The best cookie I’ve ever tasted was one made by a deaf child at Rainbow Angel Coffee House. Not only did the warm buttery texture harmonize with its nuttiness, but it also reminded me of persistence, perspiration, and patience: the three P’s that would make an unbeatable combination to success, according to the late American self-help author Napoleon Hill.
What is RAC?
虹彩天使文化, Rainbow Angel Coffee House (RAC) is a coffee shop and bakery in Haidian District dedicated to helping hearing-impaired children. It was founded in 2017 by Felicia Li, a Chartered Financial Analyst and mother of two who’s always encouraged her daughters to volunteer and give back to the community. Li got to know many hearing-impaired children at Beijing Tianyun Hearing and Speech Rehabilitation Center and at first Li and her daughters donated food, books, and toys to the children. Soon, however, Li began to worry about the future of these kids. They couldn’t live on donations for the rest of their lives, and would eventually need to support themselves. Li wanted to teach the kids professional skills as a baker, skill they can continue to use later on in life. Thus, the idea of RAC was born.
Since its inception, RAC has trained numerous hearing-impaired youths in Beijing’s rural areas for free, four of which have gone on to become RAC chefs. While training at RAC, these young people not only learn how to bake handmade snacks but also develop their self-reliance skills, allowing them to discover more of their potential, while embracing their dreams. As Li puts it, hearing-impaired people usually have invisible wings with dreams we fail to see. Only once they accept themselves can more people acknowledge their true values, and RAC gives them a platform to spread their wings and soar into the sky.
My Involvement With RAC:
I was doing community service even before I learned to walk. In 2018, I co-founded a charity platform called 1+1 (art + charity), and one of our projects was to help a hearing-impaired orphanage with their long-overdue rent. During this project, I had the opportunity to work with RAC, and learned the dreadful truth that the majority of people – including the media – are only interested in the hearing-impaired as children during their ‘innocent years’, and that once they have grown up, they often become segregated from society. In the workforce, people will degrade them, scorning them merely because they fail to see their invisible wings, and many will also question their ability to bring up a family. Li told me that people often ask her how the hearing-impaired can take care of their families if they can’t take care of themselves or have a stable job. This injustice is a reason why RAC was initiated: to help hearing-impaired children become more independent and creative and to give them an increased opportunity of securing a job, a family, and a place in our society.
Thus, seeing the hearing-impaired chefs’ ambition, skills, and confidence flourish over time, as well as my desire to help them amplify their voices, I became RAC’s first Youth Ambassador and spokesperson. I helped with promoting their coffee house via social media (scan the QR code to purchase delicious freshly baked goods), running stalls during school events, such as Dulwich College Beijing’s Christmas market, and working with numerous volunteers.
Moreover, since I love to bake healthy treats, I recently taught them a recipe I invented, and which they named after me: the Helena Angel Bun. This will soon also be available for purchase via their WeChat store. But most importantly, baking with the RAC chefs, I saw the smile, determination, and passion. This is what inspires me to do community service, because small actions contribute to the bigger picture, just like in jigsaw puzzles. Step by step, all communities in our world can work together harmoniously, side by side.
How Can You Help? By Baking and Buying
There are various ways to help RAC, other than volunteering: bake with them, buy from them, and share their story.
Every weekend, RAC hosts a range of events, from music performances to baking with RAC’s chefs. Schools, companies, friends, and families can all make a reservation to participate. You may be wondering, “How are these events beneficial, other than raising awareness?” Well, there are many ways. Firstly, you’ll be able to cultivate your baking skills by learning from the hearing-impaired chefs, who have spent years mastering their skills. Secondly, this will enhance our connection with the hearing-impaired community as those participating in these events will not only understand their community more profoundly but also appreciate what they already have. Meanwhile, the hearing-impaired will get a confidence boost through this interaction, due to the recognition and newly made friendships.
No one said it better than Professor Dumbledore of Hogwarts, “we are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided.”
If you wish to volunteer with RAC contact me, Helena Zhao, via email at HZxiaoshiliu106@hotmail.com. Scan the QR code to purchase delicious desserts made by RAC’s hearing-impaired chefs. For more information about RAC’s events and festivals, simply contact Felicia Li via WeChat (13520366533).
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Photos: Courtesy of Helena Z
This article appeared in the beijingkids 2020 August issue
