EDWINS REINFORCES COMMITMENT TO FACILITATING SECOND CHANCES WITH EXPANSION OF SECOND CHANCE LIFE SKILLS CENTER HOUSING IN CLEVELAND AND ITS CULINARY PROGRAM’S NATIONAL REACH
As EDWINS Leadership & Restaurant Institute’s curriculum debuts on 450,000 GTL tablets nationwide, serving 20% of the U.S. prison population, founder Brandon Chrostowski acquires a multi-level Buckeye neighborhood apartment building, and increases infrastructure to accommodate the recent and prospective influx of Institute students
(CLEVELAND, OHIO) September 2, 2021 – Today, EDWINS Leadership & Restaurant Institute founder and CEO Brandon Chrostowski announced that he has acquired 2914 South Moreland, a multi-level apartment building for expanded student and alumni housing. Starting in Fall 2021, and following a brief renovation, the seven unit, 8,270 square foot property will become part of the EDWINS Second Chance Life Skills Center.
“Cleveland is the nation’s second chance city and it’s essential that we demonstrate this concept to the core. Providing continued opportunities for our students, post-incarceration, to reach that next level of autonomy and rehabilitation is essential and coming home each day to a home of their own is a key component of this,” said Brandon Chrostowski, founder, CEO and president of EDWINS Leadership & Restaurant Institute. “Additional Buckeye neighborhood property acquisitions have always been part of the plan for us, and this project comes at an especially important time.”
Made in part possible by a three-year financial commitment from KeyBank, the new student apartments join landscape-changing projects such as the EDWINS Butcher Shop and EDWINS Bakery in the Buckeye neighborhood.
“Since its inception, EDWINS has provided hundreds of formerly incarcerated adults a foundation in the culinary and hospitality industry, and a support network necessary for their long-term success,” said Amanda Petrak, KeyBank Northeast Ohio Corporate Responsibility Officer. “All of us at KeyBank are honored to support the transformational work that EDWINS does in our community. We are proud to help facilitate this expansion of their efforts that change lives and help Northeast Ohio thrive.”
Since 2016, the Second Chance Life Skills Center has played an integral role in the EDWINS work and recreational enrichment experience. With the Institute’s recent enrollment increase, students needed more opportunities for on-campus housing. They also have access to the Life Skills Centers’ amenities including a gym, library, technology, learning facilities and other support services.
The campus expansion comes on the heels of EDWINS’s curriculum roll out to 450,000 GTL tablets in prisons across the country. In partnership with GTL, a trusted, one-stop corrections industry resource, the EDWINS curriculum presents gastronomy, culinary math, menu prep, ServSafe certification exam preparation, Front of the House (FOH) training, including drink preparation and bartending, and Back of the House (BOH) training, including food selection and preparation. Specific courses include Tools and Equipment; Refrigeration; Knife Skills; Stocks; and more. The curriculum also includes video instruction, tests, and quizzes, and the ability to contact the Institute’s team for questions and support along the way.
As participants complete the program, they earn a culinary degree and are invited, post-incarceration, to enroll at EDWINS Leadership & Restaurant Institute for an intensive 6-month culinary arts education and training program. For out-of-state participants who wish to relocate to Cleveland to complete the in-person coursework and live rent-free at the Second Chance Life Skills Center, the Cleveland Browns have generously committed to sponsoring travel scholarships for the first cohort.
“We are so fortunate to have the EDWINS Leadership & Restaurant Institute based right here in Cleveland,” said Peter John-Baptiste, Cleveland Browns/Haslam Sports Group SVP, Communications. “Their success in providing the necessary support and training with second-chance opportunities in the restaurant and hospitality space for formerly incarcerated individuals is a model that should be replicated. We are happy to help support their efforts to grow and expand the impact they’ve been making in Northeast Ohio to other parts of our State and even across the country.”
Chrostowski added, “We’re grateful that the community has rallied around us as we do whatever is necessary to provide local students with the opportunity to realize their dreams of having a career in the dining industry. Now, because of GTL and the Browns, we can reach even further and help those who are still incarcerated across the country as they start down their paths to success.”
