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© 2019 Adrianne Morales -
© 2019 Adrianne Morales -
© 2019 Adrianne Morales
On April 4 at 8 p.m., volunteers at the Alibrandi Catholic Center came together to make turkey and cheese, as well as peanut butter and jelly, sandwiches for the homeless and working poor.
Every last Thursday of the month, “We usually make about 500 sandwiches,” says Father Gerry Waterman, a leader of the community service project. Tonight, they broke their record by making a total of 646 sandwiches. The next day, the sandwiches were distributed evenly amongst Assumption Church and Samaritan Center.
In terms of where the supplies come from, “Normally we either buy peanut butter and jelly, or somebody brings in peanut butter and jelly; enough to do it,” says Waterman. “But this time, I got a donation from a local vendor, who gave us a donation of turkey and cheese.”
Although most people think the sandwiches go exclusively to the homeless, Sayisha Byrd, the director of engagement resources, says they help others too.
“You know, most people would say it feeds our homeless population, but what I’ve learned over the last couple of years is the folks that are receiving those sandwiches aren’t necessarily homeless, they’re working poor,” says Byrd. “So they work, but they don’t have enough money to provide all that they need.”
The church and the center hold this community service opportunity at the Alibrandi Catholic Center on the Syracuse Campus so that they can recruit student volunteers in addition to those in the surrounding community. They are provided with a mass, a meal, and then the supplies to make the sandwiches. The turn out is always large.
“Well, it’s so great to see so many people so enthusiastic about paying it forward. You know?” says Waterman.
Assumption Church and Samaritan Center will be needing more volunteers on the last Thursday of April to make more sandwiches.
