By Laura Lane
She spearheaded the Volunteer Dinner Program at the house, so parents wouldn't have to worry about finding good take-out or spending time away from their children at a restaurant.
The program is a success, but Calma always needs volunteers. Eight Kennedy High School students recently helped keep her dream alive. The seniors, accompanied by Kennedy Family and Consumer Science teachers Judy Mankita and Michael DiGiovanni, recently prepared a five-course meal, enough food to feed 40 people as part of the Volunteer Dinner Program.
The students, who were hand-picked by Mankita and DiGiovanni, brainstormed which meals they would make. They learned new culinary techniques to prepare the foods, made the meals at the Ronald McDonald House and met some of the families they helped. "We tried to find out which kids out of the 150 we have in our program would be most serious about doing this, kids that could handle the culinary skills and were reliable," said DiGiovanni. "The kids were great. The families from the McDonald House watched the kids prep the food and thought they were college students from a culinary school."
The Volunteer Dinner Program has grown over the years, with volunteers from schools, organizations and restaurants cooking for the families nearly every day year-round. But this was the first time that Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District students got involved. DiGiovanni said the seniors were "on cloud nine" after the experience.
One student, Elizabeth Newman, plans to continue her education in the hotel and restaurant management program at Delaware University next year. "It's a wonderful experience and opportunity, especially for us," said Newman, 17. "In life, we are maturing and realizing that life is unfair. It's great to be part of something like this where we can give back, a way to help."
The Kennedy kids weren't the only ones who helped make the dinner a success. Mankita, a Bellmore resident, was able to get all of the ingredients donated by local vendors. Most donated at least $30 worth of ingredients, everything the students would need to make scrumptious meals like chicken marsala and fresh mozzarella bruschetta.
"I asked the kids if they'd be willing to do this again and talk to others too, and they said they'd love to," said DiGiovanni. "I hope we can do it again this year, but we have to speak to the chairperson and principal."
Comments about this story? LLane@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 236.
