As we were thinking about how to approach Omsom's first Black Friday weekend, the “best practice” / industry standard is to discount.
For many e-commerce brands, this consumerist “holiday” is considered The Superbowl - a blitz of shopping leveraged by brands to offer a sale, sell more product, + ramp up for the holiday season.
It didn't feel fully Omsom, to be honest.
As a mission-driven, WOC-run brand, we are both products of and a reflection of our communities. And what this pandemic has shown us is that there is a deeply important need to support + protect those who sacrificed endlessly for our place in this country. In particular, NYC’s Asian American elderly have been heavily affected by the pandemic and COVID-fueled, anti-Asian racism.
We’re harnessing this weird consumerist tradition to instead put our $$$ where our mouth is, proudly + loudly.
For every Omsom Bundle sold from Friday 11/27 to Tuesday 12/1, Omsom will donate a meal to NYC’s homebound Asian American elderly through Heart of Dinner.
Heart of Dinner is run by our friends Moonlynn Tsai and Yin Chang - the queer Asian boss lady couple of our dreams! They’re both profound individuals who are impressive in their own right - Moonlynn is a co-owner of NYC’s Kopitiam (one of our fave breakfast spots!) and Yin is an actor-writer and founder of 88 Cups of Tea.
Heart of Dinner was always born from their desire to serve the community, and its current efforts work to combat the racism, food insecurity, and isolation that low-income Asian American elderly are facing in New York. Every week, HoD delivers hot meals + grocery care packages to seniors with the help of an army of volunteers, restaurant partners, and generous donations from local vendors. Their tireless work has led to over 35K meals being served to the community - truly a feat.
Together, Moonlynn and Yin are an even more unstoppable force - yet it’s their heart-forwardness that defines them. What was supposed to be a half-hour introductory call turned into an hour long chat session about Asian Americana, entrepreneurship, and queer identity. They continue to show up with vulnerability + a deep kindness that is absolutely reflective of the work that Heart of Dinner does.
We’re so thankful to be partnering with Moonlynn + Yin to help y’all eat good + doing better. That means tasty meals for you, as well as tasty meals for Chinatown seniors in need. Thanks for joining us in doing this work 💛
