"How the Economy Impacts Training in Restaurants ...... And Why Training is Important to Your Bottom-Line Profits"  John Alexander interviewed by Judy Asman - June, 2008

Part 1 - (link to YouTube)

http://youtube.com/watch?v=99dW86_FGKU

Part 2 - (link to YouTube)

http://youtube.com/watch?v=h1QFgaaVYFo

Part 3 - (link to YouTube)

http://youtube.com/watch?v=MHsq9SO3PW4

"When it Rains, Train" - Foodservice East News - Guest Column by John Alexander.  Spring / Summer 2008 onine edtion.

http://www.foodserviceeast.com/current.html

"The Power of Teddy Bears" - Blog on www.fohboh.com - March, 2008

Everyone talks about giving back, but few people actually do it. Not knowing what to do or how to get started may be a couple of reasons for this lack of action. This applies both to individuals and organizaitons.

In addition to being the "right thing to do", there is a strong business case for philanthropy. One benefit is increased retention. Eric Chester, in his book "Generation Why", points out that today's workers want to be associated with organizations that value service to others. They are attracted to this type of employer and will stay longer if they are given opportunities to voluntarily participate in meaningful events.

So, how does one find ways to help. There are some well known activities such as Habitat for Humanity that would welcome participation from a group of your employees.

One group, CHART (The Council of Hotel and Restaurant Trainers) provides its members with opportunities to participate in projects and learn how to get involved at a corporate or local restaurant level.

A Service Project is held at each of CHART's two semi-annual conferences. An event is planned that benefits a local organization. Many of these activities have been selected from contacts provided by Share Our Strength, the largest organization dedicated to ending childhood hunger in America. CHART members have rolled up their sleeves to work in food banks, paint and clean youth centers, and once even constructed beehives that were given by the group, Los Ninos, to single mothers in Mexico to help them become self sufficient through the sales of the honey and candles that they made.

At CHART's recently completed conference which took place in Minneapolis from March 1-4, 2008, about 40 attendees helped sort canned goods and medical supplies at a food distribution warehouse run by Hope For the Cities which services the Minneapolis / St. Paul communities. In addition to instructions on how to sort the products at the center, participants were provided with information on how to contact groups in their areas to coordinate similar events.

One of the CHART Minneapolis Conference Team members realized that even though 40 people would be helping out at Hope For the Cities, there were many who would not have the opportunity to participate. Over 170 trainers had registered for the conference. So two additional projects were created. These were so simple, but so impactful on the community. They involved two things - Teddy Bears and Gift Cards.

Fire fighters and police officers carry teddy bears on their trucks to give to children who have been involved in traumatic situations. For example, if a house has burned down and the family will need to move out for a while, the fire fighters will give a child a teddy bear to comfort them at this stressful time. Jen Johnston, a CHART member (and FohBoh member) contacted the Minneapolis Fire Department and asked if they participated in this program, which they do. The next step was to communicate an invitation to bring teddy bears prior to the conference. Time was planned in the agenda for a presentation of the teddy bears to the fire fighters, and for a member of the department to address the participants. To say the least, it was a success as this group of 171 CHART members presented over 400 teddy bears to the Minneapolis Fire Department on Sunday, March 2nd. That was over two bears for every attendee, allowing every single attendee the opportunity to participate in this service project in a very easy way.

The fire fighters were so appreciative of the offer of teddy bears that they invited 20 CHART members to have dinner in two firehouses on Sunday evening. A drawing was conducted to select members to join the fire fighters at Station 4 and Station 7. Dinner was great, though the fire fighters had to leave the station to handle a couple of emergencies during the evening. CHART members were allowed to try on the protective fire fighter gear at Stations 4 & 7.

The fire fighters have to pay for their own meals, so the CHART members who participated took up a collection and raised about $ 380. The fire fighters refused to take the money and proposed instead that it be donated to the Hennepin County Medical Burn Center, the facility where they take burn victims that they have rescued in fires. So the teddy bears led to another postive donation as well.

A second opportunity was provided through a gift card donation request. CHART members were encourage to bring gift cards to the Minneapolis Conference. The cards would be given to the local Ronald McDonald House. While meals for familites staying at the Ronald McDonald House are provided, the average stay is over 56 days at this location so families enjoy going to someplace else when they can. Cards were collected from every conceivable restaurant concept - as long as they had operations in the Minneapolis area. Cards were also purchased from stores like Target and Costco to allow the families to purchase needed supplies during their stay. Over $ 1,000 in gift cards were handed over to Ronald McDonald House on Monday, March 3rd.

CHART members will always fondly remember the Minneapolis Conference. In addition to being the group's 75th semi-annual conference (the group was founded in 1970 at the National Restaurant Show), its members learned how to organize large service projects and some unique ideas for getting their staff - and even their customers - involved in other worthy projects such as the Teddy Bears for Kids program and the Ronald McDonald House.

Give it a try. You'll feel great, your employees will gladly participate and everyone wins.

If you want more information on working with the Fire fighter Teddy Bear program or want to learn more about helping the Ronald McDonald house, drop a note to Jen Johnston on FohBoh.

Road Rabbit's Journey 2010 - A Photo Book -

Available to view or purchase at http://www.blurb.com/books/1519423