On the campus of Clelian Heights School for Exceptional Children, eight women gathered around a kitchen counter, eager to help prepare the evening meal.
Their instructor, Alyssa Francken, led them through preparations for a special dessert: homemade peanut butter cups. After pouring melted chocolate into mini-muffin pans, the women popped them into the refrigerator to chill.
"After this, we are going to do the entree," Francken said.
A senior at Greensburg Central Catholic High School, Francken, 18, is helping women with developmental disabilities learn to cook.
Since last fall, several dozen women, ages 21 to 56, have met in the community kitchen on campus. Taking turns attending classes, they have learned to use kitchen appliances and to prepare healthy, tasty dishes.
Francken, of Export, has volunteered for several summers at the school, north of Greensburg, working with special needs children. Last year, she attended a People to People leadership summit in Chicago, where she was encouraged to implement a service project in her home community.
Francken talked with Kate Cala, coordinator of East Suburban Citizen Advocacy of Murrysville, a nonprofit support group for people with developmental disabilities, about a possible project. In turn, Cala approached Sister Margaret Ann Calcutta, the school's residential supervisor for women.
"This combined volunteering, her love for the people who are here, and she loves to cook," Cala said. "So this was a good fit."
"I was looking for someone to do cooking classes with the women," Calcutta said. "It's been working very nicely."
Francken's mother, Elise Francken, helps out with the classes, along with the family's neighbor, Courtney Cepko.
Several of her students are fans of the Food Network and the "Rachael Ray Show," Francken learned.
"Many of them have cooked before with their mothers," she said.
One is Amy Silvis, 41. "I help out at home," she said. "I make the meatballs."
Some take turns washing dishes and cleaning the counter.
"I like to make ravioli," said Shirley Bernacchi, 58. "I make it at home. My mom taught me."
"I make really awesome chili," said Melanie Duke, 22.
As she cubed the meat, Francken told the group, "When you're working with chicken, make sure you wash your hands constantly."
"I never touch chicken," said Jennifer Mazur, 24. "I don't like to use the sharp knife. I can help with the noodles, or salad."
Franken said the group prepares a whole meal, that's "usually all on the healthier side. We have some themes — Italian, Mexican. One of the main points of the project is to show them how food can be healthy and still be delicious."
She and Calcutta have seen the women grow more confident in the kitchen, cooking breakfast for themselves and cooking for their families on weekend visits home.
"They are getting more comfortable using appliances and with knife techniques," Francken said. "Things they should know they can now routinely do."
Most preparations are fairly simple, but "they do need to be supervised," Calcutta said.
Julie Holtz, 42, and Marsha Hill, 21, sliced onions into neat arcs.
Diana Gaydos, 39, and Lee Germano, 36, stepped up as the class prepared an appetizer of sliced apples, ham and cheddar, layered on tortillas and broiled.
Francken said the project receives donations, and the school provides the appliances and utensils.
Melissa Tomko, owner of Penn Township's The Perfect Imprint, heard about the cooking club and designed monogrammed aprons for the women.
Most of the women work either in the school, at its workshop, or out in the community, Calcutta said. They often return from visits home with groceries, or pick up cooking items while out shopping with aides.
"They are moving into greater independence and doing things on their own, and they are learning healthy choices," Calcutta said.
As part of the project the women and their instructors are assembling cookbooks, including photos and recipes.
Francken, who plans to attend the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor in the fall, majoring in chemical engineering, hopes to keep the cooking club going.
"The girls love it, and we love going up there," she said.
"They all want to come and be a part of that (cooking class)," Calcutta said. "The more we expect of our individuals, the more they give you."
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