His family will give away the $5,000 Lee Corder Culinary Arts Scholarship once a year
His family will give away the $5,000 Lee Corder Culinary Arts Scholarship once a year
His family will give away the $5,000 Lee Corder Culinary Arts Scholarship once a year
With cancer stealing his time, a local chef and educator is leaving a lasting gift.
Helping people is what Lee Corder’s life has been all about. He’s worked in education for 34 years, with the last 18 at Butler Tech. The Madison Township man also loves grilling up meats for his business, CW BBQ.
“It’s been a blessing. Things have kind of slowed down with my situation I’m in right now,” said Corder.
Last summer, Corder was diagnosed with a form of head and neck cancer known as squamous cell carcinoma. He had surgery and aggressive radiation with a 90% chance of success.
Unfortunately, in February, a PET scan revealed the cancer had metastasized in Corder’s lung, spine, and liver. It’s now considered stage 4, terminal, and non-curable. Ever since, Corder says, it has been flooded with messages from loved ones asking what they can do to help.
“To be honest, I didn’t know how to answer their questions. We’re lucky enough that we have decent insurance. So, we didn’t we didn’t have tremendous financial costs. We had some, but not to where I wanted people giving me money,” said Corder.
That’s when Lee decided to combine both his passions and establish the Lee Corder Culinary Arts Scholarship with the Hamilton Community Foundation.
“I think it shows the character of Lee. He’s looking at it like ‘Don’t help me. Let’s create something that can help others,'” said Jim Goodman, the co-founder of Municipal Brew Works in Hamilton. The brewery is hosting a fundraiser for the scholarship on July 26.
The goal is to raise $100,000 in order to sustain a $5,000 yearly scholarship. Corder hopes his wife and kids can give it away for years to come.
“This will be something actionable for them every year. So, my hope is to keep the kindness that they already have, you know, and the way that they give, the idea behind this is just a legacy to keep that going,” Corder said.
You can donate to The Lee Corder Culinary Scholarship here.
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