ADP Hits a Hole in One for Frontline

Schools Involved During Halloween

In January Frontline served its first set of meals that were prepared in our new Northridge facility. The maiden voyage downtown was typical in all aspects - a few hundred meals served, lots of laughter and shared conversation, hugs and friendship fostered.

The kitchen is 1600 square feet, about 400 more than our last facility. The shape of it is very different as well. Whereas before we had a very long or deep facility, our new kitchen has an entry office, a shorter set of tables, an L shaped storage area and a large square food prep and cooking area. This actual food prep and cooking area did not exist in any way. Walls were built to separate the area from the rest of the facility. Then plumbing lines (gas and water) and electrical lines installed.

A large undertaking, you may wonder. Absolutely. It may have been Ray’s vision but the instruments that made it possible are Craig Randell and Gary Carlson, two of the most unconditionally and loving contractors one could ever meet. They arduously worked inestimable hours building the kitchen, making a gourmet kitchen out of an industrial unit. With the help of Jack Luax (electrical), Eric (drywall) and Randy Mormon (roofing, framing), these guys, armed with Ray’s plans and vision, managed to build a highly efficient, low maintenance kitchen that is so well organized that many people can be working in all parts of the kitchen at the same time.

According to Randell, head contractor on the job, "The kitchen truly is Ray’s vision realized and it was my honor to work on making this vision a reality."

We hope you’ll join us for our Grand Opening on June 3rd. It will be a great chance for you to see where all of your support goes. See inside for details and a map.

Frontline Newsmakers

Gertrude Price worked tirelessly to make Swing 2001 a tremendous success. Besides getting 20 people to attend the event, she also helped get some amazing silent auction items, and also was a generous sponsor of the event. Gertrude used to be a weekly volunteer at the kitchen but has since devoted her time to helping make our big fundraiser each year a success. We love you Gertrude!

If you are a Frontline donor, our most sincere and heartfelt thanks to you. Through your love and support we have been able to serve over 676,000 meals downtown. Your donations have purchased food and dry goods for almost 14 years now and truly without you, the meals could not be served.

Special thanks to James Whiteman, Jeany Prasithpramote and Lil Prasithpramote for waking up before the sun every Saturday morning. Your help in the kitchen has been unparalleled and your love inestimable. Thank you for your actions on behalf of humanity.You are a true inspiration to us all.

Ongoing thanks to our friends at Valley Beth Shalom who have showered Frontline with funds, with food, and definitely with a ton of love. Our most sincere and heartfelt thanks to all the students, parents, teachers, and administrators and special thanks to Georgette Ben Haim and Orly Zvi.

Many thanks to the Granada Hill High School Key Club who have been volunteering on Saturday mornings. Even though they listen to some crazy music, they are some of the most dedicated and hard working volunteers Frontline has.

Frontline 80 members literally pay the rental on our kitchen facility. For 10 years now this group of 80 or so individual and groups have sent in $10 a month for the rent. Without their consistent support, maintaining our old kitchen and moving into the new one would not be possible. With the increase in rent due to our new kitchen, the Frontline 80 becomes again a paramount force. Thank you all for your tremendous support. Without you, there would be no kitchen, and hence no Frontline.

Stephen Ciccarelli and the Sheraton Universal unequivocally deserve headlines in this issue! Their superior support of our Swing Night made our event such a beautiful evening. From the outset, despite Ray’s novice-ness, Mr. Ciccarelli arduously helped plan our event. From the menu (which by far got the most compliments of anything that night) to the evening’s schedule, his love and consideration for our every need was so evident. Georgina Carrillo, our banquet captain made sure the evening went smoothly, coordinating everything from the phone lines to the staff service. And of course, we cannot forget about Presentation Services who set up and maintained the sound system. With the 17 - piece band, the individual speakers, the singing group and the video presentation, without their help, our event would have been an audio flop! We cannot say enough good things about the Sheraton Universal. They treat us as though we’re dignitaries and they make us feel that they want Frontline’s event there. Thank you all so much.

Overwhelming thanks to Dara Monahan and Karin Paulsen. People wouldn’t believe how hard these two women worked to get prizes for Swing Night. If you’d like to join our three person committee for next year’s event, call us !

Thank you to the over 200 members of the $3 Club who send in your $3 monthly. For many it’s difficult to imagine that a mere $3 could make a difference, but during many months, the $3 Club makes up the bulk of our funding.

It was Frontline’s honor to host international visitors Tina Spengler and her sister Julia who came from Germany and helped prepapre and then serve food downtown. Tina found Frontline on the net over 2 years ago and has been a $3 Club member since. This was her first time on Skid Row despite her years of support.

Most people choose to spend the holidays dressing up beautiful yet chopped down trees to honor the holiday. However, in Sherman Oaks and across Los Angeles some creative people approached the holiday by actually building trees instead of cutting them down.

Throughout Los Angeles, Jeff and Veronica Smith coordinated Tuna Trees in all HQ Global Workplaces and at the Arco Center. Thanks to the hundreds of people involved, especially Mary Ramsey and Cory Kristoff over 1,400 cans were collected which translates to a tremendous number of tuna sandwiches. This is the second year that many of the buildings participated and actually stacked cans in the shape of Christmas trees.

Thank you all for your hard work and efforts.

If you attended Swing 2001, reading this article may stir up a wave of good feelings and love. It might bring about sudden movements of the body almost as if to the beat of unheard music. So readers beware - memories of Swing 2001 are about to infiltrate your psyche. Swing 2001 brought together 400 people into one room, with one purpose - to bring an energy of love and compassion into a harried and unconscious world. For the second year in a row, Castellani went out on a limb renting the Grand Ballroom at the Sheraton Universal. Here people feasted on gourmet food, listened to the amazing sounds of the Glen Roberts Big Band, enjoyed a variety of raffles and the inception of our Silent Auction.

It’s difficult to tabulate which we received more compliments on - the band or the food - so we’re going to do it again next January and hopefully get this debate settled.

The event was really a beautiful evening in all respects, serving to energize and inspire Castellani and everyone there to continue with the plight of easing the suffering of fellow men and women on the streets downtown.

And for those of you wondering, YES WE ARE DOING IT AGAIN on January 20, 2002!!!!!!! Please see the enclosed flyer!

shower our new kitchen with love

Bring your friends and

family

Please RSVP!