Inland Empire Job Corps culinary students – Deserie Yescas, Patrick Wolfe and Chef Michael Geurds, culinary instructor at Inland Empire Job Corps deliver their $300 for taking second place in the Route 66 Cook-of to Roosevelt Carroll, director of the San Bernardino Corps’ Hospitality House emergency family shelter (red jacket).
(SAN BERNARDINO, Calif.) Just in time for the 2009 holiday season, the San Bernardino Corps of The Salvation Army has received a $300 donation from the Inland Empire Job Corps.
A team of Inland Empire Job Corps culinary students – Deserie Yescas, Patrick Wolfe and Shawn Good – won the $300 for taking second place in the Route 66 Cook-off, sponsored by the San Bernardino Convention & Visitors’ Bureau as part of its 20th annual Route 66 Festival last month.
Winners in the Cook-off were required to donate the prize to their favorite charity. For students at Inland Empire Job Corps, that’s an easy choice. They have been providing community service to The Salvation Army for almost a decade.
“The Salvation Army is the greatest cause,” said Chef Michael Geurds, culinary instructor at Inland Empire Job Corps. “They’re helping the most people.”
Quite often, Inland Empire Job Corps students are among those providing that help. These students have been volunteering at The Salvation Army for at least eight years said Roosevelt Carroll, director of the San Bernardino Corps’ Hospitality House emergency family shelter.
Culinary students bake hundreds of pies for the annual Thanksgiving Dinner, which has brought as many as 800 people to The Salvation Army.
Last year, they donated a collection of gingerbread homes they had created from scratch as a class project. Besides being eye-catching, they made a good desert for the shelter residents.
Job Corps students are making plans to continue these traditions, first by donating 300 pies to this year’s Thanksgiving dinner (100 each of apple, cherry and pumpkin). In December, they plan to deliver more gingerbread homes to the shelter.
Inland Empire Job Corps’ service goes beyond donations, Carroll said.
They frequently help with the preparation and serving of meals, and the maintenance of the grounds of The Salvation Army’s buildings. They retiled a bathroom at the old Hospitality House emergency family shelter (which was relocated to its headquarters building in 2007) and at the headquarters building, have painted several rooms.
“They are a joy to work with,” Carroll said.
The Salvation Army is an evangelical part of the Universal Christian Church, and also offers evangelical programs for boys, girls and adults. One of the largest charitable and international service organizations in the world, The Salvation Army has been in existence since 1865 and in San Bernardino since 1887, supporting those in need without discrimination. Donations may always be made online at www.salvationarmyusa.org or by calling 1-(800)-SAL-ARMY.
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