Rotary, Peninsula partner for feast at Boys & Girls Club
Wanting to give back to the community that warmly welcomed him, Chef Robert Daugherty, director of food and beverage at The Peninsula, and his team decided to offer a Thanksgiving dinner, complete with tablecloths and restaurant table settings, for the Boys & Girls Club of Oak Orchard.
Long Neck Sunrise Rotary Club member Connie Little offered the club’s help for serving the meal and more. Little and fellow Rotarians offered a series of manners lessons to the children at the club over five weeks.
Older children, part of the Smart Girls and Path to Manhood group at the Boys & Girls Club, received lessons on Manners 101, How to Be a Good Friend, and Gratitude is the Best Attitude as part of the Manners for Life program.
All children attending the Oak Orchard Boys & Girls Club were offered training on manners and table setting as well as centerpieces, napkin-folding and place cards.
Oak Orchard Boys & Girls Club Director Erica Kennedy said, “We welcome new and informative programming into the Boys & Girls Club that will assist our youth with practicing responsible and social performance. And we appreciate our partnership with the Rotary Club and Chef Robert on this very special endeavor.”
Daugherty and his team arrived at the Oak Orchard Boys & Girls Club Nov. 26 with a complete Thanksgiving dinner cooked by The Peninsula food team. Long Neck Sunrise Rotarians helped with table setup and service. The food, table service items and linens were donated by Peninsula vendors Sysco Food Service, Keany Produce and Capitol Linen. A group of 108 children was served, and take-home meals were also prepared.
“As providers in the food industry, we received gratuities all the time from our patrons,” said Daugherty. “This dinner was our opportunity to give back. The Rotary team was instrumental in helping us serve the children.”
“The Long Neck Sunrise Rotary Club views our mission to make a difference in our community by serving its youth, adults and business. We have had a longtime partnership with the Oak Orchard Boys & Girls Club, providing monthly birthday parties and sponsoring a pitch, hit and run tournament in the spring,” said John Berner, Long Neck Sunrise Rotary Club president. “Extending this partnership to inaugurate our Manners for Life program, and include Chef Robert and his team from the Peninsula was a wonderful way for us to continue to change lives.”
