Warren G. Bender Co. pledges thousands to underwrite ProStart interns

(SACRAMENTO, June 23, 2010) –Warren G. Bender Co., a Roseville-based insurance brokerage, has pledged $5,400 to fund student internships with the California Restaurant Association Educational Foundation’s (CRAEF) Enhanced ProStart program. The donation will underwrite nine students over three years to intern at area foodservice establishments as part of their ProStart curriculum.

“From our first meeting with (CRAEF Executive Director) Alycia Harshfield, we knew our ongoing commitment to education and the community was a perfect fit with CRAEF’s mission of fulfilling high school students’ aspirations to pursue successful careers in the foodservice industry,” said Roland Guillen, account executive for Warren G. Bender Co. “We look forward to a long-term partnership with CRAEF and watching these students achieve their dreams.”

CRAEF is currently seeking funds to adopt a Sacramento-area high school for its Enhanced ProStart program, which provides ProStart schools with expanded curriculum, field trips, paid internships, guest speakers, job shadows, competition costs, ServSafe certification, equipment, supplies and food. The foundation currently supports three Los Angeles-area high schools that were identified as having more than 50 percent dropout rates and student populations who live in gang-infested and low-income communities.
“This generous contribution by Warren G. Bender Co. goes a long way in our mission to change the lives of Sacramento-area high school students while equipping them with the tools they need to establish themselves in the restaurant and hospitality industry,” Harshfield said. “The mentorship potential of an internship is limitless. Over the next three years, nine students will have the opportunity to gain real-life work experience in restaurants that otherwise may not be able to financially take on paid interns.”

ProStart is a two-year vocational program created to educate and develop skills in high school students through hands-on culinary and management training. ProStart provides instruction in 25 subject areas, such as basic food preparation, accounting and cost control, guest management, sanitation and workplace safety. More than 70 high schools in California teach the ProStart curriculum and many university culinary and hospitality programs across the country accept ProStart courses for college credit.