Children of Restaurant Employees, a national non-profit organization that supports food and beverage service employees with children, announced the appointments of four new members to its Board of Directors. The new board members include Frank Sickelsmith, vice president international for Inspire Brands, Desiree Springer, vice president national accounts on premise at Titos Handmade Vodka, Rachael Kelly, chief people officer at Smokey Bones and Stacey Kane, president BroadTalk Marketing, an independent marketing executive who has been a CORE consultant for two years.

CORE will benefit from the new members wealth of knowledge and industry experience,” says Colleen Brennan, vice president, national accounts Rodney Strong Wines and chairman of the board of directors for CORE. “They join CORE at an exciting time as we continue to build awareness and funding for food and beverage service employees who have legally dependent children and face a qualifying circumstance. The addition of these directors complements our board of directors’ skills and experiences, and we are confident they will provide valuable perspectives as we continue to execute our strategy, drive development, and meet the needs of some of the industry’s 15 million employees.”

Frank, Lisa, Rachael, and Stacey will work with the other 11 board members and CORE’s Executive Director Sheila Bennett in engaging the entire foodservice and beverage industry to support CORE and increase visibility to families who have been impacted by a health crisis, injury, death, or natural disaster.

During the last five years, CORE has helped restaurant workers families in all 50 states, D.C. and in Puerto Rico. They have helped families impacted by Nashville tornadoes, Mayfield, KY tornadoes, wildfires, hurricanes, and families that faced a health crisis. CORE helps cover living expenses, costs for medical needs, costs, childcare, therapies and more while navigating a qualifying circumstance. CORE provided financial assistance for families that lost everything when their home caught fire or allowed a single mom to be with her child during major surgery, treatment, and recovery.

“During my time serving the food and beverage industry, I have met many employees and families with heartbreaking stories of how they have faced adversity,” says Sheila Bennett, CORE’s executive director. “They inspire our team to work even harder and now, I hope for CORE to be the first resource that comes to mind when employees with children are affected by a health crisis or natural disaster and are in need of support, and financial relief.”