December 4, 2024 • 20 mins
Caterina’s Club’s mission is to provide warm meals, affordable housing assistance, and job training to homeless and low-income families throughout Southern California. It is supported by a vision where we are creating a modicum of consistency in these children’s lives through something as simple yet meaningful as a nightly dinner.
This overarching vision that started as preventing children in motels from going to bed hungry has turned into 5,055 vulnerable children receiving a meal every day at 114 sites throughout LA and Orange Counties; 268 families have been placed in permanent housing in safe neighborhoods through our Welcome Home program, and 850+ teens have trained through the Hospitality Academy at four Anaheim High Schools. Our vision is to provide every child with the resources, love, and encouragement they need to be healthy, safe, and educated.
It all started with Mamma Caterina. Bruno and his mother, Caterina, visited the Boys and Girls Club of Anaheim down the street from his restaurant (Anaheim White House), where his mother noticed that there was a 6-year old boy eating potato chips for dinner, because his family couldn’t afford a proper meal. Caterina insisted that Bruno make some pasta for the child. They soon realized that there were many more of these hungry ‘motel children’, so Bruno began making pasta for 72 children, 5 nights a week, giving birth to our program “Feeding the Kids in America”. Today, that event has expanded to feeding over 25,025 meals a week. Frustrated that feeding the children was not enough, Bruno began a second program called “Welcome Home”, where we provide qualified families, living in the dark environment of a motel, with the necessary resources to move into the safety and stability of an apartment or condo.
In this podcast, Lisa Foxx talks to Chef Bruno Serato about how Caterina's Club got started AND what we can do to help him continue to feed THOUSANDS of motel-kids in need. They also teach kids to cook on their own and help rehouse families. Their annual Pastathon is on Giving Tuesday...please give if you can!
Come by on Giving Tuesday and see the LIVE broadcast, donate on-site, and drop off pasta/sauce donations. This year, we’re celebrating a significant milestone—10 million meals served to disadvantaged youth. Your generosity has been instrumental in reaching this goal, and we’re so grateful for your continued commitment. Even if you can’t attend, you can still participate in the excitement of our auction from anywhere. Be sure to spread the word to friends, family, and colleagues. Check out some fantastic auction items on our website!
Get more info HERE
This overarching vision that started as preventing children in motels from going to bed hungry has turned into 5,055 vulnerable children receiving a meal every day at 114 sites throughout LA and Orange Counties; 268 families have been placed in permanent housing in safe neighborhoods through our Welcome Home program, and 850+ teens have trained through the Hospitality Academy at four Anaheim High Schools. Our vision is to provide every child with the resources, love, and encouragement they need to be healthy, safe, and educated.
It all started with Mamma Caterina. Bruno and his mother, Caterina, visited the Boys and Girls Club of Anaheim down the street from his restaurant (Anaheim White House), where his mother noticed that there was a 6-year old boy eating potato chips for dinner, because his family couldn’t afford a proper meal. Caterina insisted that Bruno make some pasta for the child. They soon realized that there were many more of these hungry ‘motel children’, so Bruno began making pasta for 72 children, 5 nights a week, giving birth to our program “Feeding the Kids in America”. Today, that event has expanded to feeding over 25,025 meals a week. Frustrated that feeding the children was not enough, Bruno began a second program called “Welcome Home”, where we provide qualified families, living in the dark environment of a motel, with the necessary resources to move into the safety and stability of an apartment or condo.
In this podcast, Lisa Foxx talks to Chef Bruno Serato about how Caterina's Club got started AND what we can do to help him continue to feed THOUSANDS of motel-kids in need. They also teach kids to cook on their own and help rehouse families. Their annual Pastathon is on Giving Tuesday...please give if you can!
Come by on Giving Tuesday and see the LIVE broadcast, donate on-site, and drop off pasta/sauce donations. This year, we’re celebrating a significant milestone—10 million meals served to disadvantaged youth. Your generosity has been instrumental in reaching this goal, and we’re so grateful for your continued commitment. Even if you can’t attend, you can still participate in the excitement of our auction from anywhere. Be sure to spread the word to friends, family, and colleagues. Check out some fantastic auction items on our website!
- What: Pastathon Pasta & Sauce Donation Drive
- When: December 3rd, 5AM-10PM
- Where: Anaheim White House Restaurant
887 South Anaheim Blvd
Anaheim, CA 92805
Get more info HERE
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hi, It's Lisa Fox and this is the iHeart So
Cal Show. Hoping a nice Thanksgiving. Hope you survived Black
Friday and now we're gearing up for Giving Tuesday this
coming Tuesday, December the third. It's a global initiative that
encourages people to donate to charitable causes that help our
communities like Katerina's Club and Chef Bruno Sorato of his
(00:20):
famed Anaheim Whitehouse Restaurant in Anaheim would love for you
to stop by and donate much needed pasta and pasta
sauce so we can help continue to feed thousands of kids.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
In need all over LA and Orange County.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
And this is all happening on Tuesday, December the third
at the annual KFI Pastathon, our sister station doing it
once again to help bring in so much food, help
Bruno continue his mission.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Hi, Bruno Ai, the.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
Best day of the year is a pasta ton is
like amazing day.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
It's so much love via food for so many kids
in need. And this has been this is our fourteenth
year doing this, the Fourteenthdaniel KFI Pastathon.
Speaker 3 (00:59):
Yeah, it's been every year for fourteen years and obviously
thanks to pasta tone. We are able to do what
we are doing because without pasta Tone, now we could
serve five thousand meals a day. As you play, it's
really were looking for that for the year we collecting
Lata pasta, lata tomato. We can't do our program the
(01:22):
way we're doing. And they see our especial year too,
because this year we did celebrate the ten million meals
served in nineteen year.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
Wonderful.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
I mean all thanks to pasta Tone, because I could.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
Not do that well, I mean honestly in one day.
And I know you've done different locations over the years,
but this time it's going to be actually at your restaurant,
Anaheim White House all day long.
Speaker 3 (01:45):
We we have to change a few times because seven
years ago our song was on fire, I mean the
day that the christ Cathedral in Crystal Contrido cotrido today
in Orange. But last year here is coming back to
normal like we used to do for a long long time,
and it's fun all day longer. Stop by, say hi
(02:08):
to your favorite also and say hi to Bluno.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
It's like Christmas Day all day for it when people
can stop by the Anaheim White House restaurant and just
in the parking lot. Right, we're gonna have the broadcast
set up in the parking lot. You can combine and
say how to all the KFI people who will be
broadcasting live from five am until ten o'clock at night.
This is like a hardcore radio fun to make sure
we get enough positive helping these kids for you know,
the rest of next year, for all of next year.
Speaker 3 (02:33):
Yeah. In fact, we collect so much this year. By
July we run out of past. That could not believe it.
I mean, we always welcome people to stop buy even
one back past that people sometimes don't realize, but we
walk found the past. I can feed five six seven
kids that I mean. I keep telling people, don't forget
(02:54):
it the year because this year I had to buy
past in nineteen years was our first time we had
to buy past. The middle of the year, we could
be run out. I mean, because we do feed so
many children every day, there's.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
There is a lot of way you help help so many.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
And of course the story Bruno started with your mom,
your beloved mom, Calerina, talk about because the story it
is kind of an accident, how you stumbled upon these
kids who you met at randomly at the Boys and
girls club and you just saw them hanging around eating
potato chips.
Speaker 3 (03:23):
Mom, was your formita if we went to a boys
girls club and there was atys or eating potato chips
and the writer said, that's probably his only dinner. I say,
what you mean, it's only dinner? He said, well, we
have a lot of kids from a motel area. Motel
has done kitchen. Even if a mom want to cook
for it, they don't. And when I translated to mom,
(03:44):
Mama said, Bruno, if they don't have dinner tonight, why
won't you feed them plato pasta And started like just sample,
just like that, without tika about anything, And I said, okay, mama.
We went back to Marathon the White House, and we
came back with pasta and we never stop doing that
for nineteen years.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
And that was just that one boys and girls club.
Speaker 1 (04:05):
You went back that one location and started feeding people,
and then now you're doing twenty five plus thousand meals
every week, working with so many groups and partnerships to
make sure you can feed more.
Speaker 2 (04:15):
And more people.
Speaker 3 (04:17):
Yeah, unbelievable. You grow because we were in one city,
one location, one boys girls club. Now we are in
thy city Orascany and one in twenty five locations because
we do boys, girls club, we do some school. We
deliver it to motel room. It's a shelter. I mean everybody,
(04:38):
somebody is in need of food. People contact us, so
we find it. We are the one who provide meals
and I do pasta, I do chicken together. Obviously this
week I'm going to do also turkey. We put vegetable inside.
I mean an increase from one location to one other
twenty five toy location and which is is crazy, but
(05:02):
we have to buy five van and four five time
full time driver then drive a range all over us
Canny La two because we have also I take nineteen
locations in Long Beach. We had one in San Bernardino Operations. Yeah,
it's a big one. I have a fantastic crew behind
(05:23):
me and obviously I cannot do that alone. And it's
a big operation. I think that is really an amazing
things to do that to know then you can feed
so many children every single day, which is is beautiful.
And always a big fan of K five radio, as
you know, YEA then is there and every A five
(05:47):
are really pushing so much all week interview here, interview
layer there and all day long, they having the love.
I mean, really you can feel the love between Katerina's
Club in the KFI radio because it's in some people
so long. And then we see each other, we hang
each other and at the end of the year, of
(06:09):
the day when we count a much fund of pasta
and tomatoes, we collect a much cash. We collect it's
really if you want it, because we walk out. It's
not as simputist to do. And I really thanks so
all the radio listeners because to them, they're the one
that's my biggest friends. Because I had so many people
(06:31):
stop in me calling me Bruno. We love what you do.
I mean a lot of them I know a lot,
but millions of them I don't know. And I really
want to thank you from the bat on my heart
or to all of them out there who was really
to pop Katerina's Club.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
God bless you, Bruno. And yeah, twenty five thousand plus
meals every week. You're fitting so many young people. And
what's the age range? I mean some of them, you know,
you see these kids, So what's the age range? Is
that mostly all teenager teenager kids who live like in
hotels are younger.
Speaker 3 (07:01):
They go by six years old. Till teenager of Asia.
I mean you go to Boys Girls Club seven, eight, nine,
ten years already that teenager. They usually don't go to
Boys Girls Club, but in the motel room shelter. Yeah,
you have a little bit of edythy but Boys Girls Club.
Most of the younger ASA teenagels agent.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
So throughout the year you're always in need of pasta donations,
monetary donations, pasta pasta sauce. And then this one day,
the big day, the fourteenth Aniel Kfi Pasta thon.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
We're hoping you're.
Speaker 1 (07:34):
Gonna be able to swing by his amazing restaurant. It's
so so popular, the food is so delicious.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
I haven't been in a while, so we need to
get back down there.
Speaker 1 (07:42):
Anaheim White House, amazing Italian food at the Bruno's restaurant,
the Anaheim White House. But then you also do a
few other programs as part of Kina's Club Name after
your Mom. You do talk about what the hospitality Academy
is and how you teach young people how to cook
on their own.
Speaker 3 (08:00):
Yeah, I realized that there's a lot of kids you
don't have to win their teenager and you know a
lot of kids is like everybody else, on the phone
and a parking lot and a street, and it's a
young why don't we teach them to work at a
younger age. It'd be good for the future and they
can learn. And I've always get a lot of young
teenager girls and boys who work with us in a
(08:24):
restaurant for two three months. We pay a small amount
because they can only walk at teacher fifteen hours of
the week. But what they do after three months working
with me, they can apply for a job anywhere. And
a lot of those kids got some good job. I mean,
have a few graduate on a CEA school colin our institute.
(08:45):
I mean as soon as they make a little bit
of cash, you know, they can help themselves and they
can help their own parents to payople do right everything.
I mean hospitality a ticker. We already graduate nine hundred
children so far, maybe even more. It's a way to
teach them how to work. And when you teach a
young kid how to work, it's learning and it will
(09:07):
be out there to look for a job for himself
or orseolf one day. That is the big things which
I love it.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
And so many great places to work run here, so
many beautiful hotels and resorts, and restaurants, so there would
be jobs available right in the world.
Speaker 3 (09:22):
Lot a lot of don't tell people say br thanks
for doing that. If you never needed us to hire
the kids, let us know. And we have so many
in Anaheim. As a tourist pas out there, I tell
them and they go up like themselves. And honestly, it's
a great opportunity to step forward for the buildings for lifetime,
(09:42):
you know, in the future. And even if you don't
steal the rest and work as a teenager, I think
we all wear a buzzboy one day, you know, like
like a young teenager worker these days young they work
in a busboy situation. But the future is always open
for all the young kids, you know.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
And I'm sure you know the boys and Girls clubs
and YMCA and churches, they're all about helping these young
people figure out what their future could could hold and
help them with some stability and find a career that
they're passionate about where they could provide for themselves and
their families.
Speaker 2 (10:15):
I mean, it's it's a win win for.
Speaker 1 (10:17):
Everybody for you to offer this, and very generous of
you to offer that as well.
Speaker 3 (10:20):
Yeah, it's an a basy organization to be able to
work with all the organizations to do the same into
The top project is the WORL Come Home.
Speaker 2 (10:31):
Oh yeah, you know, I was reading that again.
Speaker 1 (10:33):
The information is all on Bruno's website katarinasclub dot org.
Speaker 2 (10:38):
Another thing you do. You know again you're trying to.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
Break the cycle of poverty here and you go, it's
not just feeding the young people and teaching them how
to cook for themselves. But now you go one step
further and you have another program, the Welcome Home program,
where you find a way to fund and get people
out of these unsafe environments like these motels and they're
in some bad living arrangements. You want to help get
the mountain put in a better place to live, a safer,
(11:03):
healthier environment.
Speaker 3 (11:04):
Yeah, this is a big, big things to do for family.
They neither because for the children is safety because of
the area where they are this day of age, a
drug addict, drug dealer, prostitution is pretty bad. On the
same time, the adult the parents have lost the easy
to have kids live in a bad environment. I find
(11:26):
out that thirteen years ago a family live in a
motel room for twelve years. Speak of that leave in
a one bedroom size room for twelve years. There were
four kissed my and dad. When I find out that
I interview the father, it takes me a long time
to be able to talk to him. But I say,
why you live in a motel with six people for
(11:48):
such a loan because you have to pay the motel
room anyways, don't freely? Yeah? Yeah, I said a lover
to move out to an apartment, but I cannot afforded
three four five thousand dollars down pay for the deposit.
I was like, oh, that is the problem, and I
need to get the more and everybody has the same
problem to not save that kind of money to move out.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
Yeah, because what you probably have to come up with money,
you know for first last and probably a security deposit
to move.
Speaker 3 (12:15):
That's a lot of right and years ago it was
two thousan twenty five hundred, but it is the ages
five thousands that mean what I did that moved that
first family and just recently we move our family in
number two hundred and seventy five.
Speaker 2 (12:31):
That's how many families you've moved over the years.
Speaker 3 (12:33):
Wow, I mean two hundred and seventy five family move
out from the area, even shelter I had family. You
live in the garage. I was like, my god, you
live in a garage. You said it's cheap, and we
tried to save money to pay for first and last
month of deposit. I mean to get Caterina's Club to
help this family. The best part of it academically, emotionally, mentally,
(12:58):
you change life to the and also to the parents.
Because there's a big life change. You give a portunity
to come back in track, to give apportunity for family
and children to be normal. I mean, one day, a
little kids told me she didn't have any friends, and
I said, why don't you have any friends? She said,
because I live in a motel room is very bad.
(13:21):
That embarrassed, you know, you hear that from a kid
when us at fun we live in a house and apartments,
you know, we all of a sudden every another. Kids
told me, I do my homework city on the toilet.
I said, why you do that? Said that's the only
quiet place I can do my homework. And I said,
(13:41):
I like her. We ourselves to have like to have
been a school at a young age. I have the
opportunity that we had. Those kids don't have it. I mean,
help to move from a motel shelf to garage to
an apartment is a life life change and I love.
Speaker 1 (13:58):
That talk about helping families. It's going to have a
lasting impact. So and Bruno, how can somebody apply for
this kind of help through Caterina's Club just on the website.
Speaker 3 (14:10):
Yeah, they can ask you. They can shoot an email
and my girls in the office with interview. Because you
have to qualify. First of all, we give a dog test.
We'll make sure nobody is involving dogs. We be able
to have a job because if I pay the deposit,
you needed to have a job to pay your rent.
And we also look your financial because your own some time.
(14:32):
It's bad people out there, they want to take advantage.
I mean we analyze every team, how much you make it,
how much you can afford it. And if you qualify,
you look for your own place because you want to
live next to the kids' school or next to your
work because you don't have a care. I mean, if
you do the if you qualify, we pay Forssell last month.
We go through applications. Some qualify, some don't. But the
(14:57):
door is open to qualify people you need.
Speaker 1 (15:00):
Incredible, You've already done this forever two hundred and seventy
five families.
Speaker 3 (15:04):
Two hundred and seventy family altogether. This is the number
week about if you got outside on the tree that
you count. Two hundred and seventy apartment is a lot. Yeah,
so past obviously is my half my soul. But this
program to give us safety to the children. I mean,
I have a lady just to give an idea, a
(15:26):
mom who texts me one day. She said, there, Shan Bruno.
I never take for granted your help to move us
to an apartment. My kids were the bad students in
a class, one of the worst ones, and after three
four months we move them out. He come home with
students of the month. Think about the people. I've had
beautiful things, beautiful things, and I love to keep doing it.
Speaker 1 (15:50):
I love everything that you're doing for these kids and
our families. And are you also trying to teach them
some Italians a little Italiano.
Speaker 3 (15:56):
You got to I am Italiana, my hometown, the city
of Rome. I remember the pasta. Why I did that,
Mom is Italian. Mom loved children, and when she finds
out that little kids, Billy seven years old, don't eat
world from the mouth, pasta pasta to the kids like
(16:20):
you know Italian mama. Yeah, and if you don't eat
sick night, you better eat.
Speaker 1 (16:26):
And now you're hoping to do that twenty five plus
thousand meals every week, feeding so many young people all
over LA and Orange County.
Speaker 2 (16:32):
This big operation.
Speaker 1 (16:34):
It's very crucial that people can kind of come together
and help give. On the fourteenth annual KFI Pasta to Day,
it's on December the third Tuesday, December the third Giving Tuesday,
and they'll be camped out there at the Anaheim White House.
Like we said, everyone from our association KFI will be
broadcasting live from five am till ten o'clock at night.
Until we just have so much pasta? Where do we
(16:56):
stored all? Do you have a warehouse for all this
stuff we're gonna.
Speaker 3 (16:58):
Collect, Yeah, we we just it's the butt of a
storage room that we can feed a lot of them.
And we have a notherwarehouse outside of ana Im that
we have to all because I keep the pasta in
a good shape and tomato too. But we have a
few places that we put all the products.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
Which there is any kind of pasta, any kind of sauce.
Speaker 1 (17:18):
Because you're the one who gets creative to make it
something different every time.
Speaker 3 (17:21):
So right, yeah, you.
Speaker 2 (17:22):
Don't have to get fancy.
Speaker 3 (17:23):
We canna pasta. Yeah, there's like we we have to
be simple to the kids because a long time ago,
one time I was giving such a pasta with different
pieces of veggie. Nobody eating. They're like the green stuff.
I mean what we do now we blandt and a
tomato sauce. They don't see them. They eat also the
vegetable with the pasta nice and the chicken we do.
(17:46):
We do lots of chicken pasta that may be in
our portion. When I do a two dinner, will be
a pasta with a chicken on top of it that
they bring you to two dinners, which is also good
because you have the prote the five of the veggie,
and obviously the pasta which is a calb.
Speaker 2 (18:04):
Now we're all getting hungry, brunow, we're all getting hungry.
Speaker 3 (18:08):
But I thought he's going tomorrow night.
Speaker 1 (18:10):
Oh good, see Anaheim White House and then again the
live broadcast. They're right through at eight eight seven South
Anaheim Boulevard. And then so that's gonna be all day
giving Tuesday, December the third, hoping people stop by and
say hello, drop off money, pasta pasta sauce. And then
I also see on the website you have other locations.
If I can't make it to Anaheim on the seven
(18:30):
the third, you have locations I can drop stuff off
in Chino Hills, Dana Point, Garden, Grove, Hinden Beach, Irvine.
There's a whole list of these are just restaurant friends
of yours, right who offer their space to take donations.
Speaker 3 (18:42):
Yeah, everybody does it, but I was in Lake Forests
a Smart and Final because as you know, you can
go to Smart and Final also get donation over there
wind this restaurant lemid to day whenever the Smart and
Final milk in a bill handle, a bunch of people
came to donate the Hi. I mean all those locations
you can donate there. That a bigger part of the
(19:05):
Katerina's Club in Pastaton, and that's why I stayed on
one and make sure I say thanks to all the seeing.
Also even if you donate the one dollar is Alidia,
thank you from all of Katerina's Club.
Speaker 2 (19:19):
Well, God bless you for all that.
Speaker 1 (19:20):
You're doing a full list of every drop off location
for the big day, and they're probably even taking donations
you know, early and after the fact, so just check
out the full list of every place you can drop
off any kind of pasta, any kind of pasta saucer.
Bruno can keep moving forward and continue to feed twenty
five thousand young people with these meals every single week.
You know, it's a fresh, delicious, homemade meal made with love,
(19:43):
and all these other wonderful programs that you provide, and
of course your gorgeous restaurant there Anaheim White House. All
the information at Caterina's Club dot org click on events
Katerina's Club dot org click on events, and we'll see
you on December the third at your restaurant for the
annual KFI Pastathono Gatti Chef Brunos Serrato, thank you again
(20:06):
for all that you do for these young people and
their families, and we'll see you December the third at
the pastathon.
Speaker 3 (20:12):
All Fake Child. Thank you,
Hi, It's Lisa Fox and this is the iHeart So
Cal Show. Hoping a nice Thanksgiving. Hope you survived Black
Friday and now we're gearing up for Giving Tuesday this
coming Tuesday, December the third. It's a global initiative that
encourages people to donate to charitable causes that help our
communities like Katerina's Club and Chef Bruno Sorato of his
(00:20):
famed Anaheim Whitehouse Restaurant in Anaheim would love for you
to stop by and donate much needed pasta and pasta
sauce so we can help continue to feed thousands of kids.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
In need all over LA and Orange County.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
And this is all happening on Tuesday, December the third
at the annual KFI Pastathon, our sister station doing it
once again to help bring in so much food, help
Bruno continue his mission.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Hi, Bruno Ai, the.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
Best day of the year is a pasta ton is
like amazing day.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
It's so much love via food for so many kids
in need. And this has been this is our fourteenth
year doing this, the Fourteenthdaniel KFI Pastathon.
Speaker 3 (00:59):
Yeah, it's been every year for fourteen years and obviously
thanks to pasta tone. We are able to do what
we are doing because without pasta Tone, now we could
serve five thousand meals a day. As you play, it's
really were looking for that for the year we collecting
Lata pasta, lata tomato. We can't do our program the
(01:22):
way we're doing. And they see our especial year too,
because this year we did celebrate the ten million meals
served in nineteen year.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
Wonderful.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
I mean all thanks to pasta Tone, because I could.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
Not do that well, I mean honestly in one day.
And I know you've done different locations over the years,
but this time it's going to be actually at your restaurant,
Anaheim White House all day long.
Speaker 3 (01:45):
We we have to change a few times because seven
years ago our song was on fire, I mean the
day that the christ Cathedral in Crystal Contrido cotrido today
in Orange. But last year here is coming back to
normal like we used to do for a long long time,
and it's fun all day longer. Stop by, say hi
(02:08):
to your favorite also and say hi to Bluno.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
It's like Christmas Day all day for it when people
can stop by the Anaheim White House restaurant and just
in the parking lot. Right, we're gonna have the broadcast
set up in the parking lot. You can combine and
say how to all the KFI people who will be
broadcasting live from five am until ten o'clock at night.
This is like a hardcore radio fun to make sure
we get enough positive helping these kids for you know,
the rest of next year, for all of next year.
Speaker 3 (02:33):
Yeah. In fact, we collect so much this year. By
July we run out of past. That could not believe it.
I mean, we always welcome people to stop buy even
one back past that people sometimes don't realize, but we
walk found the past. I can feed five six seven
kids that I mean. I keep telling people, don't forget
(02:54):
it the year because this year I had to buy
past in nineteen years was our first time we had
to buy past. The middle of the year, we could
be run out. I mean, because we do feed so
many children every day, there's.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
There is a lot of way you help help so many.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
And of course the story Bruno started with your mom,
your beloved mom, Calerina, talk about because the story it
is kind of an accident, how you stumbled upon these
kids who you met at randomly at the Boys and
girls club and you just saw them hanging around eating
potato chips.
Speaker 3 (03:23):
Mom, was your formita if we went to a boys
girls club and there was atys or eating potato chips
and the writer said, that's probably his only dinner. I say,
what you mean, it's only dinner? He said, well, we
have a lot of kids from a motel area. Motel
has done kitchen. Even if a mom want to cook
for it, they don't. And when I translated to mom,
(03:44):
Mama said, Bruno, if they don't have dinner tonight, why
won't you feed them plato pasta And started like just sample,
just like that, without tika about anything, And I said, okay, mama.
We went back to Marathon the White House, and we
came back with pasta and we never stop doing that
for nineteen years.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
And that was just that one boys and girls club.
Speaker 1 (04:05):
You went back that one location and started feeding people,
and then now you're doing twenty five plus thousand meals
every week, working with so many groups and partnerships to
make sure you can feed more.
Speaker 2 (04:15):
And more people.
Speaker 3 (04:17):
Yeah, unbelievable. You grow because we were in one city,
one location, one boys girls club. Now we are in
thy city Orascany and one in twenty five locations because
we do boys, girls club, we do some school. We
deliver it to motel room. It's a shelter. I mean everybody,
(04:38):
somebody is in need of food. People contact us, so
we find it. We are the one who provide meals
and I do pasta, I do chicken together. Obviously this
week I'm going to do also turkey. We put vegetable inside.
I mean an increase from one location to one other
twenty five toy location and which is is crazy, but
(05:02):
we have to buy five van and four five time
full time driver then drive a range all over us
Canny La two because we have also I take nineteen
locations in Long Beach. We had one in San Bernardino Operations. Yeah,
it's a big one. I have a fantastic crew behind
(05:23):
me and obviously I cannot do that alone. And it's
a big operation. I think that is really an amazing
things to do that to know then you can feed
so many children every single day, which is is beautiful.
And always a big fan of K five radio, as
you know, YEA then is there and every A five
(05:47):
are really pushing so much all week interview here, interview
layer there and all day long, they having the love.
I mean, really you can feel the love between Katerina's
Club in the KFI radio because it's in some people
so long. And then we see each other, we hang
each other and at the end of the year, of
(06:09):
the day when we count a much fund of pasta
and tomatoes, we collect a much cash. We collect it's
really if you want it, because we walk out. It's
not as simputist to do. And I really thanks so
all the radio listeners because to them, they're the one
that's my biggest friends. Because I had so many people
(06:31):
stop in me calling me Bruno. We love what you do.
I mean a lot of them I know a lot,
but millions of them I don't know. And I really
want to thank you from the bat on my heart
or to all of them out there who was really
to pop Katerina's Club.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
God bless you, Bruno. And yeah, twenty five thousand plus
meals every week. You're fitting so many young people. And
what's the age range? I mean some of them, you know,
you see these kids, So what's the age range? Is
that mostly all teenager teenager kids who live like in
hotels are younger.
Speaker 3 (07:01):
They go by six years old. Till teenager of Asia.
I mean you go to Boys Girls Club seven, eight, nine,
ten years already that teenager. They usually don't go to
Boys Girls Club, but in the motel room shelter. Yeah,
you have a little bit of edythy but Boys Girls Club.
Most of the younger ASA teenagels agent.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
So throughout the year you're always in need of pasta donations,
monetary donations, pasta pasta sauce. And then this one day,
the big day, the fourteenth Aniel Kfi Pasta thon.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
We're hoping you're.
Speaker 1 (07:34):
Gonna be able to swing by his amazing restaurant. It's
so so popular, the food is so delicious.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
I haven't been in a while, so we need to
get back down there.
Speaker 1 (07:42):
Anaheim White House, amazing Italian food at the Bruno's restaurant,
the Anaheim White House. But then you also do a
few other programs as part of Kina's Club Name after
your Mom. You do talk about what the hospitality Academy
is and how you teach young people how to cook
on their own.
Speaker 3 (08:00):
Yeah, I realized that there's a lot of kids you
don't have to win their teenager and you know a
lot of kids is like everybody else, on the phone
and a parking lot and a street, and it's a
young why don't we teach them to work at a
younger age. It'd be good for the future and they
can learn. And I've always get a lot of young
teenager girls and boys who work with us in a
(08:24):
restaurant for two three months. We pay a small amount
because they can only walk at teacher fifteen hours of
the week. But what they do after three months working
with me, they can apply for a job anywhere. And
a lot of those kids got some good job. I mean,
have a few graduate on a CEA school colin our institute.
(08:45):
I mean as soon as they make a little bit
of cash, you know, they can help themselves and they
can help their own parents to payople do right everything.
I mean hospitality a ticker. We already graduate nine hundred
children so far, maybe even more. It's a way to
teach them how to work. And when you teach a
young kid how to work, it's learning and it will
(09:07):
be out there to look for a job for himself
or orseolf one day. That is the big things which
I love it.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
And so many great places to work run here, so
many beautiful hotels and resorts, and restaurants, so there would
be jobs available right in the world.
Speaker 3 (09:22):
Lot a lot of don't tell people say br thanks
for doing that. If you never needed us to hire
the kids, let us know. And we have so many
in Anaheim. As a tourist pas out there, I tell
them and they go up like themselves. And honestly, it's
a great opportunity to step forward for the buildings for lifetime,
(09:42):
you know, in the future. And even if you don't
steal the rest and work as a teenager, I think
we all wear a buzzboy one day, you know, like
like a young teenager worker these days young they work
in a busboy situation. But the future is always open
for all the young kids, you know.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
And I'm sure you know the boys and Girls clubs
and YMCA and churches, they're all about helping these young
people figure out what their future could could hold and
help them with some stability and find a career that
they're passionate about where they could provide for themselves and
their families.
Speaker 2 (10:15):
I mean, it's it's a win win for.
Speaker 1 (10:17):
Everybody for you to offer this, and very generous of
you to offer that as well.
Speaker 3 (10:20):
Yeah, it's an a basy organization to be able to
work with all the organizations to do the same into
The top project is the WORL Come Home.
Speaker 2 (10:31):
Oh yeah, you know, I was reading that again.
Speaker 1 (10:33):
The information is all on Bruno's website katarinasclub dot org.
Speaker 2 (10:38):
Another thing you do. You know again you're trying to.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
Break the cycle of poverty here and you go, it's
not just feeding the young people and teaching them how
to cook for themselves. But now you go one step
further and you have another program, the Welcome Home program,
where you find a way to fund and get people
out of these unsafe environments like these motels and they're
in some bad living arrangements. You want to help get
the mountain put in a better place to live, a safer,
(11:03):
healthier environment.
Speaker 3 (11:04):
Yeah, this is a big, big things to do for family.
They neither because for the children is safety because of
the area where they are this day of age, a
drug addict, drug dealer, prostitution is pretty bad. On the
same time, the adult the parents have lost the easy
to have kids live in a bad environment. I find
(11:26):
out that thirteen years ago a family live in a
motel room for twelve years. Speak of that leave in
a one bedroom size room for twelve years. There were
four kissed my and dad. When I find out that
I interview the father, it takes me a long time
to be able to talk to him. But I say,
why you live in a motel with six people for
(11:48):
such a loan because you have to pay the motel
room anyways, don't freely? Yeah? Yeah, I said a lover
to move out to an apartment, but I cannot afforded
three four five thousand dollars down pay for the deposit.
I was like, oh, that is the problem, and I
need to get the more and everybody has the same
problem to not save that kind of money to move out.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
Yeah, because what you probably have to come up with money,
you know for first last and probably a security deposit
to move.
Speaker 3 (12:15):
That's a lot of right and years ago it was
two thousan twenty five hundred, but it is the ages
five thousands that mean what I did that moved that
first family and just recently we move our family in
number two hundred and seventy five.
Speaker 2 (12:31):
That's how many families you've moved over the years.
Speaker 3 (12:33):
Wow, I mean two hundred and seventy five family move
out from the area, even shelter I had family. You
live in the garage. I was like, my god, you
live in a garage. You said it's cheap, and we
tried to save money to pay for first and last
month of deposit. I mean to get Caterina's Club to
help this family. The best part of it academically, emotionally, mentally,
(12:58):
you change life to the and also to the parents.
Because there's a big life change. You give a portunity
to come back in track, to give apportunity for family
and children to be normal. I mean, one day, a
little kids told me she didn't have any friends, and
I said, why don't you have any friends? She said,
because I live in a motel room is very bad.
(13:21):
That embarrassed, you know, you hear that from a kid
when us at fun we live in a house and apartments,
you know, we all of a sudden every another. Kids
told me, I do my homework city on the toilet.
I said, why you do that? Said that's the only
quiet place I can do my homework. And I said,
(13:41):
I like her. We ourselves to have like to have
been a school at a young age. I have the
opportunity that we had. Those kids don't have it. I mean,
help to move from a motel shelf to garage to
an apartment is a life life change and I love.
Speaker 1 (13:58):
That talk about helping families. It's going to have a
lasting impact. So and Bruno, how can somebody apply for
this kind of help through Caterina's Club just on the website.
Speaker 3 (14:10):
Yeah, they can ask you. They can shoot an email
and my girls in the office with interview. Because you
have to qualify. First of all, we give a dog test.
We'll make sure nobody is involving dogs. We be able
to have a job because if I pay the deposit,
you needed to have a job to pay your rent.
And we also look your financial because your own some time.
(14:32):
It's bad people out there, they want to take advantage.
I mean we analyze every team, how much you make it,
how much you can afford it. And if you qualify,
you look for your own place because you want to
live next to the kids' school or next to your
work because you don't have a care. I mean, if
you do the if you qualify, we pay Forssell last month.
We go through applications. Some qualify, some don't. But the
(14:57):
door is open to qualify people you need.
Speaker 1 (15:00):
Incredible, You've already done this forever two hundred and seventy
five families.
Speaker 3 (15:04):
Two hundred and seventy family altogether. This is the number
week about if you got outside on the tree that
you count. Two hundred and seventy apartment is a lot. Yeah,
so past obviously is my half my soul. But this
program to give us safety to the children. I mean,
I have a lady just to give an idea, a
(15:26):
mom who texts me one day. She said, there, Shan Bruno.
I never take for granted your help to move us
to an apartment. My kids were the bad students in
a class, one of the worst ones, and after three
four months we move them out. He come home with
students of the month. Think about the people. I've had
beautiful things, beautiful things, and I love to keep doing it.
Speaker 1 (15:50):
I love everything that you're doing for these kids and
our families. And are you also trying to teach them
some Italians a little Italiano.
Speaker 3 (15:56):
You got to I am Italiana, my hometown, the city
of Rome. I remember the pasta. Why I did that,
Mom is Italian. Mom loved children, and when she finds
out that little kids, Billy seven years old, don't eat
world from the mouth, pasta pasta to the kids like
(16:20):
you know Italian mama. Yeah, and if you don't eat
sick night, you better eat.
Speaker 1 (16:26):
And now you're hoping to do that twenty five plus
thousand meals every week, feeding so many young people all
over LA and Orange County.
Speaker 2 (16:32):
This big operation.
Speaker 1 (16:34):
It's very crucial that people can kind of come together
and help give. On the fourteenth annual KFI Pasta to Day,
it's on December the third Tuesday, December the third Giving Tuesday,
and they'll be camped out there at the Anaheim White House.
Like we said, everyone from our association KFI will be
broadcasting live from five am till ten o'clock at night.
Until we just have so much pasta? Where do we
(16:56):
stored all? Do you have a warehouse for all this
stuff we're gonna.
Speaker 3 (16:58):
Collect, Yeah, we we just it's the butt of a
storage room that we can feed a lot of them.
And we have a notherwarehouse outside of ana Im that
we have to all because I keep the pasta in
a good shape and tomato too. But we have a
few places that we put all the products.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
Which there is any kind of pasta, any kind of sauce.
Speaker 1 (17:18):
Because you're the one who gets creative to make it
something different every time.
Speaker 3 (17:21):
So right, yeah, you.
Speaker 2 (17:22):
Don't have to get fancy.
Speaker 3 (17:23):
We canna pasta. Yeah, there's like we we have to
be simple to the kids because a long time ago,
one time I was giving such a pasta with different
pieces of veggie. Nobody eating. They're like the green stuff.
I mean what we do now we blandt and a
tomato sauce. They don't see them. They eat also the
vegetable with the pasta nice and the chicken we do.
(17:46):
We do lots of chicken pasta that may be in
our portion. When I do a two dinner, will be
a pasta with a chicken on top of it that
they bring you to two dinners, which is also good
because you have the prote the five of the veggie,
and obviously the pasta which is a calb.
Speaker 2 (18:04):
Now we're all getting hungry, brunow, we're all getting hungry.
Speaker 3 (18:08):
But I thought he's going tomorrow night.
Speaker 1 (18:10):
Oh good, see Anaheim White House and then again the
live broadcast. They're right through at eight eight seven South
Anaheim Boulevard. And then so that's gonna be all day
giving Tuesday, December the third, hoping people stop by and
say hello, drop off money, pasta pasta sauce. And then
I also see on the website you have other locations.
If I can't make it to Anaheim on the seven
(18:30):
the third, you have locations I can drop stuff off
in Chino Hills, Dana Point, Garden, Grove, Hinden Beach, Irvine.
There's a whole list of these are just restaurant friends
of yours, right who offer their space to take donations.
Speaker 3 (18:42):
Yeah, everybody does it, but I was in Lake Forests
a Smart and Final because as you know, you can
go to Smart and Final also get donation over there
wind this restaurant lemid to day whenever the Smart and
Final milk in a bill handle, a bunch of people
came to donate the Hi. I mean all those locations
you can donate there. That a bigger part of the
(19:05):
Katerina's Club in Pastaton, and that's why I stayed on
one and make sure I say thanks to all the seeing.
Also even if you donate the one dollar is Alidia,
thank you from all of Katerina's Club.
Speaker 2 (19:19):
Well, God bless you for all that.
Speaker 1 (19:20):
You're doing a full list of every drop off location
for the big day, and they're probably even taking donations
you know, early and after the fact, so just check
out the full list of every place you can drop
off any kind of pasta, any kind of pasta saucer.
Bruno can keep moving forward and continue to feed twenty
five thousand young people with these meals every single week.
You know, it's a fresh, delicious, homemade meal made with love,
(19:43):
and all these other wonderful programs that you provide, and
of course your gorgeous restaurant there Anaheim White House. All
the information at Caterina's Club dot org click on events
Katerina's Club dot org click on events, and we'll see
you on December the third at your restaurant for the
annual KFI Pastathono Gatti Chef Brunos Serrato, thank you again
(20:06):
for all that you do for these young people and
their families, and we'll see you December the third at
the pastathon.
Speaker 3 (20:12):
All Fake Child. Thank you,
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