To Our Dear Friends and Family,

As you know, just over three years ago we lost our beloved son and brother Brandon, his wonderful spirit taken from us much too soon. We miss him every day and we will forever mourn his loss.

As a way of honoring and remembering him and his generous spirit, we worked with Project Angel Heart in Denver, the social service organization where he had most recently worked, to create a fellowship program in his honor. The purpose of the program was to support people from challenging social and economic situations who are beginning a career as a chef, through a training and mentoring program at Project Angel Heart.

Thanks to your wonderful generosity, we raised enough money to support this program over two years and funded two young chefs-in-training whose lives were enriched by their engagement with Project Angel Heart and this program.

Looking ahead, we discussed with Project Angel Heart how to move the program forward and deepen its impact. From that conversation, we all agreed to revise the program into the “Chef Brandon Apprenticeship.” As you can see from the description from Project Angel Heart, the focus of the program has shifted to a partnership with Denver area high schools to provide a work-study opportunity for high school seniors seeking a career in the culinary arts and nonprofit community development. 

As with the original program, training and mentoring from the staff at Project Angel Heart is at its core. And we will continue to focus on serving young people from underserved communities and challenging circumstances who might not otherwise have such an opportunity.

Today, we are beginning a campaign to raise the necessary funds to launch the “Chef Brandon Apprenticeship Program” in January 2024. Our goal is to raise $100,000 by December 31 of 2023, which would enable us to fund an apprentice for two years in order to get the program started.

Our family has made an initial $20,000 pledge to kick off the campaign.

Three years ago when we reached out for your support, you responded with generosity. I hope you will find it possible to join us again for this new iteration of the program as we continue to honor Brandon’s legacy as a chef, mentor, and compassionate human being. 

We are grateful for whatever you can do to join us in supporting the Chef Brandon Apprenticeship Program.

With love and in memory of Brandon,
The Foster Family