Ridge Area Arc Comes Aboard To Help Museum

Ridge Area Arc has climbed all aboard with the Avon Park Depot Museum to offer a memorable dining car experience.

The two non-profit organizations have joined efforts to help each other. The museum needed volunteers to do janitorial and maintenance type duties in the museum as well as assist with the dining car luncheons while Ridge Area Arc needed a training site for consumers to learn job skills in the community.

"It has been a perfect partnership for our organizations to work together and help one another especially during this time where funds are limited," Ridge Area Arc Director of Program Development Cindy Marshall said.

Ridge Area Arc started in May with one consumer going to the museum to vacuum the entire building. Then two ladies washed dishes in the dining car in June after a luncheon. Since then, it has grown to a seven-member work crew who does everything from table set up to food and beverage service to clean up.

The dining car training has consisted of topics such as personal hygiene, proper dress attire and appearance, table settings, how to pour a beverage, how to carry food to a table, customer conversation, etc. This program has helped the Arc consumers to build their self-esteem and confidence so they can carry their heads high and smile with pride in knowing they have helped their community.

"I get to meet people. I get in the community," dining car worker Angie Luft said. "I am learning to listen and follow instructions. It helps me to not be shy. I want to get a job in the community so I can save money to go to camp."

"I learned how to set up tables, wash dishes, serve plates and drinks," dining car worker Alex Lopez said. "I get nervous when serving, but it makes me feel good to do this. If I work hard, I get to keep my own money and save for stuff."

Joining Lopez and Luft in the crew are Leon Gordon, Andre Rushing, Carlita Hawkins, Maricel Moreno and Ricky Marino. They each have a learning disability, but that has not stopped them from wanting to work. Ridge Area Arc focuses on what their abilities are instead of their disabilities. Sometimes it's not their disabilities but the environment around them that causes more difficulties in training.

"The biggest challenge for my crew has been working in the small space in the dining car. They have actually been practicing how to pass each other in the aisle without spilling the food or beverage they are carrying. It's almost like choreographing a dance routine," Marshall said.

The crew has assisted with three luncheons and one dinner party which are fund-raisers for the museum. While the museum benefits from the proceeds of the lunches, the Ridge Area Arc servers do receive tips from the dining car patrons.

Museum Director Elaine Levey hopes to be able to raise enough money from the lunches to do some improvements. "All that money will go for the dining car renovations," Levey said.

Ridge Area Arc has plenty of volunteers to help her reach that goal.

"Elaine expressed a concern in getting volunteers who have the stamina and dedication to do the work from start to finish. I knew our agency could fill that order and provide her people with high energy and enthusiasm," Marshall said.

Levey added, "It's been a big help to have the Arc folks setting up the tables beforehand, serving the food and cleaning up. These folks do so much for us from beginning to end. They are all well trained, they're very good workers - and they make my job much easier."

Professionalism has been emphasized in the training to make sure each server is cordial, polite and appears clean and well groomed. The servers all wear black pants, white shirts, black shoes, white aprons and gloves.

"The service was excellent. It appeared real clean and professional. I appreciated the servers wearing gloves and they were well groomed," said Donna Doubleday, vice president and chief operations officer for Heartland Workforce in Sebring, who participated in a luncheon on Tuesday, Sept. 30. "They followed directions well and they were polite. I heard them say 'please,' 'thank you' and 'excuse me.' I appreciate those smiles." She also commented that "the food was excellent."

Judy McLaughlin, of Sebring, who dined in the dining car Saturday, Sept. 27, at a luncheon for a group of women with the Knights of Columbus, said "I can tell you that everyone enjoyed the lunch immensely. There was so much talk about it. It was a very pleasant experience. Everyone did an excellent job."

Pastor Doug Peretti of Memorial United Methodist Church in Lake Placid considered "it a blessing" to witness the Ridge Area Arc consumers doing such good work for the museum. Peretti participated in a dinner party with his church in August.

"It is real difficult to get past the public's perception that all people with disabilities are incompetent and unclean, which is so untrue, so I have gone overboard in making sure their appearance and performance is top notch," Marshall said. "They can easily do this work with the proper training. I am so proud of their accomplishments in such a short time and I can't wait to see what the future has in store for them."

As for the future, Ridge Area Arc will continue working at the museum and dining car. If any organization or business should need qualified well-trained servers to assist with food service, call Marshall at 452-1295, ext. 124 or email her at cmarshall@ridgeareaarc.org. For those who would like to book a luncheon at the dining car, contact Levey at 453-3525 or email her at museum@strato.net. The museum is at 3 North Museum Ave., Avon Park. Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Friday.