Intern Ready Student Wisdom… What Are Their Parting Words?

Every Friday afternoon WOW kitchen staff, case management staff, and the students gather to share what the students have learned in the past week and what they hope to learn or improve upon in the upcoming week. This special time is also used to honor any WOW student who has completed his or her 12 weeks of training in the WOW kitchen and is moving on to an internship at Café Options. It is amazing what the staff has learned from the students and what the students have learned about themselves in their short 12 week stay. After recording several weeks of bittersweet good-byes, these are some examples of wisdom shared by the students:

• If there is one thing I can pass on, it’s don’t sweat the small stuff.
• I am a bit emotional right now because I want you all to know that this is the first thing I have ever finished in my life. I came, I worked hard and I completed it!
• One student wrote a poem inspired by her time in the program and then left her classmates with a message about patience: If you are working on getting to where you want to be, know you must have patience. Things will work out.
• I just want to thank the chefs for being here. I know with their talent they could be working in any restaurant, but they choose to be here teaching us every day. I am grateful for their choice.
• If I can do this, you [current WOW students] can do this too!
• I can now confidently say I can name all 5 mother sauces. Béchamel, velouté, espagnole (brown), tomato and hollandaise!
• Thank you for giving me this opportunity. I have made many friends and I am looking forward to seeing where this training is going to take me!
• When choosing to do this program, I looked at it this way: Four months down the road is going to come no matter what. I could either have this training under my belt or I could be in the same spot I was in four months ago. I’d rather have the training!

The WOW team is very proud of what these incredible interns have overcome and achieved.

Recycle and Reuse Furnishings Give a Boost to Those in Need

The WOW resource spotlight for this week is Providers’ Resource Clearinghouse (PRC). As explained on their website, “PRC accepts donations from corporations and individuals of new and used office and household furnishings plus new office and household supplies, and finds new life for the items by recycling or redistributing them to other nonprofits and those they serve for a small fee.”

PRC recently helped a current WOW student furnish her brand new home with a couple of beds, a dining room set, and bookcase for a mere $75! Not to mention the “little” extras PRC insisted our student add to her cart for no additional charge: bedding for the 2 beds, 3 chairs, an area rug, and a few other household items.

Here’s a quick rundown of what PRC offers WOW and several non-profit agencies in the Denver Metro Area:

• Memberships range from $75 – $1,000 annually with varying access and benefits
• All memberships allow unlimited access to PRC warehouse
• Members can purchase vouchers for clients to pick out 4 large items for $75 (+ extra goodies)
• All items are new or gently used donations including but not limited to items from Bed, Bath and Beyond, Pottery Barn, Office Depot and the Home Depot!
• Items for members are sold at a discounted price with an additional 10% off the asking price for all members
• The first Friday of each month the warehouse is open to the public

Some interesting facts of the great work that PRC achieved in Fiscal Year 2008-2009

• Distributed $1.9 million worth of in-kind goods to 1898 nonprofit and community based agencies who in turn served tens of thousands of individuals;
• Provided furnishings directly to 522 low-income households;
• Assisted 1103 businesses and individuals in donating materials and furniture to nonprofit organizations and the people they serve receiving a total of more than 458,659 worth of good and products at fair market value. •provided vocational employment and training to 140 individuals with a chronic and persistent mental illnesses providing at total of 13,894 hours of vocational training and assistance.

Location:  14200 E. 35th Pl., Unit 105, Aurora, Colorado 80011

Hours: Monday – Friday 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM

Main Phone Number: 303-962-2270

Website: http://prccolorado.org/