Caterinas Club
PROGRAMS
Chef Bruno's Hospitality Academy
Chef Bruno's Hospitality Academy is a mentorship and career exploration program for Anaheim’s youth. The program was designed to offer at-risk teenagers a twelve-week program of industry training that prepares students for employment. This content teaches the skills that provide students with insight into the opportunities that lie ahead as they begin to prepare for their transition from high school. A curriculum comprising twelve courses has been designed to educate every student on all aspects of the restaurant and hotel industry, including cuisine, nutrition, restaurant service, marketing, administration, and financial literacy. Our program staff has worked diligently to secure partners in the hospitality industry to serve as guest speakers and mentors who will ultimately steward the employment of the skilled students. These partners include Anaheim White House and Anaheim Union High School District. The Academy will also serve as an innovative after-school program to keep the teens in our community off the streets and involved in engaging activities that will help shape and brighten their future. We believe that equipping young adults with the necessary skills to secure employment will be instrumental in breaking the cycle of poverty and homelessness.
The Academy will first and foremost break the cycle of poverty and homelessness by keeping at-risk youth off the streets after school and enriching their lives with the tools to become informed, engaged community members. Caterina's Club will expand the program from 80 participating students to 120 students and will offer educational opportunities to all of the Anaheim school district. We will be the example in the community, inspiring other restaurants to open their doors to students and creating a city-wide initiative to educate our at-risk youth. Caterina's Club will continue to build upon the curriculum and incorporate off-site functions to enrich the program. We will also increase the number of internships after each session from five to at least 12 positions, resulting in long-term acquisition. Caterina's Club will also expand to provide consistent transportation for all students to participate in the program, enabling them to engage in activities beyond the Anaheim area.
Welcome Home
Welcome Home provides up to $5,000 in relocation assistance to families with working parents experiencing homelessness or residing in unstable housing. For qualifying families who have consistent income, a minimum of 1 child, and maintain necessary means for being approved on an apartment, Caterina’s Club will provide the first and last month’s rent along with the security deposit due at move-in; this is often times the barrier keeping the families subject to motel life. This program oftentimes negotiates and secures affordable housing on a family’s behalf. We then provide the family with basic home goods and furniture. We are most proud to share that 100% of these families continue to reside in their safe homes. Parents are able to refocus their priorities on the family’s long-term goals. In January 2018, we also launched a homelessness prevention component of Welcome Home, providing rental assistance to families temporarily unable to cover expenses due to unemployment, job injury, illness, or another short-term emergency.
The Welcome Home program will have developed sufficiently to double its outreach, potentially relocating up to four families each month. We will dedicate one week to assisting one family with expert case management during their move-out process. Welcome Home will also extend its support to provide bilingual classes in English and Spanish for families to further their knowledge of financial literacy and register individuals who qualify for all local and state programs. These classes will include, but are not limited to, food stamps, free healthcare, and utility payment assistance. Statewide, the amount of money saved by using food assistance can accrue up to $150 per person. Caterina's Club will be dedicated to signing up at least one family member per family to save an estimated $7,200 annually for our families. In most cases, more individuals will be eligible, resulting in higher savings and sustainability of our program.
Feeding the Kids in America
We began serving children at the Anaheim Boys and Girls Club who were living in the motels surrounding the city's tourist attractions. What began in 2005 as 50 meals a night has grown to 79,000-95,000 meals each month at 128 program partner sites in 34 cities. The Feeding the Kids program provides daily meals for roughly 200,000 unduplicated low-income and unhoused children and their families annually. Almost 90% are in Orange County, and the remainder are served by Southeast Los Angeles and San Bernardino program sites. These services are offered year-round, five days a week. The primary target population of Caterina's Club is children in grades K-12. An estimated 78% of them reside in a motel or other tenement-style living situation.
Caterina's Club's ultimate goal is to end childhood hunger in Southern California through food distribution and advocating for access to local, nutritious food for the community. Another long-term goal is to establish "Caterina's Projects" in every state to ensure the eradication of food insecurity nationwide. "Caterina's Projects" are programs modeled after Caterina's Club that provide outreach to their own communities, but operate independently. In addition to remedying hunger, it is under this program that we search for solutions to transport to and from school and after-school programs for underserved children. Caterina's Club will continue to identify children with transportation needs and collaborate with organizations to ensure these children receive nightly hot meals and extended learning opportunities that keep them engaged and off the streets.
CONTACT
Caterinas Club
451 W. Lincoln Ave
Suite 251
ANAHEIM, CA 92805
Phone: 657-201-3278