Student-Created Chocolate Houses Auctioned for Charity

During the annual "House for a Home" fund-raiser on Dec. 3, School of Hospitality students at Pennsylvania College of Technology will donate the result of six weeks of lab work to help Williamsport/Lycoming Habitat for Humanity.

Chocolate houses, made by students in the Principles of Chocolate Works course, will be sold in a silent auction during the school's annual Food Show.

Fourteen pieces featuring not only buildings of chocolate walls but also intricate, edible details will be offered. The money raised will benefit a home-construction project on Second Street in Williamsport. Bids will be accepted from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Thompson Professional Development Center on the main campus.

The high bidder for each house will be named at 1 p.m., according to Suzann L. Major, an assistant professor of food and hospitality management/culinary arts, who teaches the Principles of Chocolate Works course. In total, the students will spend about 24 hours on their chocolate houses, which serve as their final project for the course, Major said.

Following the silent auction, from 1-2 p.m., auctioneer Scott Younkin of Linden will host a live auction of cakes and cookies made by students in other School of Hospitality courses. The funds raised also will be donated to Habitat for Humanity. Both auctions are open to the public.

Final projects from several other advanced culinary courses also will be on display in the Professional Development Center as part of the Food Show. The show includes presentations about hospitality careers and tours of School of Hospitality facilities for high-school students who visit the campus for the day.

Participating students and the names of their chocolate creations are: Kimberly A. Asbury, Port Matilda ("Pioneer Cabin"); Keara E. Brussell, Damascus ("23 Campbell Ave."); Nathan A. Cartmell, Temple ("Flaming Palace"); Michael L. Clinger, Northampton ("The Gingermen Lodge"); Tacy L. De Green, Bloomsburg ("120 Bloomsburg Christmas"); Anice M. Edmunds, Milton ("Sunny Day Orphanage"); Carrie L. Helminiak, Williamsport ("A Gem in the Rough"); Ann C. Kelly, Muncy ("Christmas on the Farm"); Ashley N. Lloyd, Watsontown ("Country Cottage"); Kira C. McGee, Elizabethtown ("My Home Sweet Home"); Courtney E. Norman, RR 3, Shunk, and Alicia M. Shaull, Windsor ("The Manger"); Edna M. Reichelderfer, Williamsport ("No Place Like Home"); Marisa L. Seeders, Shippensburg ("The Tree House"); and Melissa A. Sletner, Warwick, N.Y. ("Home for the Holidays").

For more information about culinary programs at Penn College, call (570) 327-4505, send e-mail or visiton the Web.