JOB CORPS Fifty-two of Glenmont Job Corps Center’s finest were coordinated by Ann Marie Morin, BCL, to provide community service to our friends at the Equinox food pantry in Albany, NY. Four groups of students worked four shifts to unload trucks, stock shelves and do other necessary tasks to prepare for the annual Equinox Thanksgiving dinner for the needy. Equinox works with more than 3,600 volunteers to prepare, cook, assemble and deliver more than 10,000 dinners for homebound residents and those who attend the sit-down dinner in Albany, NY. GJCC has provided assistance in the Quarter Master Set Up for Equinox for many years. This set up work is essential for the smooth operation of the preparation and cooking of this massive dinner.
The four teams were formed by four of our staff. Automotive Technology Instructor Mr. George Van der Wouden took on the Thursday morning shift with his students James Hill, James Moak, Dmytri Plaisted, Ramesh Karan, Nicholas Juras, Jesse Presley, David Jones, Tamearl Calhoun, Davonne Penfield, Brandon Smith, Victor Coronado, and Quinlin Holmes. Chef Beth Koster, Culinary Arts Instructor, picked up where they left off with her team made up of Christina Barnett, Randall Cordero, Khansa English, Denesea Francis, Jamaule Harewood, Shameeka Holman, Darrell Johnson, Corey McLaren, Destinee Perez, Marquel Sims, and Rafael Vargas Vega.
On Friday, Secutiry/Milcap Instructor Mr. Edward Mosso headed up the morning tasks at Equinox with Raliek Calvin, Zachary Demorest, Sean Fredrick, Ezekiel Hamilton, Christopher Roque, Yosef Otero, Dajah Hills, Sheryl Cajuste, Bironna Pierre, Thashana Debose, Vanessa Louis, and Alelxa Johnson. Then, Reading Instructor Ms. Amy Dunlop-Johnson wrapped up the volunteer efforts on Friday afternoon with Shameeka Hol-man, Charlotte Moses, Angela Pena, Yosef Otero, Raheem Brown, Lorena Pena de la Cruz, Rafael Vargas Vega, Queen Azhane Byrd, Khriston Thompson, Bianca Henry, Yasmine Melendez-Morales and Nakaya Belton.
This community service would not have been possible without these staff, who escorted and worked side-by side with the students, and driver Alyson Bullis who drove the students back and forth several times each day!
“The students helped by completing tasks such as transporting turkeys, moving boxes, sweeping and mopping out freezers, cleaning sinks, and other small tasks that needed to be com-pleted,” said Ms. Dunlop-Johnson. Mr. Mosso’s group worked hard loading and unloading trucks. Mr Mosso said, “Once the delivery truck arrived, the Security MilCaP team formed a chain and we cleared out the items needed at the Empire State Plaza. Once we arrived at the Empire State Plaza, we created the chain again and we unloaded the truck and got all of the items where they were needed.” He added, “The team worked together very well and the mission was accomplished.”