Our volunteers are really going above and beyond these days, offering up their own expertise and knowledge to our clients. In fact, one of our Mentoring Mothers volunteers, Ele Lavender, has started offering cooking classes at the Foothills Teen Parent Program.

The Foothills High School Teen Parent Program, located in San Marcos, is a fully accredited program for teenage mothers to earn their high school diploma. Our onsite social worker is dedicated to helping mothers develop essential skills for furthering their education, make healthy choices, become self-supporting, and be effective parents.

A branch of the Federal government’s WIC Program (Women, Infants, and Children), Ele’s classes teach low-income teenage mothers about health and nutrition. A few days ago Ele took the girls on a field trip to the market where they learned about WIC items for purchase, and the nutritional value of fresh foods and produce. They each picked out fresh ingredients for their recipe, and spent the rest of the afternoon chopping, mixing, and baking. She’ll hold two more classes in May, focusing on soups, salads, and sauces.

Ele’s enthusiasm and interaction is making this experience not only educational, but a lot of fun for these young mothers. Thank you Ele for your passion and dedication!

This just came in from Cheryl Bruser, our Project SARAH Outreach Coordinator:

This Passover was indeed different from all other nights…thanks to Urban Solace Chef Matt Gordon and proprietor Scott Watkins! In early March, I learned that Project SARAH would be the beneficiary of Urban Solace’s second annual Urban Seder. I was so touched—I feel it’s especially poignant that they chose our domestic abuse program, with Passover having such strong themes of liberation from oppression, freedom from slavery, rebirth and renewal. The holiday provides a powerful Jewish context of healing for our domestic violence survivors.

I, along with about 60 other guests, attended the Seder, which was led by Sam the Cooking Guy (Sam Zien) and restaurant critic Steve Silverman. They used the “Haggadah for Urban Solace” compiled by Steve.

Chef Gordon served delicious family-style dishes including chicken liver pâté, charoset and house-made gefilte fish. The four-course dinner included Caramelized Fennel and Roasted Garlic Matzo Ball with Jidori Chicken Consommé; Cold Smoked Char with Asparagus/Lemon/Herb Quinoa; Braised Shortrib, Green Garlic Pistou, Sweet Potato-Parsnip Tzimmes; and a special dessert of Lemon Blackberry Cake with Basil/Mint and Cracked Almonds. It was the most delicious Passover Seder I’ve ever been to!

Not only was the food outstanding, but Chef Gordon was a gracious and generous host…a real mensch. It was fun to sit at the long family-style tables, watching everyone engage in conversation with their neighbors, moving from strangers to new friends. Though the highlight of my evening was definitely when 11-year-old Brennan found the Afikomen, and decided to donate $10 of his $20 prize to Project SARAH.

I can’t thank Urban Solace and everyone involved enough—Chef Matt Gordon, Scott Watkins, Jean Walcher, Steven Silverman and Sam Zien. We are so appreciative of their generosity, which will directly benefit Project SARAH clients in their transition to safety. And we’re extremely grateful for the publicity for Project SARAH in the days leading up to the seder, including Project SARAH’s very own Marni Greenberg on San Diego Living. Watch the video clip in Windows Media Player by clicking here>>

View photos from the event on Urban Solace’s Facebook Page by clicking here>>

More than a dozen employees from NBC 7 News came into our Hand Up Youth Food Pantry last week to volunteer. It was so neat watching them stack, lift, sort, and create food bags for San Diego’s hungry. With so many people struggling these days, it’s such a great thing to see people come together to make a difference during these tough times.

The employees held a food drive at their office, donating nearly 800 pounds of food to Jewish Family Service. After the drive, they decided to experience the food pantry first hand. Employees including anchors Catherine Garcia and Marianne Kushi, worked tirelessly for a few hours, sorting the 800 pounds of food they had donated and creating 300 bags of food to hand out to clients.

Thank you NBC for all of your help! You truly made a difference.

Read the online article about their experience by clicking here>>

Watch the news clip of their volunteer time by clicking here>>

Find out how you can volunteer in the Hand Up Youth Food Pantry by clicking here>>