(Short attention span?  Skip to the photos!) 

Each year, we receive a wonderful visit from our generous friends at the Springboard Foundation.  It's a wonderful time, sharing the victories of the Humboldt Park after-school programs with those who have given so much to make them possible.

Last year, on top of all that wonderfulness, Scott Hunken from Springboard recruited his friends to engage in The Kitchen Project.  There's an old kitchen off our gym that has been used as an equipment room since the dinosaurs went extinct.  Walls, cabinets, plumbing (and lack thereof), appliances (and lack thereof)--there's a lot to do to turn that old room into a kitchen.  But what a useful kitchen it would be!  Esther, a new friend who loves the community, would use it to teach children and parents to make nutritious meals.  (This in a community with the highest diabetes rate among Puerto Ricans--more than anywhere else in the US or Puerto Rico!)  Our beloved open gym boys would be able to purchase dinner items, rather than munching on hot chips three nights a week.   Other teens would gain work experience selling these items, finding out that math really is useful in everyday life.

This spring, the kitchen project is in full swing.  Moen has agreed to donated faucets, Whirlpool is discounting appliances, Scott Hunken, Paul DeGrandis, Jeff Burch, and Scott Krone are all bringing skills and connections together to make this a reality.  The Springboard Foundation, the YouthWorks Foundation, Coronado Community Church and the Tylers from Coronado Island, California have all contributed major gifts toward the renovation.  Bethel Lutheran supporters and family members have sent key items.  Volunteers from Missouri and New Life Oak Forest have begun the work.  What a collaboration!

Want to join in on the kitchen renovation?  We could still use a donation of about 200 square feet of tile, drawer pulls and cabinet handles, and kitchen necessities, as well as volunteers or financial support.  If you're ready to be generous in the kitchen, contact us at info@nlcenters.org!  We look forward to sharing finished photos soon, but until then, see photos here!