Starter Commercial Smoker for My Chow Line

Hello, My Chow Line Family!

As many of you know, My Chow Line is a fairly new (less than 3 years) nonprofit organization. When we began our little organization, it was literally only a few months before Hurricane Helene that we became official. During the aftermath of Helene's devastation, we were able to raise funds and connect with churches and volunteers to help our community with food, water, ice, hygiene supplies, etc. We also provided meals in the months to follow, including a free Thanksgiving meal giveaway, alongside a clothing giveaway provided by Save the Closet, and Christmas meal giveaway hosted by Rocky Branch Missionary Baptist Church.

"Tracy Lingle, founder of My Chow Line, Inc., launched his YouTube channel before the organization became a nonprofit. His vision is to teach veterans and first responders outdoor cooking skills—particularly the therapeutic act of tending a fire—as a healthy means of coping and release. By gathering around the fire to share their stories over a great meal, participants build camaraderie and support one another in processing post-service struggles. This aligns with My Chow Line’s mission to help U.S. military personnel, veterans, and first responders through cooking and storytelling, providing a therapeutic approach to alleviate the stigmas associated with their service."

Tracy has already worked one-on-one teaching a few veterans some outdoor cooking skills, shared veteran stories on his YouTube channel, cooked for events hosted by a veteran, hosted BBQ fundraisers, and more. He continues to upload educational videos of mouth-watering recipes to his YouTube channel; however, he hopes to one day expand to a commercial property where he can host BBQ camps and cooking competitions. BUT FIRST, we need to get a commercial smoker of our own. Friends have graciously let us use their smoker for months at a time, and we are grateful for their generosity! However, we do not want to "wear out our welcome," so to speak.

Our first major fundraising mission is to purchase a "starter" commercial smoker so that we can keep going with our other fundraising campaigns. The starter smoker will likely be a cabinet-style smoker. Tracy has spotted some reasonably priced used smokers on Facebook Marketplace that need very little or no work, and he has found some new ones that are also reasonably priced from various retailers. Prices range from $3500 - $6500, so we have set our goal at $6,000. We have faith that our goal will be met in a reasonable timeframe, and we are excited to see what God has in store for us and for those we serve as My Chow Line continues to grow.

Please share our campaign with others you feel would share in our vision and THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

My Chow Line Team