About
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The mission of The Crane Centre is to provide Uganda's under-served youth with job skills, training and career development opportunities in order to foster independence, leadership and a vision for their future. The Crane Centre is based on a foundation of faith in Christ.
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The Crane Centre offers opportunities for exploration and growth in the Hospitality industry. The 2-year program offers 9 months on our campus and an additional 3 month work/study program at
one of several local hotels, and a second year of improving skills. The program includes many areas of food service, including food preparation, computer training, Swahili, life skills and traditional arts and crafts. Our students graduate with a certificate upon completion, opening doors for gainful employment.
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Welcome to The Crane Centre
The Beginning
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Sandra Crane, founder of The Crane Centre, traveled to Uganda for several years with a mission group. During her visit in 2005, she felt the call to purchase property in the Mbarara area (the third largest town in Uganda). She conceived the idea of building a small guest house that would raise funds to create a campus where students would learn the hospitality industry.
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Sandra traveled 2 times before the “call”. The small guest house was just to raise funds for a ministry that was currently over there. The Idea to create a campus grew as the construction of the building grew (more than a guest house).
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Today
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Thanks to the generous support of our many donors, construction work on the main floor building is near completion construction of a primary building is complete. It includes a reception hall, classrooms, computer lab, restrooms, a large dining/conference room and a large commercial kitchen also designed for instruction. Landscaping was added, along with the construction of a gated entrance and attached guard house. The original education wing will be has been transformed into additional kitchen preparation space. We now serve at least 20 students at a time between a beginner class and an advanced second year class. Visit the News tab for highlights of current happenings at the Centre, which includes near term completion of a girl’s dormitory!
Our programs in culinary arts and various hotel management services are now nationally accredited in Uganda.
Students graduating with this accreditation are being hired by local hotels in various positions of hotel services and food service / preparation. Some recent graduates have quickly progressed to head chef positions. Others are moving up to lead positions in various service areas of hotel operations. The Crane Center is now recognized for producing students fully qualified to step into the growing hotel industry in Uganda.
Our Vision
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The vision for the future of the Crane Centre is to become self supporting and continue to provide expanded career training for Uganda's youth as a licensed and highly respected training center.
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Leadership
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The Crane Centre is led by a US Board of Directors, a Ugandan Board of Directors and an excellent and highly skilled faculty and staff on campus.
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Sandra Crane
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Sandra completed her associate degree at the local community college and then worked in several occupations. She has owned businesses and worked various office environments. Many years in mission work was the foundation so that in 2001 she traveled to Uganda and soon after felt called to establish what has become the Crane Centre. The school has been growing and has educated many young Ugandan women and men in the hospitality industry. During almost 70 years as a member of herchurch she has served in many roles of leadership including Clerk of the Session and teaching Sunday school. Sandra currently serves on the Mission Committee.
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Stacy Quinn
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Stacy has been a member of the Crane Centre board since 2017 and has participated in two mission trips to the Centre. She holds a Bachelors degree in Business Administration from the University of Michigan and an MBA from Wayne State University. She has an extensive background in marketing, sales and sales management, operating a successful travel agency. She is a busy mother of two and an active volunteer, holding multiple board and committee positions, including the Crane Centre.
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Marjorie Dolbeer
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Marj is an experienced educator with a Bachelor’s degree in Education from Northern Illinois University and a Master’s Degree in Curriculum Development from National Louis University. She has 38 years of teaching and administration in public schools and at the university level. She is an elder and has served as deacon at her church and currently serves on their Mission Council. Mission work includes almost 20years of working with both the Crane Centre and Partners in Mission as a board member. Her extensive travels include 20 trips to Uganda, work on the Navajo Reservation as well as local organizations.
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Steve Orr
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Steve is a retired Michigan attorney who is active in the life of his church and has served as a member of the Committee for Preparation of Ministry in the Detroit Presbytery. He is currently an active Stephen Minister and has participated in many short term mission trips including a working mission trip to Uganda in the early construction of the Crane Centre.
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Sue Peterman
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Sue is a nurse and educator. She has 13 years critical care experience, several years teaching nurses how to use the electronic health record and 5 years in developing and maintaining the electronic health record. Sue has been both a deacon and an elder. As an elder she worked on the mission committee. Mission work includes working with Crane Centre as a board member. Sue has been to Uganda 3 times including the Crane Centre ground breaking ceremony.
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Lorene Flewellen
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Lorene has a background in business, including Human Resources, leadership development, as well as mergers and acquisitions. She received a BS in Sociology and a MS in Public Administration from the University of Oregon and has held various senior leadership positions in both Fortune 500 as well as smaller organizations. Before she retired, Lorene worked as an HR consultant, serving small, non-profit, faith-based organizations.
She later started her own travel business, focusing on promoting travel to Africa. Lorene has traveled extensively, volunteering and serving ministries along the way. She has traveled to Tanzania to teach business skills to women entrepreneurs, and has gone on mission trips to India, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Uganda. She currently volunteers at a birth support ministry focused on refugee women and at a school for refugee girls whose education has been interrupted due to conflict. She has experience serving on non-profit boards.
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Barbara Christoff
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Barbara was born in Ohio but now lives in Michigan.
She has earned degrees in music and accounting and a license in real estate. She has been an office manager in a shipyard and major city parks department; a manager for the U.S.
Postal Service; a supervisor for a bookstore. She has been a deacon at church and currently serves as an elder. Her mission work has given her many opportunities to serve. She has also served on the board of directors for the National Association of Postal Supervisors and an internationally ranked chorus.
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Glen K. Christoff
Glen is a retired automotive engineer and has a BS in mechanical engineering from the University of Michigan and an EMBA from Michigan State University. His 41 years of experience include: Product development, engineering management, global technology planning, and corporate strategy process
development. He currently serves as Chairman for the Mission & Outreach Team at his church and actively participates in local, national, and international mission efforts.
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Dennis Berry
Dennis Berry was born in Detroit. He graduated from Edsel Ford High school in 1957 and attended the University of Michigan receiving his Bachelors’ degree in Math in 1961 and an MBA in 1963. He has worked for Michigan Consolidated Gas Co (now a part of DTE Energy), and retired from Chrysler Corporation in December of 2001. His primary assignments have been in Computer Systems. He has been a member of Orchard Lake Community Church since 1973. He has been a ruling elder and Clerk of Session and led Rebuilding Together. He visited Uganda in 2006 with Sandra and has been supportive of the Crane Centre ever since.
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