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Customers line up deep to taste Jackson Street Youth Shelter fundraiser |
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Posted 1/11/2010 at 7:42 AM by Alan C in Project News
Affiliate: Pacific Northwest |
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Customers line up deep to taste Jackson Street Youth Shelter fundraiser
A spatula clutched in her hand with neon-pink polished nails, Stephanie Wang, 16, rocked her hips and sang along with KT Ulfers, 17, as they cooked grilled cheese sandwiches Saturday afternoon to the sound of The Jackson 5's "Rockin ‘Robin."
The girls were among more than 15 members of the Youth Advisory Board, a group of dedicated volunteers, ages 11 to 17, who organized and hosted the event, called "Say Cheese for the Kids at the Jackson Street Youth Shelter."
Tucked in a grilled cheese sandwich board, Daniel Abbes, 11, waved at passing cars. "Most of the high schoolers thought it would be cute to see me at a small height to wear a sandwich board," he said. "They thought it would attract attention."
At several points during the 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. event, people lined up 20 deep at the stand in front of Albertsons on Circle Boulevard.
"Hot off the grill," Ulfers said, as she slid a grilled cheese off her spatula onto a napkin. "Thank you for putting up with us, sir."
The customers didn't mind the wait.
"It's such a good cause," said Darren Grove, who waited with his wife, Katie Hayes. "Helping with the kids who need a helping hand."
"I could have used it when I was growing up," said Hayes, an Oregon State student in animal science.
Jackson Street Youth Shelter provides a safe environment for troubled, runaway or homeless youth in times of crisis.
Lynette Gottlieb bounced her son, Liam, 2, on her hip to the beat of the Beatles' "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da."
"I think it's great that teenagers that have a stable, supportive home life are helping those who don't," said Gottlieb, a student teacher at Corvallis High School. "Anna, who's cooking, is in my American Lit class and I wanted to help her out."
The volunteers got a lot of help from local businesses, including Great Harvest Bakery, First Alternative Natural Foods Co-op, Costco, the two local Safeways and Albertsons.
They also got impromptu help from Andy Louden, a battalion chief with the Corvallis Fire Department, who stopped to buy a sandwich and noticed a potential hazard. He came back with power cords.
"You want to split the load between these two. What's your coffee pot plugged into?"
Corvallis Mayor Charlie Tomlinson joined the line. "It's fresh. It's hot. It's wonderful," he said when he tasted his sandwich.
Maret Traber, a professor at OSU's Linus Pauling Institute, mentioned the cholesterol.
"I'll just take a vitamin E pill," Tomlinson joked, referring to Traber's research.
Traber's husband, Biff, opted for seconds. "I'm gonna splurge." |
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