Workers tackle interior demolition at a former commercial building on the future Edwins campus on Buckeye Road. (Thomas Ondrey/The Plain Dealer)Furniture acquired through Habitat for Humanity brightens a unit inside the future Edwins dorm. Donors and chefs raised more than $1 million for the Edwins campus. (Thomas Ondrey/The Plain Dealer)The Edwins Second Chance Life Skills Center campus will include a dormitory building (at left), an alumni center in an old house (center) and a former commercial building housing a fitness center and test kitchen (at right). (Thomas Ondrey/The Plain Dealer)
This past month, we broke ground on what will soon become the EDWINS campus. Walking from EDWINS around Shaker Square and up South Moreland you would expect to see dilapidated, boarded-up buildings, but on the corner of Buckeye and South Moreland sit three buildings which appear to be anything but. These are the buildings of the EDWINS Life Skills Center, a three-story dormitory, an alumni house, a test kitchen, fitness center and library. In just a few short weeks, you can already see significant progress, thanks to Lightning Demolition. All three buildings have been completely cleared out and are ready for renovations. The dorm building, which will be able to house up to 24 students, already has four rooms ready to go. The back lot, which once included a parking garage and more weeds than we could imagine, has been completely cleared making way for what will be a full-size basketball court. The storefront building on Buckeye has gone through a major transformation. Once an old pizza shop and corner store, it has been completely been opened up, and what’s coming together is quite amazing. This building will be an expansion of EDWINS in a sense. It will have a full-scale library with computers and books for students to take advantage of during their off time. On the other side of the library will be a full-scale test kitchen with all the bells and whistles. The alumni house, the furthest away from being completed, will be a safe place for students to stay once they have graduated from the program and are trying to transition to the workplace.
The question comes up, however, why do this? The answer is simple: People need the help. They need a safe place to stay and they need to hope for a better future. We have more and more students coming from outside of the greater Cleveland area. In the most recent class alone we have had students from Texas, New Jersey and southern Ohio. They come to EDWINS because they know it can change their life. On a recent tour of the dorms with the current class, one student perfectly summed up what these dorms mean to them. “Seeing this, it makes me really see how big EDWINS is. It’s more than just the restaurant, or the classes. This is a chance for me to be a part of something special, something that is going to change people’s lives.”
Daudi first began his culinary path in October 2014, as part of EDWINS' first class. Daudi literally had no culinary experience coming into the program and believed that he did not have an eye for the culinary arts. His reason for coming to the program was to learn a skill set that would help him land a job and feed his family, but he was not sure what to expect from it. Shortly after he began the program, he fell in love with the front of house operations. It came so naturally for him and was very different from anything else that he had done before, and a spark was created.
After a successful apprenticeship at Fire Food and Drink, Daudi joined his 21 fellow classmates at graduation on April 13, 2014. This was an especially important event for Daudi because he had previously been incarcerated for 10 years prior to beginning the EDWINS program, and it helped put him into a position where he and his family did not have to struggle.
After graduation, Daudi joined the culinary team at The Katz Club Diner, where he was the head pantry chef until the restaurant closed due to arson. He then transferred to Fire Food and Drink where he resides as the brunch prep cook and line cook, continuing to excel at his craft.
The most helpful part of the EDWINS experience for Daudi is knowing that there are a group of individuals who were patient enough to give him the time and training that he needed to gain his skills. He states that they saw something in him that he didn’t even know he had, and they helped him to flourish. The program gave him the opportunity to acclimate to being home and surround himself with positive people and influences. Daudi says that EDWINS will help him in the future by continuing to be there. He states, “It’s nice just knowing that you have roots that you can tap into.”
Congratulations to Daudi, and we look forward to hearing about his continued success!
The Case for Support
EDWINS Board Members and Community Volunteers at our quarterly job readiness boot camp focusing on mock interviews and resume writing
Since the idea of EDWINS Leadership & Restaurant Institute was shared with the community in March of 2013, the response and impact have been overwhelmingly strong. In less than two years since opening on Shaker Square, here is what you have helped make happen through your support:
90 graduates with zero returning to prizon
45 current students with new classes beginning every 8 weeks
Groundbreaking on $1,000,000 campus at the intersection of Moreland and Buckeye which includes dormitory style housing, alumni housing, a fitness center and library
38 Graduates of EDWINS programming at Grafton Correctional Institution
Lesson plans, textbooks, materials and videos of the entire EDWINS curriculum in all 30 Ohio correctional facilities by the end of 2015. Now, more than ever, we need your support to carry our mission forward in the community and inside the walls of prison. EDWINS is proving that successful reentry is not only possible, but a second chance is a fundamental right of every human being.
Here are ways you can help change the face of reentry and become part of the solution:
Attend one of our open houses on Wednesday, September 30, Tuesday, December 15, from 11:30 AM-12:30 PM for a behind the scenes tour of the Institute and the Life Skills Center. Learn more about what it takes to make our successes happen.
Consider a financial gift to EDWINS and request matching funds from your employer.
Continue to dine with us and witness the power of hope and skill building.
