VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT
by HUGO BRAVO
At 17 years old, Gus Sleiman received advice that he follows to this day: “never close the door behind you.” As the owner of Barca City Café & Bar and Evelyn’s Restaurant in New Brunswick, N.J., Gus Sleiman’s door is always open to his employees, a mix of New Brunswick’s Spanish–speaking residents, and students from nearby Rutgers University. Some of them see restaurant ownership in their future too, and Sleiman is happy to be a mentor and share his experiences. As a volunteer and board member of The Salvation Army New Brunswick Corps, Sleiman sees the Army as an open door to the community it serves. Leaders and workers there inspire members of the community to also open their doors to others. “I never want to close a door in anyone’s face just so I can live my own life,” says Sleiman. “I would rather leave my door wide open, so others can grow, just as I did.” In 1989, Sleiman’s family, Catholic Maronites from modern Lebanon, immigrated to the United States to escape the Lebanese Civil War, a 15–year conflict with an estimated 120,000 deaths and the displacement of close to a million people. The family eventually settled in New Brunwick, N.J. Sleiman’s father, an experienced entrepreneur, opened a restaurant in their new town. But Sleiman’s first interaction with The Salvation Army came a few days after 9/11 in New York City, where he attended the City University of New York. He and a friend were walking through the city, looking for ways they could help. “We came across a busy section around 6th Avenue and 14th Street, and we asked a man in a Salvation Army uniform if there was anything we could do,” says Sleiman. “He checked our IDs, fitted us for hard hats, and put us to work. We sorted, wrapped, and moved pallets of food and water. We worked with The Salvation Army for two weeks straight.” Years later, when Sleiman had taken over the family restaurant, he was invited to attend a meeting of Salvation Army board members in New Brunswick. There, he met local business leaders and residents who shared the same passion for helping their communities as Sleiman did. Sleiman was also impressed by the talent and dedication of the church leaders who took the responsibility of being the local face of The Salvation Army. Today, Sleiman is chair of the advisory board at the New Brunswick Corps. Although he enjoys the planning and strategizing that comes with his position, he looks forward to seeing the results and meeting the people affected by the board’s decisions. “Fighting food insecurity is my passion,” Sleiman says. “As a board, we volunteer by serving meals to children at the corps and at The Salvation Army summer camps. Some days, I will even go to the corps, knock on the door, and just ask if I can help in the pantry,” says Sleiman. “The easiest thing to do in non–profit work is to sign a check,
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whether it’s for $10 or $1,000. But when you give your time and share your expertise, you get to see the real impact. You become involved in the change that you want to see in your community,” says Sleiman. Hispanics make up about 45 percent of New Brunswick’s residents. Many of them are first-generation immigrants like Sleiman. “In getting to know the Latino community of the city, I realized how many things we have in common, such as preserving our cultures, a strong family structure, and a shared love of Christ,” says Sleiman. “But we also share the hardships of being an immigrant. Though my time was in the 1980s, my struggle is still like that of someone who came here in the 2000s. Even today, seeing what is happening in Ukraine is like reliving my childhood.” “But the Lebanese poet Khalil Gibran once said that ‘out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls, and that the most massive characters are seared with scars.’ Our hardships should not destroy our lives, but instead be step stones to the life we truly want.” The New Brunswick Salvation Army has validated Sleiman’s own work and purpose, showing him how he can keep a door open to “doing the most good.” Most importantly, the Army has helped nurture his faith and personal connection with the Lord. “I have gone from being persecuted for being a Christian in Lebanon, to volunteering for The Salvation Army, a faith–based organization where I can proudly help people in the name of Christ,” says Sleiman. “That was God perfectly orchestrating my life; He knew it was my destiny to be here.”
Volume 8 Number 4, 2022
