| The smell of cookies and cakes
wafts from the kitchen. A fleet of teenagers fills, sorts and stacks
towers of trays packed with goodies they've spent the morning
making.
 FEATURED
ADVERTISER |
 |
|
| | Cream
cheese poundcakes are slipped into plastic bags.
Cookies and brownies are cut and then tossed into tins.
Lids are secured on pie plates.
And labels are slapped on the top of each treat in this assembly
line of confections.
Later in the day, the young bakers will spread out throughout the
Capital Region and sell the sweets door-to-door. But it's not a job,
exactly. The more than $150,000 they raise annually makes it
possible for more students to attend Troy's Redemption Christian
Academy, where they learn, work and, in most cases, live.
The baking program is an unconventional teaching and fund-raising
tool that satisfies the sweet teeth of customers across the Capital
Region.
Redemption Christian Academy relies on the baking program, as
well as gifts and money raised through its annual garage sale, to
help it keep tuition affordable. Tuition at the school runs about
$15,000 a year, though many students are on at least partial
scholarships or receive financial aid. The school does not have an
endowment.
"It's about earning your way through sweet equity," says the Rev.
John Massey, who set up the baking program when he founded the
boarding school in 1979. The baked goods are just a practical way to
raise money, Massey says. "It teaches work ethic and
resourcefulness."
Work ethic
Just as sugar and flour are the cornerstones of any good cookie,
Massey says, education and a solid work ethic are the foundation for
progress as a person.
"It's all about unity," says 15-year-old student Randy
Jaggernauth. "We've got to work together."
Some 100 students from throughout the country and the world are
currently enrolled at the school, which emphasizes discipline,
academics and athletics and puts special emphasis on providing
opportunities for disadvantaged kids. About half the students live
at the academy.
In many ways, RCA is like any school. All students in
kindergarten through high school, and beyond, attend classes held at
the South Troy Boys & Girls Club, a location RCA hopes to use
permanently. When they store their books for the day, though, some
head to the basketball court, while others start sifting, measuring,
kneading, scooping (and maybe even sampling) in the school's
kitchen, located on the first floor of the academy's main facility
and dorm on Ninth Street.
All students old enough to mix batter and fill pies are required
to earn their keep in the kitchen, or on the road selling their
products for a few hours each week. Baking begins as soon as the
school year begins and sometimes goes on through the summer.
"When I first got here, they put me in the bakery to work right
away," says Jaggernauth, who says he had never baked much of
anything before. "I didn't like it at first, but then I started
meeting more people and you want to do your work and get it done."
Most students are quick to grasp the inherent benefits, says
17-year-old Elijah Baker, who came to the school from Louisville,
Ky. You learn how to have fun and work well with your friends, as
well as how to interact with the public, Baker says. "It teaches
teamwork because you have to pass trays and work together."
Into the neighborhoods
On any given day (except Sunday), the students can be seen
dressed sharply in their school uniforms, lugging boxes of baked
goods through residential neighborhoods and around area businesses.
With the help of an adult chaperone and the school's van, they can
visit several Capital Region neighborhoods in one outing. Their
treats are such a hit, they've seen signs on the front of homes
saying, "Cookie Lady, Please Stop Here."
A 6-inch cheesecake, one of the their specialties, is priced at
two for $6. A box of roughly a dozen cookies or brownies is $5. A
poundcake is $3. A group of three or four students can raise as much
as $700 on a good day, says first-year student Antonio Jones.
"Who else can sell their products better than they can?" asks
Massey. The kids do anywhere from 60 to 90 percent of the work, with
the help of the kitchen's staff.
They are a remarkable bunch of kids, says longtime customer Patty
Lescarbeau, of Slingerlands. "We've been meeting folks from
Redemption since my oldest son was born," more than 20 years ago,
she says, as four of her five children rummage through a box of
desserts to find their favorites. "They're always very polite, very
patient and very respectful."
"I enjoy it," says 19-year-old Domineque Lopez, who has lived at
RCA for three years. "It helps me a lot, because I want to be a
businesswoman. I get out there and just try to make the best of it."
"Rain, sleet, snow, whatever, we're out there," 15-year-old
Jyrese Gause, a budding chef, says. "I like cooking food, and I'm
sure people appreciate that."
LESSON PLAN
To learn more about Redemption Christian Academy and its baking
program, call 272-6679 or visit http://www.rcastudents.com. | 
STORY TOOLS 