IHN Volunteer Stories: Nicole
Lake Edge member Nicole Rosenthal shares her story of volunteering with her daughter Kassidy
The last two times families with The Road Home stayed at Lake Edge, Kassidy and I hosted Sunday night dinner. We have always wanted to volunteer when Lake Edge hosted, but had always been apprehensive. It was unfamiliar to us and we are pretty busy with our own family. Finally, Kassidy and Jessie Gwynne talked me into making dinner for the families.
The menu was simple and food I had made before; Banquet fried chicken, Kraft macaroni and cheese, frozen veggies, and apple slices. Feeling semi-confident, we arrived in the youth room an hour before the families were due to arrive and started putting chicken in the oven. It was more chicken than I had ever made at one time so I looked for the largest baking pan I could find. The one with no sides on it held a lot of chicken.
Things were going well and the families arrived. We greeted them as they settled into their rooms. Everyone was friendly and the kids were playing tag in the hallways.
Suddenly, I noticed a bit of smoke in the youth room. I opened the oven door to find that the large pan I had decided was perfect really could have used some sides. The grease from the chicken was pouring into the bottom of the oven. The situation went from “huh…” to “OH NO” in less than a minute. The youth room was filled with smoke and I couldn’t get the pans out fast enough. This brought the families out of their rooms!
I was able to save the chicken, but we could not eat in the youth room. Everyone pitched in and we moved the tables to the far hallway and had dinner where the air quality was a bit better.
After dinner, I apologized for the lingering smoky smell and helped with the clean up. Again, everyone pitched in. We had all of the tables back in the youth room and the dishes done in no time. The families were understanding and enjoyed sharing their past cooking success stories.
The next time we hosted dinner, I made sure I had all of the supplies I needed to host dinner in the youth room. It went very well. Again, the families were helpful and pleasant. We chatted about kids and the day in general. Kassidy, the other hosts, and I sat and ate with the families. After cleaning up, Kassidy sat with a little girl and read book after book. They were having a great time. The mother had a chance to take a shower and appreciated having a “babysitter” for a bit.
We plan to host a dinner, at least, whenever families from The Road Home stay with us. It’s fun and rewarding. These families are our community.
What it's really like to volunteer with IHN
Audrey's Story
Janet's Story
Renee's Story
Scott's Story
History of IHN at Lake Edge
The last two times families with The Road Home stayed at Lake Edge, Kassidy and I hosted Sunday night dinner. We have always wanted to volunteer when Lake Edge hosted, but had always been apprehensive. It was unfamiliar to us and we are pretty busy with our own family. Finally, Kassidy and Jessie Gwynne talked me into making dinner for the families.
The menu was simple and food I had made before; Banquet fried chicken, Kraft macaroni and cheese, frozen veggies, and apple slices. Feeling semi-confident, we arrived in the youth room an hour before the families were due to arrive and started putting chicken in the oven. It was more chicken than I had ever made at one time so I looked for the largest baking pan I could find. The one with no sides on it held a lot of chicken.
Things were going well and the families arrived. We greeted them as they settled into their rooms. Everyone was friendly and the kids were playing tag in the hallways.
Suddenly, I noticed a bit of smoke in the youth room. I opened the oven door to find that the large pan I had decided was perfect really could have used some sides. The grease from the chicken was pouring into the bottom of the oven. The situation went from “huh…” to “OH NO” in less than a minute. The youth room was filled with smoke and I couldn’t get the pans out fast enough. This brought the families out of their rooms!
I was able to save the chicken, but we could not eat in the youth room. Everyone pitched in and we moved the tables to the far hallway and had dinner where the air quality was a bit better.
After dinner, I apologized for the lingering smoky smell and helped with the clean up. Again, everyone pitched in. We had all of the tables back in the youth room and the dishes done in no time. The families were understanding and enjoyed sharing their past cooking success stories.
The next time we hosted dinner, I made sure I had all of the supplies I needed to host dinner in the youth room. It went very well. Again, the families were helpful and pleasant. We chatted about kids and the day in general. Kassidy, the other hosts, and I sat and ate with the families. After cleaning up, Kassidy sat with a little girl and read book after book. They were having a great time. The mother had a chance to take a shower and appreciated having a “babysitter” for a bit.
We plan to host a dinner, at least, whenever families from The Road Home stay with us. It’s fun and rewarding. These families are our community.
What it's really like to volunteer with IHN
Audrey's Story
Janet's Story
Renee's Story
Scott's Story
History of IHN at Lake Edge