“There is no better exercise for your heart than reaching down and helping to lift someone up.”

–Bernard Meltzer

A few weeks ago, I had a book discussion/sale/signing with men who are part of a small group ministry program. But this post isn’t about us.

The event was hosted by Community Culinary School of Charlotte, and today’s focus will be on the school. It’s a workforce development program that provides training and job placement assistance in the food service industry for its students.

The school was founded in 1997, beginning its mission in one room of an unfinished warehouse with just two students. It has grown to where it now trains 45-50 students annually, with 1,045 graduates through December 2021. It offers in-house breakfast and lunch Monday through Friday, pick-up service, and catering.

And who are these students? They are folks just like you and me, who want to improve their lives but are hindered by arrest records, addiction issues, and/or homelessness. They just need an opportunity to help them accomplish that goal. And that’s where the school steps in.

Just think about what that does. It provides the students job training, it serves to break the cycle of homelessness and poverty, and it assists in their upward mobility. They go through a 14-week core program that teaches the culinary arts, job-readiness skills, life skills, and goal-setting.

One hundred percent of the students graduate with ServSafe Certification, and the majority of graduates go on to work in one of many capacities in the food service industry–not just as cooks, but direct customer relations jobs as well. Just as important, and interconnected, are the dignity and self-worth established in each individual…the pride of hard work at an honest job.

Seated at the “head of the table” is Ron Ahlert, Executive Director since 2006. Chef Ron is a New Yorker through and through, and wears that moniker proudly! He trained at The New York Restaurant School and then worked in the kitchens of some of the finest restaurants in New York City and Paris. But he gave up all of that and dedicated his life to the culinary school.

Spend five minutes with Chef Ron and you’ll quickly realize he has a heart for this ministry. He and his team have dedicated this portion of their lives to helping students–as the school’s website says–not by “catching them a fish, but by teaching them to fish.” Fair to say, I guess, the students also learn how to cook and serve the fish!

CCSC stands as a testimony not for a government program, but for what individuals can do when they stop, reach down, and give someone a hand up. The fruits of their labor speak for themselves.

There is a beautifully poetic passage in the 25th chapter of Matthew, where Jesus talks about the hungry, the thirsty, the homeless, the naked, and those who are sick or in prison. In verse 40, He says, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me (NIV).”

The staff of CCSC is living that passage. Their students are the least of these–not because their lives are any less worthy than yours or mine, but because they made some bad choices. As a result, they have a history that, were it not for the school, might doom them to a life of hopelessness and homelessness. Think, “there but by the grace of God go you or I.”

To learn much more about the Community Culinary School of Charlotte, go to their website, community culinary, and see how you might best support their mission. You’ll be glad you did!

Chef Ron with two of the culinary school’s students