This is what Miles Robert Aronson, a Bachelor of Health Sciences student in his final year, says about Spread the Love–a non-profit organization he founded in 2002 when he was only 15-years-old. The organization makes sandwiches for individuals struggling with food insecurity−those who live not knowing when or where they’ll have their next meal. With locations in Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec, at high schools and on post-secondary campuses, Spread the Love has made over 70,000 sandwiches that have been distributed to the hungry. The classics, cold cut and lettuce and cheese, are the sandwiches of choice–the simplest way to cover all the food groups in a manageable way.
Aronson says Spread the Love is essentially a volunteer franchise so opening up new locations is a matter of encouraging young people to set up their own chapter. At universities they’re called clubs. UCalgary has a Spread the Love Club with over 500 volunteers and an office at MacEwan Hall.
Each individual chapter is responsible for the recruitment of its own volunteers, fundraising and giving the sandwiches to front-line organizations for distribution. In Calgary, the Mustard Seed and the Alex Centre are just a few of the locations they have supported. There is no set guideline as to how often fundraising and sandwich making events must take place–it’s all up to each individual chapter.
“One of our strongest high schools in Calgary runs one sandwich making event practically every month throughout the year. UCalgary’s club usually holds one massive event every semester so there’s a lot of variance between chapters which is great.”
While volunteers not only get to be a part of a respectable humanitarian effort that makes a difference in the lives of others, the organization also provides tremendous learning opportunities for those involved. Aronson and other key members of Spread the Love provide new chapters with some start up ideas and offer basic mentorship; however, fundraising, volunteer recruiting, administration and all other aspects of managing a charity is their own responsibility.
“Young people have to learn to fundraise–that’s a key aspect to any social or humanitarian effort,” says Aronson. “They’re learning to mobilize community support to be self-sustainable.”
Aronson says fundraising is essentially what keeps the charity alive, and sponsorship has also had a huge impact.
“We have a variety of sponsors and past donors that provide a central aspect of support−every organization needs that,” he says, mentioning that donations have come in the forms of both cash and sandwich supplies.
As for future plans for the organization, Aronson is looking ahead to the day when they’re no longer needed.
“We want to run ourselves out of operation one day like responsible charities do− or eventually have to decrease our output in the future. In the interim, we’re trying to grow as much as possible to meet the current demand.”