(collage photo cred to: www.tackphoto.com (Chris Tack) - images have been cropped by us.We are updating the total neededto reflect all outside donations received.If you'd like to donate to us (and spare us the 7.9% fee that GoFundMe charges) via Paypal send via "friends & family" option toTo send a paper check, email us and we'll get you the address to mail it to.--------------------------------------------------------The idea of closing our shop after all of the hard work, love, sweat, and tears that we (and our friends, family, and staff) have put into it is heartbreaking. After two Kickstarter campaigns (THANK YOU!), we did not feel comfortable asking the community for help again. But, as many customers have reached out and asked if there’s anything they can do to help save the shop, this is our answer. You’ve expressed interest in wanting to help and we’d like to accept your generosity with gratitude.As many of you know, Chris was recently in a head-on collision, that he very luckily walked away from, but has caused a good amount of physical pain. After the accident, we knew that this would greatly affect our business and it felt like what could have been the last straw. As we are now a 2-person (with occasional help) operation, we rely on just the two of us to keep the shop running smoothly.Prior to the accident, we had been trying to keep up with past debts, which stemmed from our being scammed by a contractor during the build out of our shop. Due to this contractor taking a good chunk of cash (over $18K), promising that we could schedule our final inspection and Grand Opening for April of 2016, but in the end not finishing the job…we lost a lot of money. We hired and paid staff for over three months while we waited and waited to open. We had to hire new people to complete the construction, electrical, and plumbing work that we had already paid for once. In August 2016, we FINALLY opened our doors.The GOAL amount that we are aiming for is what weto re-open our doors. While Go Fund Me offers no way of having a deadline, we do need to reach this amount fairly soon. These funds will be used to get back on our feet quick – we’ll be paying off small loans and debts, payments we’ve fallen behind on, and we’ll be replenishing ingredients., or very close to it, opening our doors will be challenging, and perhaps impossible. In this case, funds will still be used to alleviate debt.Unlike our Kickstarter campaigns, this one offers no tangible rewards…your REWARD here is our immense gratitude along with our vegan owned & operated ice creamery and bakery staying in the community. We will continue to make all baked goods and ice cream from scratch, with lots of organic ingredients and love. We’ll continue to support businesses we care about like Earthly Gourmet – PDX, Anchorhead Coffee – Duvall, WA, Equal Exchange, and our local farmers. And we’ll ALL be on track for a summer full of delicious vegan ice cream!If we reach this goal, we will be able to move forward with a plan that ensures we keep our doors open, we’ll be able to set aside funds for contingencies and improvements, pay ourselves a (trust us, modest) salary, and we’ll be able to keep up on all expenses.If we reach our goal, ALL donations ($5+) received via Go Fund Me, PayPal, or check, will be entered into a drawing to win a gift certificate to Vegan Essentials in the amount of: $50 (3 lucky winners) or $250 (1 lucky winner)! Thank you Sherry & JD for donating the certificates! <3We are uncomfortable asking for this and do not feel that we are deserving. There are much bigger things going on in the world. We are just trying our best to make a small difference in our community. That’s all we have to say about that.Yes, we have sought legal advice in regards to the contractor. We have reported it to WA state L&I. We cannot afford legal fees; we won’t be seeing any money from this any time soon, if ever. In regards to the car accident, it was not Chris’ fault. He was driving a Zipcar, so getting anything settled has been difficult. Same answer here as with the contractor.all so much. Thank you all for your messages of love and support via email, in comments, or in person over the past few weeks. Thank you for selling us out of ice cream in two hours. Thank you for the hugs and tears and for making us cry too. It has meant a lot. We’ll get through this together. If we reach our goal, we’ll be so happy to make delicious vegan ice cream and treats for you again. If not, just know that we’ve really appreciated your support and we want to thank you for welcoming us into the community for the time we were here!With love & kindness,Chelsea & ChrisFOR MORE DETAILS & PHOTOS:Photo cred to: Barbie Hull PhotographyFrom one of our regulars, MandyPhoto cred to: Malissa Tack (ice cream sell out day after closing announcement)(collage photo cred to: www.tackphoto.com (Chris Tack) - images have been cropped by us.