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DORA Community Center

The Alari Foundation

You are not alone. Your family matters. Your story has been heard.

And through every family served, Alari’s memory will continue to represent survival, compassion, and love.

Working Vision and Program Framework Mission
 
The Alari Foundation exists to provide personalized meals and practical care to families navigating pregnancy, childbirth, postpartum recovery, pregnancy loss, and infant loss.
Through partnerships with local chefs, restaurants, and emerging food entrepreneurs, we provide professionally prepared meals that allow families to focus on healing, caring for their newborn, and supporting one another.
We place particular emphasis on families experiencing medically or emotionally difficult circumstances, including:

  • Cesarean-section recovery

  • Premature birth or NICU stays

  • Multiple gestations

  • Fetal growth restriction

  • High-risk pregnancy

  • Pregnancy loss

  • Stillbirth

  • Newborn or infant loss

  • Other complex pregnancy or postpartum experiences

As the foundation grows, we also hope to support families following uncomplicated pregnancies, because bringing a newborn home can be physically, mentally, financially, and emotionally difficult under any circumstances.

Our support will extend beyond food. Each family will receive a personalized care package designed around their individual story and practical needs. Depending on the family, this may include custom clothing, keepsakes, books, letters, or other meaningful items intended to help them feel seen, supported, and cared for.

Our Story
 
The name Alari means:
A child obtained through survival.
This meaning is deeply connected to our family’s story.
In 2023, we experienced an extremely difficult and life-threatening molar pregnancy with a coexisting twin. Our son, Alari, did not survive childbirth.
During that time, our church family cared for us by preparing meals and delivering them to our home. Their support reminded us that we were not alone. At a time when everyday responsibilities felt overwhelming, having food prepared for us removed one burden and allowed us more space to grieve, recover, and support one another.

Years later, we found the courage to try again. We welcomed our second son three weeks earlier than expected through a Cesarean delivery.
When we brought him home, we experienced firsthand how difficult it can be to care for a newborn while also managing physical recovery, medical concerns, exhaustion, and the emotional adjustment of becoming parents.
Once again, our church organized a meal train for us. Our son’s grandmother also prepared an abundance of fresh and frozen meals so that we would continue to have food after she returned home.

That support made a profound difference in our recovery.
It inspired us to create the Alari Foundation so that other families can experience the same kind of practical care that was extended to us.
We believe that Alari lives on in heaven. We gave our second son the middle name Alari, and we have also chosen his name for this foundation.
Through every family we serve, his memory will continue to represent compassion, survival, love, and hope.

Learn more

Our Vision
 

We believe no family should have to worry about preparing meals while recovering from pregnancy, childbirth, pregnancy loss, or the loss of a child.

We envision a community in which:

  • Families feel supported rather than forgotten.

  • Parents can focus on healing and caring for their children.

  • Bereaved families receive compassionate and appropriate support.

  • Food entrepreneurs receive affordable opportunities to build sustainable businesses.

  • Local restaurants use their skills to serve their community.

  • Every care package feels personal rather than mass-produced.

  • Food becomes a practical expression of love, dignity, and hospitality.

Image by Drew Beamer

Our Core Values
 
Listen first
Every family has a different story. We will seek to understand the family before deciding what support will be most meaningful.
Personalization matters
Families should not feel as though they are receiving a generic package. Their meals, gifts, and written materials should reflect their circumstances, preferences, culture, and needs.
Dignity in difficult circumstances
Families will be treated with compassion and respect, never as projects or publicity opportunities.
Hospitality through food
Food is more than nourishment. A carefully prepared meal can communicate that someone remembers, understands, and cares.
Community partnership
The foundation will bring together families, restaurants, food entrepreneurs, volunteers, healthcare professionals, churches, donors, and local organizations.
Opportunity and responsibility
Restaurants receiving affordable kitchen access will also have an opportunity to use their growing businesses to serve families in need.

Learn more
Image by Brett Jordan

How the Foundation Will Work
 
Partnership with the DORA Community Kitchen
The Alari Foundation will operate in partnership with the DORA Community Kitchen.
The kitchen will provide emerging restaurateurs and food entrepreneurs with access to licensed commercial kitchen space at a significantly reduced rate. This will allow new food businesses to begin operating without the enormous cost of building their own commercial kitchens.
In exchange for receiving discounted kitchen access, participating restaurants may agree to prepare a set number of meals each month for families supported by the Alari Foundation.
The arrangement should remain flexible and sustainable.
The number of meals expected from each restaurant may depend on:

  • The restaurant’s stage of development

  • The level of kitchen discount received

  • Its revenue and financial stability

  • Its production capacity

  • The number of foundation families being served

  • The cost and complexity of its meals

Restaurants that are struggling may temporarily have their meal commitment reduced. Restaurants that are thriving may choose to donate additional meals.
Once a restaurant has fulfilled its agreed monthly meal contribution, the Alari Foundation may pay the restaurant for any additional meals requested.

This hybrid model allows restaurants to contribute to the community without placing an unsustainable burden on a new business.

Image by Takashi Yamada

Meal Choice
 
As the DORA Community Kitchen grows, several restaurants may operate from the kitchen at the same time.
These businesses may represent different cuisines, cultures, and styles of food.
Participating families may be offered menus from the available restaurants and allowed to choose meals that suit their:

  • Cultural preferences

  • Dietary needs

  • Allergies

  • Family size

  • Children’s preferences

  • Freezer and storage capacity

  • Religious or personal food requirements

The available restaurants may change over time as food businesses enter or graduate from the community kitchen.

This variety will make the experience more personal and will allow families to receive meals they are genuinely excited to eat.

Image by Bunly Hort

Personalized Care Packages
 
The Alari Foundation will work alongside SJA Design to create a personalized experience for every family.
Before preparing a package, a foundation representative will speak with the family to understand their story, circumstances, preferences, and practical needs.
Depending on the situation, a package may include:

  • Professionally prepared meals

  • Freezer-safe containers

  • Reheating and storage instructions

  • Utensils or serving supplies

  • Premature-size baby clothing

  • Custom-designed clothing

  • Personalized books

  • Memory books or keepsakes

  • Items for older siblings

  • Handwritten cards

  • Letters from the foundation

  • Gift cards or practical household items

  • Grief-sensitive materials

  • Information about local support services

Not every family will receive the same items. Personalization should be based on what will genuinely support that family rather than filling every package with unnecessary products.

Image by Fabrizio Magoni

Long-Term Vision
 
At its fullest development, the Alari Foundation will operate within a thriving community kitchen that supports emerging chefs and food businesses.
Families will be able to select meals from several cuisines.
Restaurants will grow while contributing to their community.
Children will learn how to cook.
Healthcare workers will be thanked.
Parents recovering from birth will receive practical relief.
Families experiencing loss will be remembered with sensitivity and compassion.
Every care package will communicate the same message:
You are not alone. Your family matters. Your story has been heard.
And through every family served, Alari’s memory will continue to represent survival, compassion, and love.

Learn more
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