Chef Cramer Volunteers with Students at The Grateful Table
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Chef Cramer Volunteers with Students at The Grateful Table
The faculty at The Collins College of Hospitality Management goes beyond its commitment to serve current students and alumni. Faculty members like Chef and Lecturer, Ashley Cramer, anticipate an opportunity to utilize their gifts and talents for a great cause.
Cramer (’10, hospitality management) encourages Cal Poly Pomona to serve the broader community to enhance educational experiences. So, when the opportunity to collaborate with the California Restaurant Association Foundation (CRAF) was presented, she volunteered with two current Collins College students.
To raise awareness and funds for Restaurants Care, the CRA Foundation hosts a communal dinner celebration event called The Grateful Table. The event featured celebrated chefs, live music, a Twilight Reception in the garden, and a dessert bar under the stars. In its third consecutive year, The Grateful Table raised $76,000.
Chef Cramer provided the first course for The Grateful Table: a sweet gem and chicory salad, pomegranate seeds, mandarins, goat Brie, honey roasted pepita seeds and a chamomile vinaigrette.
“I enjoyed being a part of something bigger than myself and what I do,” Cramer said. “It was genuinely about the cause, not about critiquing food or ego. Everyone came together for this event and created positivity and hope for those who face an unplanned crisis.”
Restaurants Care is a program of the CRA Foundation that provides one-time financial support to restaurant employees facing an unforeseen hardship. Grants help to cover basic living expenses such as rent, food and utilities as someone works through a crisis, as a way of giving back to the employees at the heart of the restaurant community. The organization has been able to help 415 people since its conception in June 2017.
“Even in the event of a personal emergency, most restaurants don’t pay hourly staff for a leave of absence,” Cramer said. “I come from an industry that lacks better care for staff during emergencies, so it was an honor to contribute to this organization.”
Third-year hospitality management student Drake Rubalcava and first-year hospitality management student Andrew Moreno also volunteered at The Grateful Table dinner. Rubalcava and Moreno checked-in attendees and assisted with the paddle raise that was held after the dinner.
“My favorite part of the event was meeting the guests and networking with them, Rubalcava said. “I like to volunteer for CRAF throughout the year regularly.”
Volunteer opportunities like The Grateful Table push our students, faculty and staff to nurture mutually beneficial and meaningful relationships with community partners.