Cookbook Raises Money for YSU Veteran’s Scholarship

By Rachel Gobep

Stars, Stripes and Servings, an event that showcased at least 30 family dishes included in the cookbook called “The Recipes of Youngstown,” took place at the Tyler History Center on Veterans Day.

Community members were able to taste the different dishes that have been passed down through generations of families and benefit veterans by purchasing the cookbook.

A portion of the $4,900 in proceeds for the cookbook will be used for the Recipes of Youngstown Veteran’s Scholarship fund for the Youngstown State University Foundation scholarship.

The scholarship provides financial assistance to veterans who want to attend or finish their education at YSU.

YSU student veterans volunteered at the event and said this scholarship will be beneficial to veterans in many ways.

Shelton Smith, a YSU criminal justice major and member of the Navy, said he volunteered last year and wanted to see this event benefit Youngstown as a whole.

Smith said YSU needs a veteran’s scholarship because it will help veterans to further or begin their education. He said the Youngstown-based food at the event was delicious, so he was happy to volunteer.

Rick Williams, coordinator of veteran’s affairs at YSU, said the student veterans and service members should be involved in the community and volunteering at the event helps them to be seen.

Williams said 50 percent of the proceeds for the cookbook will go towards the veteran’s scholarship.

In addition, he said there needs to be a scholarship fund at YSU because over 40 percent of veterans in the United States do not use the G.I. Bill.

“They are either not qualified for it, it has been exhausted or they waited too long to use it,” he said. “A lot of veterans count on the G.I. Bill, so for the ones who don’t have it, it would be nice to have a scholarship fund where we could help them out.”

He said the fund currently has about $150,000, but the goal is $1 million.

Williams said about 40 student veterans will be able to receive scholarship through the fund.

He said the scholarship is provided under certain situations. For example, a student veteran cannot have funding through another source.

Recipes of Youngstown is a Facebook page with over 10,000 members who share their original recipes.

Bobbie Allen, the Recipes of Youngstown group administrator, said she was emotional about the event.

“This is for our vets and this is really one of the best things we are probably ever going to do,” she said.

Cathy Doslovic said she made a Croatian recipe for cabbage strudel, which is featured in the cookbook. She said she has participated in this event since it began three years ago and loves to bake and cook with her husband.

This was the third volume of the “Recipes of Youngstown” cookbook.