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Posts Tagged ‘genesis center’

Genesis Center Is Cooking

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , on August 26, 2021| 10 Comments »

Photo: Genesis Center.
Culinary skills training session in Providence. The amazing Josh Riazi built the program into what it is today.

One of the two Providence agencies where I’ve been volunteering to help English teachers is the Genesis Center. In addition to providing English classes to immigrants, Genesis offers child care, many social services, and career programs. Perhaps the most renowned of its trainings is under the aegis of a gifted and highly motivated chef called Josh Riazi. I have tasted the food. It’s top of the line.

Alexa Gagosz wrote at the Boston Globe about plans for expanding the program.

“In the next few weeks, construction will be underway at the Providence Public Library. … Come 2022, a new restaurant run by the Genesis Center, known as CHOP (the Culinary Hub of Providence) will open as a hybrid retail store and workforce and economic development hub. The initiative, according to the Center’s chief executive Shannon Carroll, is a natural expansion of the Center’s longstanding culinary arts program that has been a pipeline to local restaurants for decades.

“But the key difference with this program, said Carroll, is that participants will get paid to learn and will experience a ‘real world’ environment as they develop their culinary skills. Students will have knife skills training, classes in safety and sanitation, proper use of equipment, culinary math, soft skills, and participating in food production for the CHOP commissary. Carroll said they will be able to complete their Servsafe certification and work on individualized goals related to their career and financial empowerment. …

“Q: Who can become a student and how much does it cost?

“Carroll: Genesis Center (located in Providence’s West End neighborhood) serves families throughout the greater Providence area. … The training program would be no cost to the students and participants would receive an hourly wage as apprentices. This paid, on-the-job training allows us to reach students who cannot afford to spend several months on training with no income.

“Q: How is the program funded?

“Carroll: Our programs are funded through grants both for the buildout of the space and the training program. [Funders include Anonymous, Carter Family Foundation, Champlin Foundation, City of Providence, Egavian Foundation, Governor’s Workforce Board, Jacques Pepin Foundation, Ocean State Charities Trust, and Social Enterprise Greenhouse.]

“Q: When and why did the Center decide to expand its culinary program?

“Carroll: We have had many conversations over the years about expanding our culinary offerings to reflect the changes in the industry and the needs and wants of our students.

“When we toured the PPL renovations last year, before COVID, they mentioned wanting to open a cafe in the space. The location, timing, and synergy of missions between the PPL and Genesis Center just made sense to us. It was the perfect opportunity to explore taking our program to the next level.

“Q: How does CHOP fit into the mission at the Genesis Center?

“Carroll: Our mission is to provide the highest quality education, job training, and support services to people of diverse cultures so that they may achieve economic independence and participate fully in society.

“Many [of Genesis Center’s adult learners] hold full-time employment or multiple part-time jobs, but they struggle to support their families with very low-income levels. Most of them have children. They struggle with the same challenges faced by most low-income individuals — unstable housing, inconsistent resources for transportation, limited resources for child care and health care, and difficulty overcoming unexpected problems or emergencies. As members of racial, ethnic, cultural, and linguistic minority groups, they face additional barriers to education and employment. …

“Q: How will the menu work at CHOP?

“Carroll: It will reflect the diverse community we serve. We plan to incorporate feedback and recipes from our staff and students to provide lunch and to-go items to the downtown business community. … We hope it will serve as a community space to bring people together.”

More at the Globe, here, and at ConvergenceRI, here.

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Volunteering with Refugees

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , on December 11, 2016| 12 Comments »

A year ago, I retired from a magazine job I’d held for ten years to see if I could offer more-direct service to people. From January until October I worked at a quasi-public agency that allowed me to connect a bit with lower-income clients. But I wanted to focus more.

What I really wanted to do was to help refugees and other immigrants learn English. So after getting my feet wet in the refugee world as a volunteer blogger for one nonprofit, I retired completely and started to volunteer at three other agencies. So far, it’s tremendously satisfying.

It took a while to set this up, however. It turns out that although most nonprofits need help, few have the infrastructure to move volunteers smoothly into useful roles.

Organizations I reached out to in Massachusetts didn’t respond, and getting a response in Rhode Island required contacting the leadership. Understandably, they then had to take the time to assess whether I had shown any previous interest in helping immigrants with English. (I had life experiences and volunteering that related, but for work that was exactly the same as what I wanted to do, I could claim only a few hours on a United Way Community Care Day.)

The largest organization, an official resettlement agency, wanted to see if I could be empathetic to frustrated adult learners who might have been accomplished in their home countries and were now starting from scratch with a whole new alphabet. And they needed to evaluate whether as an unpaid person I would show up consistently.

Their schedules weren’t necessarily my ideal schedule, but I finally cobbled something together that keeps me busy two and a half days a week.

I definitely had to talk some people into it. At one place where I now volunteer two mornings a week, the teacher hadn’t answered the email I sent after the volunteer coordinator gave it to me. I tried again. She then responded that she had enough volunteers but I could come observe. So I showed up. And stayed. Believe me, she has really needed me with her large class of immigrants, many of whom arrived only months ago from the Congo or Syria.

One aspect of the work that has been particularly interesting has been comparing three different organizations and three different approaches to teaching English. The differences relate in part to students’ different levels of English. In addition to those who have just arrived, there are people who may have been in Providence many years but could function just fine using Spanish. There are others who had no schooling as children and may turn written pages upside down.

I am learning, meeting new people, and having new experiences, which I love. I love seeing someone’s face light up when they suddenly “get it.” I love feeling like this work is important.

Many people I know are asking themselves lately, “What can I do?” There are needs out there in many different fields of interest. I think all the seekers will eventually find the right thing. It may take a while to put it together.

Photo: Genesis Center
Immigrants having fun with learning at Genesis Center in Providence.

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