Program News 2005
Cause For Celebration
On Monday, February 7th, staff and participants from our residential program organized a party at our St. Helena's Residence to celebrate the publication of their cookbook, which reflects the diversity of cultures represented by our program participants, families, and staff. The idea of creating a cookbook came to fruition as part of our job readiness program. Eight young women from the residences participated in the project and solicited recipes from staff, other program participants and their families. Staff at the residences wanted to use this activity as an opportunity for some of the older teens to serve as mentors to the younger residents, and selected one of the older residents to lead the group as the project coordinator. We contracted with a publishing company, which gave us a template to use in laying out the book, and the girls worked diligently to ensure that their creation looked as professional as possible. This project and its attractive final product allowed the girls to feel a tremendous sense of accomplishment, and helped to heighten their level of self-esteem. The cookbook is being used to raise funds to supplement the costs of future youth activities.
The cookbook party also served as an opportunity to thank the members of the Gotham Project for a donation the group made to GSS last summer, which allowed the residents of St. Helena's to take a trip to Ocean City, MD. The girls created a beautiful photo collage, which illustrated the wonderful time that they had at Ocean City and the representatives from Gotham were truly touched. Gotham Project is a group of young professionals who are taking a proactive role in improving the community through organizing fundraising events to benefit a cause or organization.
Overall, the party was a wonderful chance to recognize the accomplishments of our young women, reminisce on the great time had by the girls at Ocean City, and celebrate our strengths as a community.
February 28, 2005
