The Gentlemen of Mercy Home Brush Up on Etiquette
"You never have a second chance to make a first impression," said Karen with Blue Plate Catering, as she facilitated a part-class, part-dinner party for a group of our boys here at Mercy Home.
With her colleague, Oliver, Karen addressed the basics of dinner party interactions, useful to the young men at the table interested in advancing their careers. In addition, coworkers at Blue Plate informed the boys about careers in hospitality.
Special classes such as this etiquette course are a part of our newest educational initiatives offered through our Academy. This broad range of classes is focused on helping our hurting boys and girls find the confidence they need to flourish both inside and outside of the classroom.
Here at Mercy Home, we're committed to helping our children find success and work towards their dreams-but without loyal friends like you, friends who truly share in our mission, opportunities for growth and learning like these would never be possible.
During Blue Plate's etiquette course, Karen gave our young men tips about creating pleasant dinner conversation between acquaintances, and other matters of sophisticated interactions. Karen and Oliver addressed issues of dress, hygiene, silverware, bread baskets, servers, wine glasses and a host of other concerns.
"There are three types of handshakes," Karen smiled, as she used resident Terry to demonstrate the spectrum of handshakes that goes from extra to limp to overly firm. She urged the youth to remember they should always stand for an introduction, and "there is nothing more attractive than confidence."
Over the course of the evening, our boys practiced setting an elegant dinner table, as well as different napkin folds used in such occasions.
Blue Plate treated the group to a delicious three course dinner starting with Caesar salad, with Chicken Parmesan as a main dish, and a chocolate cupcake for dessert.
While some of our kids were skeptical about the experience at first, many soon realized the value of the etiquette class. "I learned a lot," said Josh, one of our boys. "I'm going to go visit them [Blue Plate] over the summer time."