truly unique is its operation as a referral model versus a standard “crisis hotline” model. The Big Table network of managers, owners and employees are front line spotters, and when an individual in crisis is identified, they submit a personal referral. This model enables the community to help each other without an individual feeling like they need to reach out personally, which is often difficult for many to do. The referral model also ensures the validity of all care outreach, virtually eliminating requests from anyone trying to take advantage of the system.
Once an individual is evaluated for their needs and an immediate care plan is executed, the recipient is then moved into long term coaching and mentoring. The largest life impacts are seen when true encouragement and accountability is in place for a long-term investment in that individual’s well being. Simply providing financial assistance to deal with a housing shortage or medical need is finite in nature; creating a lasting partnership with that individual to try and ensure the crisis does not happen again is where Big Table really fills a long-term need.
Big Table currently operates in San Diego, California, Nashville, Tennessee, Colorado Springs, Colorado and Spokane, Washington, with the goal of offering services to more markets nationwide.
So How Can I Help?
If you are a business owner, there are a number of ways you can support Big Table and its efforts:
- “Unexpected 20s” — A fun and easy way for individuals and small groups to get involved. Big Table will provide (or you can make your own) envelopes that you can drop a $20 bill in. You or your group then gives these envelopes as surprise thank you to someone in the hospitality industry — It’s not a tip that needs to be reported, but rather a gift.
- Care Blitz — You or your team can coordinate directly with Big Table to create a surprise care blitz for an individual in crisis. This could include Unexpected 20s, other gifts or assistance services needed for immediate aid.
- Adopt a Restaurant — Does your team often hit the same restaurant for after work gatherings? Do you always head to a local deli for lunch? Your business can gather together and ‘adopt’ a restaurant through Big Table. Big Table can work with your company to brainstorm and coordinate ways to show support on a regular basis.
- Hold a Benefit Event — Specifically for companies that serve or work with hospitality employees, consider naming Big Table as your beneficiary organization of choice for your next silent auction, raffle or hosted event. The Big Table team can coordinate to help showcase to your attendees exactly where their financial contribution goes with real world case studies.
As we move into a new year and a constantly evolving set of challenges for hospitality workers, spending a little time to identity opportunities for support such as Big Table can beneficial to all. Log on to www.BigTable.org to learn more and view videos of success stories in action.
