Extreme Kitchen Makeover
The Wade Center recently received a kitchen makeover, thanks to Cole Chevrolet.
Executive Director Brian Checchio explains that the renovations will double the amount of kitchen space and speed the process of getting food to children at Wade’s after-school program. “With the number of children we serve increasing all the time, the kitchen was quickly becoming a bottleneck, and we realized we had to do something.”
That’s when Tom Cole and Cole Chevrolet offered their help. Checchio says Cole Chevy paid for everything – new paint, new countertops, new floor tiles and new appliances – as well as providing all the labor needed free of charge.
Most of the work was done by Cole Chevrolet employees, who volunteer their time after work each day. Chuck McGonagle, owner of McGonagle Home Improvements, is volunteering his time to serve as the project manager.
Checchio says this renovation will make it possible to apply for USDA funding to cover Wade’s food expenses. “We serve hundreds of free meals every week as part of our after-school and summer camp programs,” Checchio said. “It will be a huge help to receive USDA reimbursement for those meals.”
Wade’s after-school program, “Believe and Achieve,” takes place Mondays through Thursdays until 8:30 p.m. The program is free and is open to any student in first through eighth grade. Daily activities include tutoring, literacy education, homework help, computer training, health education, art classes, skills workshops and more. Wade’s summer camps last from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. during the summer and focus on learning through experience. Breakfast and lunch are provided for free to participants.
Checchio says, “We can’t keep our doors open without the regular support of local businesses and individuals like Cole Chevrolet. We are so thankful to members of the community who care enough about the future of their town to invest in the next generation in big and small ways.”
Wade's new kitchen is a busy place!
Our newly expanded kitchen will be buzzing with activity this year. We serve a snack and a meal everyday during our after-school program. And during the summer, we will serve two full meals each day to the students.
We also just launched a brand new "backpack program," in which we send students home on the weekends with a backpack full of nutritious food. Program Director Vicki Mahood says she has found almost all of Wade's after-school students are on the free lunch program at their schools. This means that during the week, they rely on the school system for breakfast and lunch and the Wade Center for dinner. Now, Wade is helping them by providing healthy weekend meals as well.
We have hired new kitchen staff, in response to the growing demand of providing healthy meals to a growing number of students. Gregg and Linda Neybert have a long history in the catering business and are going to begin offering that service at Wade this year. Whether it's hosting your club's party or catering your next corporate event, we can handle the job. And all the proceeds will help us continue the important work we're doing at the Wade Center! For more information, see our CATERING INFO CENTER.
On the Horizon: What's Next at Wade
We will be expanding our programming to include high school students in the coming months. By hiring a new middle school director, James Green, we have freed up youth director Daniel Walters to focus on creating several new programs for high school students, centering around a Wednesday night gathering called "Wildfire." More details are coming soon.
We have also begun offering music lessons as part of our after-school program. This means we have new openings for volunteers who would like to teach guitar, keyboard, or drum lessons to students of all ages and abilities.
Please know that we cannot do it without you! As we continue to grow, we need more volunteers than ever, and we need more funding than ever. While grants and special gifts like those we received recently from Dr. Phil allow us to do special projects, it’s your regular support that keeps our doors open day-to-day. Did you know that only 11% of our annual income comes from grants from private foundations? (We receive NO state or federal funding.) We rely on donations from individuals for a full 63% of our funding.
More information in available on our DONATION page. If you believe in what we do, please consider how you can help us stay financially fit in 2008!
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