GoodWorks and Al & Friends Team Up to Raise Funds and Feed the Homeless and Hungry in Monterey
PRESS RELEASE — Monterey, CA
A resident of Pacific Grove for the past 40 years, Al Siekert was the recipient of the 2016 Jefferson Award for community service. In 2010, Al began sharing his homemade cooking with those in need in Monterey and by 2015 his initiative had grown into a weekly event that the disadvantaged in our community count on. Cooking for large numbers of people has been a consistent theme throughout Siekert’s life -- from feeding search and rescue teams of 800+people in Tahoe after graduating from college, to working in a hamburger stand when he was fresh out of the service, to cooking at Harold’s in Reno.
Every Sunday, come rain or shine, Al and his dedicated team of volunteers can be found at Window on the Bay Beach in Monterey serving up a hot, nutritious breakfast to approximately 80 people. That adds up to over 4,000 meals a year.
The shopping, preparation, and serving of food is a team effort under the very close supervision of Al, who is a stickler about food quality and nutrition. Al does most of the shopping, then three or four volunteers join him in Pacific Grove at the Chautauqua Hall kitchen where they cook all night -- from 10:30pm on Saturday night to 7:30am on Sunday morning.
From there the food is transported in Al’s truck to Del Monte Beach where Al meets his team of 20 faithful volunteers who assist setting up tables and chairs and serving the hearty and heart-healthy breakfast.
In the past, Al singlehandedly raised funds through word of mouth to pay for groceries and other related expenses. It typically came in small amounts from residents and local businesses who saw the need and the important work Al was doing for Monterey’s homeless community. Recently Al’s fundraising has received a substantial boost.
Enter GoodWorks —an initiative spearheaded by Carmel High School student, Christian Gebhardt. In 2017, Christian was helping serve food to the homeless and hungry with a group of students from the non profit Athletes That Care when he had a big idea. With a love of woodworking, he proposed that he handcraft, market and sell unique products and donate all proceeds to Al & Friends, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded by Siekert.
To date, Christian has raised over $12,500* (total as of 10/2019) for Al & Friends.
According to Siekert, “This young man is a cornerstone to Al & Friends mission. Envision a star falling out of the Milky Way… that’s akin to Christian's effect,” Al said. “This community is totally in awe of the mantle of leadership he wears so lightly. Together, we address needs one to one -- from Sunday breakfast to sandwiches and clothing passed out in the midnight hours where the most vulnerable are huddled up,” he continued. “Week after week, Christian's efforts with GoodWorks make a very important contribution to Al & Friends. We honor his commitment and our partnership.”
Christian designs and manufactures the customized wine stands and candle holders in the Carmel Middle School woodshop under the direction of teacher Matt Ishler. The manufacturing process begins with Christian cleaning and deconstructing French wine oak barrels generously donated to GoodWorks by Parsonage Winery in Carmel Valley.
“The Parsons family is delighted to donate our wine barrels to assist Christian in raising funds for Al & Friends to feed the homeless. It’s wonderful to see one so young act with such compassion as Christian,” says Bill Parsons.
To make the wine bottle stands, barrel staves are sorted to find the appropriate widths and cut into 9 ¼” lengths. Christian sands the rough ends and burnishes both sides to smooth the surfaces and bring out the rich color and grain of the French Oak. He drills the 1 1/2” hole in the precise location to ensure the stand will properly balance a wine bottle, giving the appearance of the bottle defying gravity. Each wine holder is then individually engraved with a name, logo or custom design using the wood shop’s top-of-the-line Boss Industrial Laser. Christian does one final burnishing and Ishler provides the finishing touch by routing the edges of the drilled hole. Each wine holder is inspected for quality and tested to make sure the wine holder will balance a bottle securely and at the proper angle.
In addition to retail sales, the unique product has been ordered for corporate events, wine club mailings, golf tournament tee prizes, realtor housewarming gifts, wedding favors and birthday, anniversary and thank-you gifts. The real estate firm, Canning Properties Group, serves as a great example. They took delivery on 150 wine stands to present as holiday gifts to their customers in 2018.
“It was an honor to support a local young man who has put so much of his heart into supporting a great cause. Meeting Al and seeing the tremendous work he has done and is doing for the homeless in our community made our gifts worthwhile,” comments Nancy Canning.
ADDITIONAL LINK TO GOODWORKS PRESS COVERAGE: http://pineconearchive.com/181228PCfp.pdf
Please see The Carmel Pine Cone Article “CHS Kid helps Feed Homeless by Making, Selling Wine Racks” — Page 3A and continued on Page 13A