Sandwich Making for a Cause

On Saturday, May 1^st, while many students were enjoying the start of the weekend, several Ron Clark Academy students volunteered to be at school to participate in a special community service project.  In partnership with Kilpatrick Stockton LLP, one of Atlanta’s premiere law firms, RCA hosted a sandwich making contest.  But the project, which was fun (and not to mention a bit messy) was not just for bragging rights. Instead, it was to help serve Atlanta’s homeless community. 

Students from all grade levels 5^th through 8^th participated in the fun, alongside their Kilpatrick Stockton volunteers.  There were a total of four teams and each one was charged with making as many peanut butter and jelly sandwiches as possible.  Several rounds were held, including making sandwiches blindfolded, making sandwiches in complete silence and one round even simulated a corporate lay-off in which one member of the team was asked to leave the production line.

After making 1,067 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, students then delivered them to Crossroads Community Ministries – located in downtown Atlanta, providing meals for thousands of Atlanta’s homeless men, women, and children.

Kilpatrick Stockton, which provides pro bono legal counsel for the Academy, is very committed to community service.  So when Whitney Munn, who works within the firm’s Social Responsibility area, suggested the idea, RCA was up for the challenge.  Also committed to community service and getting its students civically engaged, RCA wants its students to understand that to whom much is given, much is expected.  “We want our students to understand that they have been given a lot,” said Staci Lynch, Director of External Affairs at RCA.   “So in turn, they need to be willing to give back in return.”