“Unsung Heroes: People Helping People’s solid core - San Luis Obispo Tribune” plus 1 more |
| Unsung Heroes: People Helping People’s solid core - San Luis Obispo Tribune Posted: 04 Sep 2010 09:37 PM PDT Editor's note: This is another in a series of monthly editorials celebrating the unsung heroes in our community. By highlighting individuals who unselfishly apply their energy and skills to lighten the burden of others, we hope, first, to offer these community heroes the appreciation they deserve; second, to let those who could use the help know of available resources; and third, to inspire others who are able to help in whatever way possible. If you would like to nominate an unsung hero, contact us at letters@thetribunenews.com. It's a small space — maybe half the size of a typical model home master bedroom — yet an awful lot of good goes on inside the Los Osos office of People Helping People. Shoehorned in a couple of corners are walkers, wheelchairs, crutches and commodes — medical equipment that's loaned to people who can't afford to rent or buy it. A back table is loaded with literature about various nonprofit programs, and next to it a bookcase houses a small lending library. Stacked on other shelves are board games for the seniors who drop by to socialize. Look closely enough and you'll even spot some aprons, potholders and greeting cards on sale at bargain prices — with the proceeds going toward various People Helping People projects. Yet the heart and soul of this multifaceted operation isn't the stuff. It's the volunteers who sit behind the green metal desk, answering phones; arranging pickups and deliveries of medical equipment; scheduling volunteers for the weekly food giveaways; coaxing one more day of life out of an ancient copy machine. "They're the unsung ones, who sit in this office for all these hours," said Jerri Walsh, president of People Helping People's board of directors. On this particular day, it's Phyllis Allebe's turn behind the desk. She's been there most every Wednesday, ever since she signed on as a volunteer in 1998 after moving to Los Osos from Redondo Beach. "I needed to get out of the house," she recalled. "And I saw the Community Center." She inquired about volunteering, and was directed to People Helping People, which rents space inside the center. Since then, Phyllis — who's affectionately known as The Queen — has been part of a core group of volunteers who staff the office Mondays through Fridays, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Elinor Kisner, another office volunteer, succinctly puts it this way, "We keep track of everybody." That's no small job, because there are more than 50 volunteers staffing the organization's various programs. Those include running a weekly food distribution for low-income residents of Los Osos; picking up and delivering donated medical equipment; answering an array of questions and providing referrals to other agencies; organizing potlucks and other get-togethers; and maintaining an eclectic assortment of donated items — books, DVDs, eyeglasses, you name it — for seniors who drop by the Community Center. People Helping People does all this on a shoestring budget of $10,000 per year and of course, the dedication of volunteers like office staffers Jan Kramer, Dorothy Norwood, Elma Martin, Gara Jessup, Elinor Kisner, Nancy Ruhl and "Queen" Allebe; potluck chief Juanita McMurry; and Office Manager Beverly Ford. "All these people are only one part of the group of volunteers," Walsh wrote in an e-mail, "but are the oft-overlooked ones." Indeed — which is exactly why we're proud to honor the office volunteers of People Helping People as our unsung heroes for September. People helping people People Helping People is raising funds to build an addition to the Los Osos Community Center that will provide storage space for food donations and medical equipment. If you would like to help — or are interested in volunteering or learning more about the organization — visit or write People Helping People at 2180 Palisades Ave., Los Osos, or call 528-2626. The office is staffed between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m., Mondays through Fridays. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
| Georgia Pellegrini's new book celebrates food heroes and culinary artisans - San Jose Mercury News Posted: 01 Sep 2010 12:05 AM PDT There was a time when hunting, gathering and craftsmanship were the norm, when foragers roamed the forest in search of morels and dried persimmons were massaged into glazed, almost candied Japanese delicacies. So when Georgia Pellegrini, a Wellesley and Harvard grad who went into finance because that's just what people did, grew disenchanted with Wall Street life -- which was almost immediately -- she turned to the pursuit that had always made her happiest, cooking. She enrolled in culinary school and descended into the "dysfunctional mosh pits," she says, of restaurant kitchens in Manhattan and the South of France. It was in Provence, as a line cook and peeler-of-grapes at La Chassagnette, that Pellegrini first began roaming the forests and fig orchards with foragers and farmers. It was a revelation and a reconnection, she says, with her earliest memories of growing vegetables, fishing for breakfast trout and raising rabbits and honeybees. Now with one book under her belt and filming underway on a television pilot, "Girl Hunter," about hunting, gathering and cooking, Pellegrini, 29, is eager to chat about her just-published "Food Heroes: 16 Culinary Artisans Preserving Tradition" (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 240 pp, $24.95) It's an ode to "the sausage makers, mushroom hunters, cheese makers and chance takers," she says, "who make food a craft and a life's meaning." It's a series of tales -- slices of life, tradition and history, accompanied by recipes from people such as Hans-Otto Johnsen, a mechanical engineer-turned-beekeper in Skjeberg, Norway, and 93-year-old Helen Otow, who massages persimmons in Granite Bay.We caught up with Pellegrini at home in Berkeley. Q: So how does an ex-financier and restaurant chef end up writing about foragers? A: I found I was more interested in the people coming into restaurants with their various products than peeling grapes or carrots. I'd go foraging with them, or they'd invite me to their olive oil farm. I found them really inspiring. There are so many people out there who are doing extraordinary things to preserve these food tradition. And many of them had different jobs when they started -- working in statistics or mechanical engineering, living life in the fast lane -- and all of a sudden decided they didn't want to do that anymore. They wanted to raise honeybees. Or olive oil. Q: Hmm, that sounds kind of familiar ... A: (Laughs) I started in finance. The path of least resistance after college is often finance or law school. The great thing is, I really hated it. When you're really unhappy, it's like a slingshot. It forces you to think about what you're doing when you're happiest. And it was always cooking. So I took the plunge, went to culinary school -- a scary thing to do when you're in a job that makes good money and you've just been a student with no money. My dad instilled in me: Do what makes you happy and the money will follow. Q: Which of these stories most appealed to you? And yes, we know that's like asking which child is your favorite. A: They're all so cool -- such interesting, warm generous people. They opened their walls to me. But the beekeeper in Norway. He was working as a mechanical engineer in mines when he got very sick, and while he was sick, he fell in love with honeybees. He has spent the last seven years trying to solve the honeybee crisis, and he's able to use his skills as a mechanical engineer to help. These people take their former day jobs and translate them into something they're passionate about. Q: You've taken a global approach in this book, but there are plenty of culinary artisans here in the Bay Area. Who would you highlight if you were doing a purely San Francisco-centric book? A: Farmer Al (Courchesne) and Frog Hollow -- the best peaches in the country and the first to do everything organically. (Soyoung Scanlan), who makes Andante cheese. I met her when I was working at a restaurant, and I still remember tasting her cheese. Q: What's next for you? A: I'm starting the book tour, doing "Evenings with Food Heroes." The TV show was optioned, so we're shooting a pilot. And I'm starting a second book about taking it one step further and getting to the heart of the ingredients yourself. So, hunting, gathering -- and recipes.
This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
| You are subscribed to email updates from heroes series - Bing News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
0 comments:
Post a Comment