“I can’t quit. Failure is not an option,” said Cameron Major, a 45-year-old self-described “Hayward native” who started the Save Our Young (SOY) program in 2004 to help “At-Promise,” or at-risk kids gain professional and life skills through culinary training, and is now facing resource shortages.

A former Sergeant with the CSU East Bay police department, Major left law enforcement due to health issues stemming from kidney disease. Major also taught culinary skills at the Eden Area Regional Occupation Program.

He says his motivation for beginning the program was to share his life’s knowledge with Hayward children who have the potential to succeed with a passion in life, or just as easily succumb to drugs, alcohol, gangs or other allurements of youth, especially in an economic environment that has seen cutbacks to many social and youth engagement programs.

“I wanted to give back to the community that gave to me growing up. I wanted to do something for the kids,” said Major, who says he was given the gift of life, and SOY was a spiritual way of giving back.

The basic concept is simple, yet full of ingenuity, as there are no other programs like this in the Hayward community.

Major used a fully equipped kitchen-on -wheels and a small restaurant called “The Cheesesteak and Lemonade Factory” in Hayward to train adolescents in basic professionalism, food service and soft skills such as punctuality and respect that he believes are essential to hiring employers all over the world.

A roughly 12-week program costs students $250, and includes a uniform. The curriculum also pushes an ideal of careful lifestyle and financial choices, encouraging students to be wary of credit cards and consumer financing.

“Be smart. Pinch your pennies, roll your dollars, get yourself ready for a future,” Major says is one of the key philosophies he tells his students.

Health burdens pushed Major to close the Factory, and not long ago, facing financial strains, he liquidated the kitchen-on-wheels training trailer in order to free up some cash in hopes of procuring a more permanent facility in the Hayward community.

When resources allow for it, Major utilizes community street festivals and events as the live learning classrooms for his pupils, while paying them a stipend for their active training hours. Students work grill and register positions, while setting up and breaking down equipment, slinging cheesesteaks and lemonade.

Major says the program, through the Factory, has been completely self-funded and up to this point he hasn’t asked for any funds or resources from the community, though that staunch policy may be shifting as he continually fights for his health.

“I want community support,” says Major. “I want to find a place where I can open the doors to kids in the Hayward community and make a difference where they can become competitive worldwide.”

He says he’ll accept the right help from anyone who is willing to put forth what the program needs most to persist; a facility.

“We’re hoping that someone will come forth from the community and say, ‘hey we have a kitchen, will you start this program here?’” says Major, explaining that his goal is to open another Cheesesteak and Lemonade Factory to keep the original vision of a self-funded program alive.

“The growth: to see them go from start to finish is so rewarding,” said Major about his students.
Former student Deyanira Vasquez says Major’s SOY program helped her become more outgoing and less afraid to voice her thoughts to others.

“It changed me as a person,” says Vasquez, a new mother who has used the skills she acquired at SOY to get her current job as a prep chef at the BallyBunion Bar & Grille at the Holiday Inn in Dublin.

Major has former students like Vasquez who have gained employment and financial stability through jobs at companies including Marriott International, Inc. and the Starbucks Coffee Company.

Despite the multitude of difficulties that Major has encountered through his personal health and his SOY program, he remains steadfast and hopeful.

“If you have a dream, and it breaks into a thousand pieces, don’t be afraid to pick up one piece and start again,” said Major, drawing inspiration from author Flavia Weedn, elucidating the credo of positivity and hope that he has made his own.

Major believes wisdom and life have no value unless they are shared, and his desire to make a difference keeps him going.

“When its all said and done, this is what I can say I did before I get called home.”