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Serving Up
Skills
Mary Radigan, The Grand Rapids Press, July 17, 2005
For more articles like this
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https://www.bridges4kids.org.
Marcos Gomez
made a lasting impression when he walked into Chicago's Deep
Dish 'n Dogs restaurant to look for work.
The 21-year-old from Ada had just graduated from Goodwill
Industries' Hospitality Food Service program that offers job
training to people with disabilities or other barriers to
employment.
He showed up ready for work and a paycheck. The enthusiasm
showed.
"I could recognize immediately he would fit into this group,"
said Joseff VanHorn, general manager of the restaurant next to
Celebration Cinema theater. "I liked his personality, and he was
easy going and eager to learn."
A year after he was hired, Gomez has earned the respect of the
restaurant's 30 employees and managers with his attitude,
commitment and job performance.
"I didn't know anyone, but I really wanted to work here," said
Gomez, who has a mild form of autism and takes a bus or gets a
ride to work.
"I do a little bit of everything and work about 30 hours a week,
and I love my job and the people very much," he said. "I think
of them as another family."
That's just what Rock Dandeneau wants to hear.
As director of the new Goodwill Industries program, the former
corporate chef for Herman Miller Inc. has been a passionate
advocate for the training he developed and first offered in
September 2003 with the help of a federal Projects With Industry
grant.
"Our participants come from all walks of life, and we get
referrals from job displacement agencies, Michigan
Rehabilitation Services and Community Mental Health," he said.
It is his autistic son who motivates Dandeneau, 35.
"I was driven to Goodwill because I see my child in the future,
and I see how Goodwill can change the future," he said.
So does Gomez's father, Marcos Gomez Jr.
He said his son went to special-education schools as a child,
but graduated from Creston High School, where he was a member of
the track team and participated in cross-country.
"Marcos is a hard worker, and I'm very proud of him," Gomez
said. "Goodwill has done a good job, and I just wish (the
business world) would give more people like this a chance,
because they want to work."
Since the program began, 60 graduates landed jobs at businesses
such as Amway Grand Plaza Hotel, Chicago Deep Dish, Wendy's, the
Hilton Hotel and Charley's Crab.
In all, 90 disadvantaged workers, ages 17 to 60, enrolled in the
intensive six-week "hands-on" course, which covers everything
from food safety and sanitation to teamwork, meal preparation
and customer service.
Participants earn minimum wage, $5.15 an hour, and, on
completion of the program, get help from Goodwill's
job-placement specialists on resumes, job applications and
interviews.
Goodwill counselors stick with a new hire for 90 days to make
sure they get started on the right foot, then on a more limited
basis for a year and beyond, if necessary.
An advisory council from the hospitality industry helps with
curriculum, training advice and job leads, which is an
invaluable resource, Dandeneau said.
The program, only able to handle 10 to 12 participants each
session, has a waiting list, said the program's assistant
manager and chef, Jeff Young.
The right attitude
On this day, the 28-year-old Young was busy helping a
participant build a spinach salad with mangos, strawberries and
grapes.
They topped the dish with toasted almonds, then carefully
covered their creation for storage in the refrigerator.
Attention to detail is a cardinal rule.
"It has been so rewarding to see this make a difference to these
individuals and their lives," Young said. "Beyond the
food-service training, the foundation of this program is all
about having the proper attitude, and respect for each other and
the customer."
The program operates from the top floor of Ferguson Apartments
at 72 Sheldon Blvd. NE, a 101-unit complex managed by Dwelling
Place Inc. for those with disabilities. The former hospital's
cafeteria and kitchen are perfect places for training.
Residents get three meals a day, including made-from-scratch
desserts, prepared by students.
Ferguson Terrace also is open to the public for lunch Monday
through Friday.
"We create our own recipes and menus and everything is made
fresh," Dandeneau said. "When graduates leave this program for a
job, they usually are ahead of the game, with more knowledge and
skills -- especially in sanitation."
If they are not quite ready, Dandeneau offers two to six months
of extended training, and they stay on Goodwill's payroll during
that time.
Those participants can continue to work at Ferguson Apartments,
at Goodwill's coffee and lunch bars in its stores or at
school-lunch programs.
They also can work in Goodwill's new catering service that grew
out of the hospitality program.
"I could see that Goodwill and the other (social services)
agencies needed some catering service at a lower cost than they
could get from private caterers," Dandeneau said. So, "we
started with Community Mental Health (Department), and it just
spread by word of mouth."
Dandeneau does little advertising for the catering service, but
revenues have grown to more than $7,000 a month.
The money is plowed right back into the food-service program,
once expenses are paid.
Earlier this month, Dandeneau was working with some graduates to
prepare a cafeteria for Cascade Engineering, 3400 Innovation
Court SE.
The plastic-parts manufacturer recently moved into a new
building, complete with a kitchen and lunch room, and asked
Goodwill to bid on food service.
The company's experience with Goodwill's food service helped
seal the deal. It also opened the door for Dandeneau to use
Cascade Engineering's kitchen for catered events.
Last summer, he and his crew catered a breakfast and lunch when
the company hosted U.S. Commerce Secretary Donald L. Evans and
other dignitaries for the first meeting of the new U.S.
Manufacturing Council.
Fred Keller, Cascade Engineering's chief executive, was
appointed to the council and made a point to tell guests their
meals were prepared by Goodwill.
"We wanted to get into a corporate environment, and this was a
very unique way for us to show we can handle an elegant event,"
Dandeneau said.
"There was no kitchen in Cascade's old building, and we had a
week-and-a-half to throw it together, using Ferguson's
facility."
Bob Peabody, senior supply chain manager for Cascade
Engineering, helped launch Goodwill's food service program.
Over the past four years, the company employed 1,200 Goodwill
clients through assembly contracts at Goodwill's plant in
Grandville, he said.
"We didn't want to run (the cafe) ourselves, and we looked at
Goodwill as a good fit," he said.
Payoff is paycheck
John Wells, 21, is one of the four or five graduates who will
work at Cascade Engineering for extended job training.
Dandeneau said the young man's work ethic and dedication make
him the kind of employee Goodwill wants to showcase.
"I want to keep him a little longer on a job-training site so
that he can get a better job to suit his needs," he added.
A graduate of Union High School, Wells has a mild form of
autism. He tried classes at Grand Rapids Community College, but
they were not a good fit. His family was referred to the
Goodwill program, which made a huge difference, relatives said.
Now described as one of the program's best students, Wells
graduated with a perfect attendance record and a top 95 percent
score in sanitation procedures. He is thrilled to be earning his
first real paycheck.
"This was all brand new for me," he said. "I liked learning
about all the different areas and working with people."
He will work as a dish washer and food preparer, taking a city
bus back and forth from his Grand Rapids home five days a week.
He has a resume and is set to step into a potential employer's
office for an interview.
"This has made John much more aware of what he can do, rather
than what he can't do," said his father, Jeff Wells. "He was
teased a lot as a kid, and I see John's self-esteem rising as he
realizes he has a lot of attributes to offer a company."
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