The Atlantis Grille, formerly known as the Atlantis Soup Kitchen, has been serving gourmet meals to residents of the Atlantis Apartments every Monday for the last 7 years. Chef Charles of Virginia Beach Oceanfront's Holiday Inn and formerly of Virginia Beach Oceanfront's Sheraton Hotel, whips up fabulous cuisine for the community. He sometimes even comes in to serve it up himself. It's not unusual to see a steamship round of beef being served in the middle of the apartment's community center. The driving force behind this community partnership is Aimee and Kent Phillips.
Wave City Care is a non-profit organization that provides a variety of services to the community including food distribution, clothing and shelter assistance, educational, tutoring and mentoring programs as well as addiction recovery programs. Wave City Care is an initiative of Wave Church. Aimee and Kent are members of Wave Church in Virginia Beach. They stepped into the roles of lead volunteers for the Atlantis Grille Project a few years ago.
Aimee, the principal at Norfolk Christian Middle School, said that she and Kent always knew that they would find a way to give back to the community. She said that neither of them had very much when they were growing up so this project is very important to them. They bring their two daughters with them every Monday when they come to serve.
Their daughters have become friends with the other children in the Atlantis Apartment community. One of their daughters attended the sleepover of a resident. When Aimee and Kent took their family to visit Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, VA, for the day, they went and picked up the same little girl to go along. The entire family has bonded with the community. The Phillips family has become a part of this community through their involvement with the Atlantis Grille Project.
Sue Fitzgerald of Wave City Care says that they try to make it about community and not about food. Aimee has gone so far as to assist a resident of Atlantis Apartments in getting a scholarship to the private school where she works. That's incredible. The Phillips family has embraced this community as if it were their family. The Phillips family and the residents of Atlantis Apartments have created their own community through the Atlantis Grille Project. The project was the catalyst for this new community of friends to be formed.
The Atlantis Grille Project provides so much more than a hot meal. They deliver the meals to the seniors in the neighborhood who cannot get out to the community center. They provide fellowship to all who come out to the center. Recently, they had a talent show where local residents were allowed to show off their skills. Kent took picture after picture with his professional camera equipment as if the contestants were Hollywood stars. His daughters placed vases of hand picked flowers on each and every table to add ambiance to the room. Aimee danced and sang along as each act participated in the festivities. The residents smiled and clapped with the excitement of the day because it was a great time for all.
The residents of Atlantis Apartments may not be rich in money. They may not be able to vacation at the expensive resort hotels, just a few miles from their homes. But this group is rich in love. They are rich in family. They are rich in community. The loving family of the Atlantis Grille community. Chef Charles, Wave City Care, Sue Fitzgerald and most importantly, the Phillips family, Aimee, Kent and their daughters have truly exemplified the meaning of community in the Atlantis Grille Project.
Fore more information on Wave City Care go to:
http://wavecitycare.com/HRCC%20SITE/Basic%20Services.html
or call them at:
(757) 965-8494
For more information on Wave Church go to:
http://www.wavechurch.com/events.aspx?parentnavigationid=1563
or write to them at :
Wave Church
1000 N. Great Neck Rd.
Virginia Beach, VA 23454
