Penn State Berks students turn Opportunity House into five-star restaurant

Student preparing food at Opportunity House

Penn State Berks students will prepare and serve food at Opportunity House in Reading on Feb 14.

Credit: Penn State

Penn State Berks students will turn Opportunity House, the Reading emergency shelter, into a five-star restaurant on the evening of Monday, Oct. 15. The theme will be the Penn State “loving lion” and clients will enjoy a three-course meal and an evening to remember. Students enrolled in college’s four-year Hospitality Management program and other students throughout the college will participate in this annual volunteer event coordinated by the Office of Campus Life.

The day will begin with students shopping for supplies and decorating Opportunity House’s dining area with centerpieces, lights and various other ornaments provided by the Penn State Berks Hotel and Restaurant Society, a student organization. Throughout the event, students will serve in the roles of cooks, sous chefs, hosts, waiters and food runners. They will work on food preparation from 2 to 5 p.m. and begin cooking the dinner at 5 p.m. At 7 p.m., the meal will be served.

In addition, Penn State Berks students will volunteer at Country Meadows of Wyomissing for their haunted house event from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 28. They will also volunteer during PAL College Days at the Olivet Boys and Girls Club, located at 325 Walnut Street in Reading, from 3 to 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 30. During this program, they will facilitate activities to get 11- to 12-year-olds thinking about their futures and the steps they need to take to pursue their dreams.

For more information on any of these community service events, contact Autumn Fritz, assistant director of community development at Penn State Berks, at 610-396-6098 or via email at [email protected].