By Viviane Faver
Cultured Kids Cuisine’s international non-profit organization helps children build a future of love and tolerance through food. Administered by more than 100 volunteers from around the world, the organization offers several free services for children aged seven to 14 years, such as, for example, Food Anthropology, educational podcasts, food blog, recipe kits, and classes.
Weekly virtual cooking workshops are also held. There, children can cook a foreign dish with a trained culinary team (volunteer chefs) while learning about the culture, history, and origins of the dish and the country of origin.
Since its founding in July 2020, the organization has impacted more than 1,500 children worldwide, educating them to be kinder and culturally more understanding human beings, according to founder and CEO Mia Kotikovski.
Kotikovski started volunteering when she was a student at hospitals in New York City, hoping to impact her community and explore her health passion.
“What concerned me most was the conditions in the pediatric sectors of hospitals, where children spent the critical first years of their lives, with little or no intellectual or social stimulation. It irritated me.”
The founder was determined to help these children by joining their passion for food and cooking. She organized autonomous educational cooking classes for children with the hospital’s director of children’s services, providing all supplies and ingredients out of pocket.
Initially, the volunteer team started with her and her friends, who shared the initiative with other friends; they also wanted to participate.
“As many people were not doing anything during the pandemic period, I decided that it would be good to share this idea with people on my social network and other non-profit organizations on an international scale to share it with their followers. That’s how we grew our team. for what it is today, “says Mia Kotikovski.
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Going against the pandemic crisis, the organization took advantage of the moment and expanded its virtual connections, and offered more accessible services to underrepresented children and others on an international scale.
Besides, it invited speakers from across the country to give conferences and webinars that participants and the volunteer community could see and participate in from the comfort of their own homes.
The founder and CEO, Mia Kotikovski, explains that in addition to the main objective of promoting cultural awareness through food, the project helps to close the gender gap in entrepreneurship through various resources (events, career preparation webinars, panels with founders, etc.), internship registrations, a bi-monthly newsletter with opportunities from other organizations (internships, conferences, etc.), as well as weekly Empowering Entrepreneurs events.
“By giving our employees and the community resources, support and guidance, it gives girls confidence, increases self-esteem, and provides them with the foundation they need to succeed. Our Empowering Entrepreneurs series connects our girls with founders to serve as models. and mentors for them. “
The projects do not stop; the organization is launching an eCookbook compiling recipes and cooking classes taught at the workshop. “What sets the book apart is that we are trying to create a family culinary experience, where children can get their hands dirty in the kitchen, while parents help them and read aloud curiosities about the origins, culture, and history of the dish. The country he came from, sparking thought-provoking conversations in the kitchen. “
How can people participate and volunteer?
Although our formal “internship registrations” will not be released until May, we accept ambassador registrations regularly. Our ambassadors play a vital role in our community; from outreach to potential partners to gaining access to marketing and speaking workshops with mentors, they help expand our community and raise awareness of our mission.
This is the ambassador application (open to only girls/non-binary individuals in high school and college): https://forms.gle/skh3JEHU1bVFiB4GA
