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Yr 7 Inquiry Project 2024

The Sandwich Man

5. The Sandwich Man

 How can our charitable actions both help and inspire others?

INTRODUCTION

This is the story of Allan Law, the Sandwich Man of Minneapolis. This former middle school teacher first discovered the homelessness in the inner city schools, and it became a large concern for him. He wondered what he could do to help the homeless in his area, who often went days without food during the winter. So he packed a row of freezers into his apartment, and began making sandwiches. It was the beginning of great things. 

Allan drives the streets of Minneapolis each evening, delivering sandwiches and other necessities to those living on the city’s streets. He sleeps roughly two hours a night, and always in the back of his van. “I haven’t slept in a bed in 13 years,” Allan states. “This is what I have to do, for the rest of my life.”

Now heading a fully-staffed and growing volunteer organization called The Sandwich Project, Allan receives donations from schools, churches, businesses, and the general public. Through his organization, he routinely delivers hundreds of thousands of sandwiches, blankets, socks, and mittens to the homeless in his city every year.

REFLECTIVE QUESTIONS

  1. How does Allan Law and the work he’s doing set an example for others?
  2. Why do you think so many people have stepped forward to help him in his cause?
  3. What are some other ways we can help those less fortunate than us?
  4. How would you go about beginning a delivery organization of your own in your city?
  5. Do you believe that what Allan is doing is truly making a difference? Why or why not?

RESOURCES

Suggested websites

Worldbook article

 

Search the Shortis Library for digital resources & videos

References on this page:

Humankind. (2015, July 15). 700,000 sandwiches later, this man is still helping the homeless. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCWy59bgsHg

The Sandwich Project Minnesota. (2022). https://thesandwichprojectmn.org/

Smith, K. (2018, April 14). Sandwich man grows mission to feed Minneapolis homeless, aiming for 1 million sandwiches this year. StarTribune. https://www.startribune.com/sandwich-man-grows-mission-to-feed-minneapolis-homeless-aiming-for-1-million-sandwiches-this-year/479729633/

Paul, M. (2022, May 15). Shortages in crisis housing leaving hundreds of homeless youths in Melbourne's outer south with nowhere to go. ABC News. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-05-15/frankston-rental-emergency-housing-crisis/101066436

Orange Sky Australia. (2022). What we do. https://orangesky.org.au/what-we-do/

Orange Sky Australia. (2018, May). OSA kind of day. [Video]. Vimeo. https://orangesky.org.au/how-it-works

Allard, S.W. (2024). Homelessness. In World Book Student. https://www.worldbookonline.com/student-new/#/article/home/ar260570

Self-Evaluation - Microsoft Form

https://forms.office.com/r/e5KyGqvw8T

 

Reflection - Microsoft Form

https://forms.microsoft.com/r/ukgAnMg8f7