Three teams of Kiwanis volunteers celebrated “Kiwanis One Day,” a world-wide community service day on April 2, by painting the No Name Café at Sonoma Valley High School during spring break.
The 10-year-old café, run by students under the auspices of Teen Services Sonoma, in space provided by the high school, offers snacks and beverages for purchase by students, staff, and anyone else who knows its whereabouts.
Roughly 200 students use the space every day. Currently, the seven student employees happen to be young women, but males often participate. They earn minimum wage and gain valuable work experience in meeting and serving customers, organizing schedules and solving myriad problems as they arise.
Student employees also take part in the “Skills for Life: Ready to Work” series of classes offered each spring and fall. Jodie Taylor, director of Teen Services, runs the workshop which rounds out the students’ vocational preparation for joining the local work force.
Tracy Kitz, the Café’s coordinator, said that most student employees start with no experience, and often with personal problems, ranging from extreme shyness to communications issues. She cited two individuals who underwent “remarkable transformations.” She noted that the courage, trust and comfort they developed by serving strangers at the “No Name” eventually led to jobs in the larger community.
March has been a busy spring-cleaning month for Kiwanis, including a “deep” cleaning of Meals on Wheels’ kitchen at Trinity Episcopal Church, pushing and converting walls into platforms for the current exhibit at the Sonoma Valley Museum of Art and now painting the No Name Café.
Four Kiwanis Key Clubbers from the high school and 11 Kiwanis members (with one husband) donated a total of approximately 80 service hours to paint the café’s walls green, blue and gray, in imitation of Teen Services’ colors.
Coordinator Kitz facilitated volunteers’ efforts and worked with them side-by-side.“The cafe is bright and cheerful now! It is a positive place for the students to spend break or lunch and looks much more open and inviting,” Kitz said after a job well done.
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