NEWSLETTER FALL 2011 VOLUME VI, NUMBER 4 ! HOSPITALITY HOUSE !!!!!!!!!!"!#$%%&'()*!+$%,-,..!.+,-),/! !!!!!!!"#$!%&''&()!(*!+(',&-./&-0!+(1'$!&'!-(!,2(3&4$!.!5(%,.''&().-$!! ,/.5$!(*!2$'-6!'1'-$).)5$6!4&7)&-0!.)4!#(,$8! ! Shelter closes escrow; open house Nov. 19 Hospitality House’s goal of a year-round shelter took a giant step forward October 13 when escrow closed on the building at 1262 Sutton Way in Grass Valley destined to become its permanent home. The public is invited to tour the new building during an open house from 3 to 7 p.m. November 19. Guests at the open house will also have an opportunity to learn about supporting the center as a volunteer or donor. Coffee, tea, Tom Durkin Stardust Cowboys will perform at the Night of Giving benefit. punch and cookies will be served. The 6,500-square-foot facility will provide sleeping quarters for 54 guests. Executive Night of Giving returns Dec. 17 Director Cindy Maple stated the agency still By Tom Durkin needs to raise $250,000 in labor, materials and The sixth annual Night of Giving for Hospitality House will, financing to complete needed structural once again, present an extravaganza of fine food and local work. The goal is to have the new building music. occupied in five to six months. Maple is Miners Foundry in Nevada City will, once again, host the excited about the new space the facility will fundraiser on Saturday, Dec. 17. offer for services such as life skills training and And once again, Mikail Graham is producing the show. job searching. And even though HH will be The music starts at 4 p.m. --“and will continue until 10 p.m. moving on from its nomadic model, Maple pretty much non-stop,” Graham said. would like to encourage the faith He explained that he will stage musical acts in both the communities and our other local partners to Continued on Page 3 continue their generous involvement. Lunch Bunch volunteers create everyday mealtime miracles By Gail MacLachlan volunteers, Mary Liebke and Mary homeless population. This desire Hold the pickles, hold the O’Brien, are on duty 24/7 to make leads to a call to Mary Liebke, lettuce--noontime chaos won’t it work no matter what. They are who signs you up and manages upset us! the only two people I know who the calendar. You add your That jingle comes to mind can have a full conversation on name to a slot and confirm with when working in the kitchen at the content of the four freezers Mary. You can choose to make the Hospitality House Welcome scattered across the county. They an entree, soup or salad, or be a Center as a member of the Lunch are amazing. server. You always think in terms of Bunch. The Lunch Bunch, made How do you get to be a feeding 40 guests. up of 70 volunteers, is the faith, member of the Lunch Bunch? It The plan is to have three hope and charity behind feeding starts with a desire to give back volunteers in the kitchen every our guests. Two particular and provide sustenance to our Continued on Page 2 NEWSLETTER FALL 2011 VOLUME VI, NUMBER 4 HH provides guest a ʻspringboardʼ to a better life By Tom Durkin long. “This is temporary,” she says. She’s been working as a Last February, “I went from a housecleaner and saving her relationship and a house in Grass money so she can start her own Valley to sleeping under a bridge metaphysics business. in Nevada City,” Carla S. recalls. “I’ve always worked,” she says. That was followed by two “I’m kind of a Jill of all trades.” months of bedding down in a She’s done everything from friend’s van. Then she spent the being a baker to a licensed summer in a camp in the woods cosmologist. behind a Flyers gas station. Staying at Hospitality House During the summer, she found has given her the opportunity to out about Hospitality House. She “put myself together” and “given became a drop-in guest – and, “I me the springboard to start my was the third person in line” when own business.” the shelter opened Sept. 1. As of this writing, Carla has She quickly impressed staff paid off all her bills and was saving with her sunny disposition and her money to buy a business “How can I help?” attitude. Tom Durkin Carla calls herself a “Jill of all trades.” license. She’s tentatively found a That’s why she was chosen to place to both live and work. be the first “guest helper” of the Although she’s not counting season to assist the staff monitor and joy in what I do at Hospitality her chickens before they’re during the overnight and hectic House,” says the Nevada County hatched, she’s maintaining a morning shift. This 30-day native. “It’s helped me in many positive attitude. assignment is a position of high ways personally. I am very, very “It’s looking real good, feeling trust, and Carla takes it seriously. glad to be here.” real good,” she says with her “I take a great sense of pride But she doesn’t plan to stay characteristic optimism. During one Hospitality House A typical day is a bit calmer. Lunch Bunch season, the Lunch Bunch serves: It starts at 12:15 and ends around 3 p.m. The whistle blows 10,600 bowls of soup and you begin to close up the Continued from Page 1 1,400 casseroles 13,600 sandwiches kitchen. You refrigerate and day. Usually two are “cookers” 1,400 salads label leftovers; you clean the and one is a server, but that can 2,720 glasses of milk counters and turn on the vary. Teams that have worked 1,600 glasses of juice dishwasher. You say goodbye to together for a long time share the lingering guests and head planned menus. Some home to send Mary an e-mail volunteers have their known in place. But just as quickly, that captures the details of the specialties, like matzo ball soup another five trays of sandwiches day and sets the pace for and chili and homemade arrived! Carrots and celery were tomorrow, when this miracle cookies. And on days when turned into soup; sandwiches repeats itself! It is a good day for plans go awry, somebody picks were secured for the next day’s your soul. up pizza. Nothing stops the lunch; volunteers loaded up their Want to join the Lunch Lunch Bunch, not even an cars and made several trips to Bunch? Call Mary Liebke at (530) outbreak of overabundance. A Raley’s, which offered to 273-3678 or e-mail her at recent donation from Kane’s of refrigerate the overflow and, [email protected]. 20 cases of pre-made lunch finally, a plan was developed to In the next issue of the boxes sent the bunch into deliver lunches to the Interfaith newsletter, we will spotlight our action. Cases were pulled apart Food Ministry the next morning. faith partners and volunteer and a distribution plan was put Quite a day in the kitchen! monitors. 2 NEWSLETTER FALL 2011 VOLUME VI, NUMBER 4 Street fair volunteers keep HH in the public eye By Sandy Gold order) Sandy McComb, Once again, this Judy Olson, Sylvia summer, Hospitality Osman, Marilyn Wilson, House made itself a Carol and David Morris, consistent presence at Ann Cullinan, Kimberly the street fairs in Grass Grant, Ed Stahl, Larry Valley and Nevada Chapman, Gail City, having some fun MacLachlan, Susan in the process! We Molloy, Marc Matthias, were represented at all Mary O’Brien, Becah 10 of the Grass Valley Lautzenhiser, and Thursday Growers Samuel Lautzenhiser. Markets and at the Because of them, we three Summer Nights in signed up quite a few Nevada City, on new volunteers, Wednesdays in July. Tom Gold collected a good bit of David Gaines led Sandy Gold and David Gaines spread the good word. money, and spread the the team effort in Grass good word about HH Valley, coordinating David and I also being near the to countless people! supplies and materials shared the responsibility Holbrooke Hotel The next major with Doug Lautzenhiser, of finding and bandstand, which focus of our booth who took charge of scheduling the many brought along great activities will be the tabling in Nevada City. fabulous volunteers foot traffic, for sure, but Christmas street fairs. David acquired the who reached out each also made it a little Many of the summer canopy and tables we week, smiling and challenging to volunteers have used in GV and kept all chatting with the maintain a agreed to staff the the stuff at his house, steady stream of folks conversational tone tables. Is this some- faithfully appearing 45 who approached with from time to time. thing you might enjoy minutes early each questions, donations or We are very doing even once? It’s week to set up, and an interest in becoming grateful to the fun and we might even again a few hours later involved. Oh, and it wonderful “ambas- bring back the Twix to strike and repack. I turns out that having a sadors” who gave of (less likely to melt in assisted by helping with bowl of candy on the their precious time and December). Think set-up and providing table doesn’t hurt the charming personalities about it and email me, signage to catch the PR, either. We also had to this effort! Big thanks Sandy Gold, at attention of passers-by. the advantage of to (in no particular [email protected] Quarter Café, Matteo’s Public, Tofanelli's Gold Night of Giving returns Dec.