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“1774 Sandwich Initiative” at Newark Academy Gives Back to the Homeless
By Jackie Schatell
Freshman Leon Sarkissian has started the 1774 Sandwich Initiative at Newark Academy, in Livingston, where each month, Upper School students are making sandwiches for St. John’s Soup Kitchen in Newark, which feeds the homeless.
“I heard someone at my church say they needed more sandwiches at St. John’s,” says Leon. “It seemed like something I could take on that would make a big difference in fighting food insecurity one sandwich at a time.”
Leon says, “This is truly an important cause which is unfolding in our own backyard. We need at our level to make a difference and help each other.”
Those in need go to St. John’s for hot meals, and then get a paper bag with the sandwiches to take with them for the two other meals of the day, and for the elderly or children in their households who could not come.
Leon’s family has been involved in assisting the homeless in NYC and then in NJ since coming to the US in 2003. “Our parents always made sure to that we participated actively in one way or another,” he says. “We have made beds, cooked, cleaned, organized toiletries, played games with children and done many sleepovers as the welcoming centers require two organizers to be present.”
Leon says he joined the homeless cause in 2012. “Our parents taught us that we could not imagine living a full spiritual life without first thinking of others,” he says. “Nowadays because of Covid-19, we bring food, gift cards and warmth to the homeless who are fortunately housed in hotels, motels, and temporary housing.”
“Aside from a profound sense of humility, one lesson my older siblings and I learned is that the homeless line in America is a very very fine one,” he says. The launch of the 1774 Sandwich Initiative was on MLK Day where the school officials and Leon coordinated a Zoom call where the Newark Academy students realized the first 967 sandwiches. They have since organized two more sandwichdrives, which resulted in 2,200 sandwiches in total. This has surpassed Leon’s expectation by 24 percent.
The project is ongoing, and the next target date is set for April 30, which is Newark Academy’s Annual Day of Giving.
Leon, who says he has many plans for the future of the drive, has started asking for the help of everyone around him, even from some celebrities. He has also set a new and more ambitious target of 17,740 sandwiches to be made by the end of his Senior year.
