Newspapers / Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / Nov. 25, 2010, edition 1 / Page 10
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Phouvs b> I. ay la Parmer j Volunteer Ceriyan Anderson delivers a Thanksgiving meal to a guest. Volunteers serve Thanksgiving feast at Salvation Army shelter BY LAYLA FARMER I lit ( HRONIC1 1 Thanksgiving came twice for some lucky diners at the Salvation Army Center of Hope on Trade Street this year. The facility, the county's only homeless shelter for families and single women, serves dinner nightly to resi dents in its homeless and reentry programs and resi dents of the Bethesda Center for the Homeless. Each Thanksgiving, the Center hosts a special meal in honor of the holiday. The annual dinner, a tradition that has endured for more than 15 years, is a time for residents to be thankful for the help they are receiving, but also for staffers to remember the important charge they have been given in their daily work, said Center Director Monique Freeney. "We are so thankful to be able to have the opportunity to minister to such wonderful people. This is adequately named the Center of Hope, because that's what we try to give to our residents." Freeney said. "We're giving thanks to the Lord for giving us the ability to help these people in need;" This year, the Center hosted two Thanksgiving meals. The first was provided by the Summit Church in Kernersville on Sunday. Nov. 2 1 . The second - prepared by Noble's Grille in partnership with the United Way of Forsyth County - was slated to be served at the Center on the Nov. 25 holiday Sunday's dinner had all the trappings of a traditional Thanksgiving feast, from turkey with gravy to maca roni and cheese, cranberry sauce and even sweet potato pie: It was served restaurant style, with volunteers deliv ering the steaming plates to guests at their seats, a devia tion from the cafeteria style format of a typical dinner. Fifty-seven year-old Jimmy Crawford, a Winston Salem native and former Marine, says he has been eat ing at the Salvation Army for 20 years. Though he is grate ful to have a place where he can eat well all year long, Crawford said he was espe ....II. ? I 1 .. . . L. C 1 ? . Volunteer Tanya Dellacona works in the kitchen while her daughter, Morgan Dellacona, 9, sets the table. Husband and wife volunteers Jody and Olivia Blanton. _______ . . v eiany picuM.u wun :>unu;i\ ?> spread. "It's magnificent." declared the grandfather of five. "The atmosphere is great: the people are great... They God-sent peo ple" Every Sunday since July, volunteers from Summit have Jimmy Crawford and Moses Kapaya enjoyed the meal. Isaac Biah says he doesn't eat at the Salvation Army often during the week, but he tries not to miss a Sunday. "I love these people," the 23 year-old said of the Summit volunteers. "They come 10 me Center to prepare and serve its guests. The church supplies the ingre dients for the meals. which helps alleviate the Center's strained budget, Freeney explained. "We are just so blessed to have the Summit r'hnr/'k f n o n ' f V.IIUI VII . . . ? V.UII 1 UV.>VIII'V how wonderful it is." she declared. "It's wonderful for us to know the community at large supports what the Salvation Army docs, and they do it with subh loving spirits. It's such a treat for the residents." Bethesda Center resident h'reeney come on Sunday and they give good food. It's a bless ing." Jody and Olivia Blanton have been regular volunteers at the shelter since their church began the partnership with the Center. "We came the first time and fell in love with it. so we wamcu ?> cuminuc kj uo 11. Jody related. "The thankfulness of the people that come in really made us want to come back even more." Olivia added. The Blantons. who arc expecting their first child in May. said they liked the more formal format of the Nov. 21 dinner. "This is different," Olivia said. "This is more like a restaurant. It's a little more personal, so I'm looking for ward to that." Moses Kapaya, a tempo rary employee at Graham and Associates and a Bethesda Center resident, is hoping to be in his own home by the Christmas holiday. In the meantime, Kapaya. a native of the West African nation of Liberia, said he was glad for the savory meal and the wel come change of pace in its delivery. "It was perfect," he said. "I enjoyed it very much." For more information about the Salvation Army Center of Hope, call ( 336) 722-H72! or visit wwwjalvationarmycarolinas .org. For more information about Summit Church, visit www.thesummitchurch net or call (336) 7691966 Cakes from [Hi/ft At Martin admits he didn't take Jackson's careful guidance too seriously at the time. "I just went along with it," he said. "(Cake decorating) wasn't something that I really aspired to do." Years later, while working for Vanguard Cellular, the N.C. A&T State University alumnus unwittingly launched his second career when he volunteered to bring cakes for a St. Patrick's Day function at the office. The cakes were a hit with Martin's co-work ers. "People just really liked the level of detail 1 gave to the cakes," he recalled. "It actually pushed me to learn more in the craft." In IW4, Martin traveled to New York City to intern at the side of his aunt's friend, veteran cake designer Sylvia Weinstock. Hailed as the "Leonardo da Vinci of Cakes," Weinstock taught Martin the art of creating edible sculptured pieces with fondant and gum paste: dough-like icings that can be cut and molded into virtually any shape. From then on. Martin has been extremely busy, as word of mouth about his unique tal ents have spread far and wide. He launched Sweet Indulgence in October of 2008. "With the economic downturn and ... jobs not being secure, you kind of have to reinvent yourself," he remarked. "1 just took inventory of my life and said, 'Well, what 1 probably need to do is something that I'm good at,' and (decorating) cakes was one of them. People enjoy my cakes, so why not?" Martin - whose cakes can cost up to $4,300 depending on the size and detail involved - has created sweet treats for every occasion imaginable - weddings, birthday parties, bridal showers, corporate and non profit celebrations. UNC Greensboro student Telma Jeffries has interned with Martin since the spring. The 34-year-old Greensboro native, who says she hopes to open her own bakery one day, says she has learned a lot from watching Martin, who often has left her in awe. "Anything that anyone asks for. he's able to actually recreate it, whether it's a moun tain with snow on top or an Air Jordan sneaker." she commented "He is very tal ented. 1 really haven't seen anyone else that actually makes the cakes like he makes, as far as duplicating anything that the customer asks." Martin prides himself on making each cake unique. From the flavor, to the filling, to the design - nothing is off limits, he said. He aspires to someday make cakes for the stars, beginning with Winston-Salem's own Ma_\a Angelou. "siiJilSjuiJciwc C'akc DnigM Photm Bryant Martin poses with N.C. A&T Chancellor Harold .Martin and the chancel lor's wife, Forsyth County Attorney Davida Martin, behind the cake he created for the chancellor's installation ceremony in April. Bryant Martin with cake-design legend, Sylvia Weinstock. Telma Jeffries watches as Bryant Martin works on one of his cakes. "I would like to see m\ business known not on a national level, but on a global level." he declared "I know it I keep on the track that I'm on. my business w ill be a force to be reckoned with." For more information about Sweet Indulgence Cake Design, contact Martin at 336-987-6905 visit www. sweet indulgence hi: or check out Sweet Indulgence's Face hook page. I'll - I diversity ? > I Norlli C .irolin.i ^elinnl ol I lie Arts _ __ December 4 - 12 Stevens Center uncsa.edu I 336.721.1945 I ?j \ \( SA
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