LGBT Youth Culinary Creation

LGBT Youth Culinary Creation

Bob Sferra

2015 Finalist
Community Change category


Bob Sferra wanted to expand his future LGBT Youth Program Culinary classes, which allow an otherwise disenfranchised LGBT youth population to learn skills, build self-esteem, and possibly gain a mentor. Bob pitched this idea at Accelerate 2015.

After earning prize money as a runner-up at the event, his vision to launch a culinary kitchen to build esteem among LGBT youth received another boost when the LGBT Center of Cleveland received a $1.8 million anonymous donation to build a new community center. The building will include a state-of-the-art kitchen that can house his project. The center also received a $500,000 endowment match challenge from the Maltz Family Foundation, and Bob is chairing the capital campaign to raise the balance of $300,000 by the end of 2016.