who we've been giving to

and....125 classes in the bag!

Hi friends!

This past Sunday, I taught my 125th online cooking class (all about chickpeas!)

Nearly a year ago I wrote a newsletter all about how and why I started teaching in 2021, what it’s meant to me, how it’s connected me to Haley (hi Haley!) and better connected me to my family, and how it’s helped me in my mission to make cooking feel EASIER for us all.

You can read that all here if you’d like:

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Teaching has become even more meaningful since the end of last year when I decided to give a portion of proceeds from each class to a different organization (rather than dedicate a random class here or there to fundraising as I used to do).

By integrating this into my teaching, over the past year we’ve been able to give a total of $7,250. I am really proud of this contribution and the community it comes from.

I wanted to give you the full list of organizations we’ve given to over the past year because they’re each doing important, on-the-ground work in a number of different areas. Please learn more about the ones that are new to you and consider giving a little to any, some or all of them, or perhaps even becoming a regular monthly contributor.

There are lots of ways to support that aren’t just financial (I know budgets are tighter than ever these days!) — spread the word about these organizations in your communities or through your own newsletters/social media, volunteer if that’s an option, offer your professional services if it makes sense, host a bake sale or another event, keep them in mind in your wills/estate planning, etc.

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Here they all are!

⚖️ Civil Rights & Legal Advocacy

• ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union)
  Defends individual rights and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution.
  🔗 aclu.org

• Transgender Law Center
  Advocates for the rights of transgender and gender-nonconforming people through policy, public education, and litigation.
  🔗 transgenderlawcenter.org

• Make The Road New York
  Advocates for immigrant and working-class communities through organizing, policy advocacy, and services.
  🔗 maketheroadny.org

• Honor Native Land Tax
  Encourages individuals to pay reparations to Indigenous communities in the U.S. through voluntary tax contributions.
  🔗 www.abqsurj.org

• Chosen Family Law Center
  Provides free legal services to LGBTQIA+, polyamorous, and chosen family communities in New York.
  🔗 chosenfamilylawcenter.org

🌍 Global & Humanitarian Relief

• Palestine Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF)
  Provides medical and humanitarian relief to children in Gaza (and throughout the Middle East), including surgeries and emergency aid.
  🔗 pcrf.net

• World Central Kitchen
  Delivers fresh meals to communities in crisis, including disaster zones and conflict areas.
  🔗 worldcentralkitchen.org

• CORE (Community Organized Relief Effort)
  Provides emergency relief and recovery efforts in communities affected by disasters and crises, including those impacted by the fires in Los Angeles.
  🔗 coreresponse.org

🏳️‍⚧️ Support for the Trans Community

• The Okra Project
  Provides home-cooked, culturally specific meals and resources to Black trans people.
  🔗 theokraproject.com

• Trans Closet of the Hudson Valley
  Offers free clothing, gender-affirming supplies, and community support for trans and nonbinary individuals in the Hudson Valley.
  🔗 transclosethv.org

• Trans Justice Funding Project
  Supports grassroots trans-led organizing by redistributing resources to trans justice initiatives.
  🔗 transjusticefundingproject.org

• Transgender Law Center
  Advocates for the rights of transgender and gender nonconforming people through policy, public education, and litigation.
  🔗 transgenderlawcenter.org

• Iowa Trans Mutual Aid
  Provides mutual aid and support for transgender individuals in Iowa, focusing on community care and resources.
  🔗 iowatransmutualaidfund.org

🍽️ Food & Health Services

• God’s Love We Deliver
  Provides medically tailored, home-delivered meals to individuals living with severe illnesses in New York City.
  🔗 glwd.org

• Cactus Cancer Center
  Provides a safe space where young adults (ages 18-45) facing cancer can connect, cope, and thrive with one another in an online community through creativity and expression.
  🔗 cactuscancer.org

🎭 + 🎶 Performance + Music

• Sins Invalid
  A disability justice-based movement building and performance project that celebrates disabled people, centering and led by disabled Black, Indigenous, and people of the global majority, and queer, trans, and nonbinary disabled people.
  🔗 sinsinvalid.org

• Willie Mae Rock Camp
  Offers free music education and empowerment programs for girls and gender-expansive youth in NYC.
  🔗 williemaerockcamp.org

🐕 Animals

• The Sato Project
  Rescues and rehabilitates abused and abandoned animals in Puerto Rico, focusing on the island's stray dog population.
  🔗 thesatoproject.org

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Work for, give to, or know of an organization you’d like us all to know about? The comments are open to everyone today (not just paid subscribers). Tell us!!!

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I am currently on a teaching break through the summer, but there are 125 (!!) classes in my online video library. Purchasing a class recording includes access to the video (no expiration) and the class PDF with recipes + a grocery list. There are a few free classes (all of my No Judgment classes), $25 kids classes, and the rest start at $40 and go up to whatever you want!

»»»»» ALL OF MY CLASSES LIVE RIGHT HERE IN MY VIDEO ARCHIVE!!! «««««

• Recorded classes include the class document with recipes, grocery list, etc.

• Recorded classes are priced the same as live classes, but as always if there’s a class you want to attend and money is a barrier, just drop me a line and we’ll figure it out.

• If you are taking a recorded class and have a question, I’m not there live to answer it but I’m on the other side of my email all the time, so just ask me!

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I also offer private cooking classes, which are a fun and memorable way to gather for a birthday, anniversary, or any occasion when you'd like to bring together friends and/or family to do a fun activity together, even if you're not all in the same place. Private classes include a phone or email consultation to decide on recipes, plus a recording of class for you to refer to anytime you’d like.

• Book a 1 hour class for up to 6 people here ($800).

• Book a 90 minute class for up to 10 people here ($1500).

• Have a larger group (maybe where you work?) and want to do some team building? Drop me a line (just reply to this email). I love doing classes for big groups and companies (I’ve done these for Pinterest, Instagram, Mailchimp, the Wounded Warrior Project, many schools, and more!)

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Here are some of the wonderful illustrated notes my mom has made from some of my 2025 classes (including a cameo by

Corinne Fay

!)

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Can I help you find something useful?!

• Here’s my all-time favorite class: a tour of my kitchen and also my mind! It includes a 2+ hour recording and an incredibly detailed companion document that details all of the tools, ingredients + more I use (it's over 20 pages long!), plus a ton of tips for day-to-day cooking (lots of mini recipes within).

• Check out my ShopMy page for my favorite kitchen tools, ingredients, and even clothing items — it’s all there!

• And I catalog all of my favorite books right here at bookshop.org.

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Okay, see you next week! xoxooxo, Julia