COOKIE TRADITION FAILS TO CRUMBLE: Teachers team to continue special holiday project
Jessica Kardashian is pictured at right, alongside Boy and Girls Scouts and community volunteers who recently packed the Lake View Community Association Holiday Baskets at the Lake View Firehall.
Pictured are juniors enrolled in the Culinary Arts program at the Carrier Educational Center.
Pictured are seniors enrolled in the Culinary Arts program at the Carrier Educational Center, holding boxes of cookies made for the Lake View Community Association Holiday Basket Project.
Jessica Kardashian is pictured at right, alongside Boy and Girls Scouts and community volunteers who recently packed the Lake View Community Association Holiday Baskets at the Lake View Firehall.
Pictured are juniors enrolled in the Culinary Arts program at the Carrier Educational Center.
Pictured are seniors enrolled in the Culinary Arts program at the Carrier Educational Center, holding boxes of cookies made for the Lake View Community Association Holiday Basket Project.
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A legacy of community building and goodwill that began in the late Chef Jim Kuras' Culinary Arts classroom remains as strong as ever.
For years, students enrolled in the Culinary Arts program at the Carrier Educational Center had shared their time and talent to create holiday cookies and quick bread for the annual Lake View Community Association Holiday Basket Project. Today, that tradition is as strong as ever thanks to Sandy Kaleta, Erie 2-Chautauqua-Cattaraugus BOCES culinary teacher; Ms. Mel, teacher aide; Ms. Nicole Kaleta, consultant teacher; and the collaboration with Jessica Kardashian, Silver Creek High School Social Studies teacher.
The Lake View Community Association's basket project, spanning over 25 years, has evolved into a heartwarming holiday tradition, uniting the efforts of local volunteers, Boy and Girl Scouts, and the community at large. The baskets are distributed to individuals facing challenges, including those who have lost loved ones, are alone, or are recovering from surgeries.
"When the project started, baskets contained homemade cookies and bread, homemade ornaments, cards, and fruit and have since evolved over the last 10 years," Kardashian said. "The Lake View Community Association fully funds the project, and the baskets now include the same but also popcorn from a local company and some other small goodies.
The bread used to be made by the Lake View Home Bureau, which included my grandma, which eventually dissolved, and finding numbers of scouts bringing in cookies became more difficult."
Enter Chef Jim, who then incorporated the baking of cookies and quick bread into his curriculum to assist with the project. Deciding whether to carry on the annual tradition was easy for Kaleta, who worked with Chef Jim for 18 years as his teacher aide in the Culinary classroom.
"This project was always very near and dear to the both of us; we worked together on it for several years while I was his teacher aide, and I'm so proud to be able to carry on the tradition with Ms. Mel, Ms. Kaleta, and our Culinary Arts students," Kaleta said. "Our student chefs take immense pride in giving back to the communities."
For a project she has been a part of since her teenage years as a Girl Scout, Kardashian appreciates the immense effort and continued support it receives from community volunteers, such as the E2CCB Culinary Arts students.
"When Chef Jim passed, I was devastated for our kids and knew what a legacy he was leaving behind. I also knew that Mrs. Kaleta had been such an integral part of his program and knew what the partnership had become over the years," Kardashian said. "This partnership with the Culinary Arts program, but even more so the true care and willingness to do something to give back to others, is the epitome of what this season is about. This is teaching the students about so much more."
Community baskets also include cards recognizing the efforts of the Culinary Arts students, ornaments made by students in Mrs. Kardashian's History & Culture Club, and fresh fruits. They are assembled and packed by Boy and Girl Scouts and volunteers and distributed in time for the holidays. For their efforts, Kardashian will always treat the Culinary Arts students to refreshments from Tim Horton's and write letters for their portfolios.
"The collaboration between BOCES and our home districts is incredibly rewarding," Kaleta said. "The dedication of our juniors and seniors in collaborating to create delicious cookies and quick bread for such a meaningful cause is truly commendable."