Mineola Students Donate to Soup Kitchen For 9/11 Remembrance

With a group of about 100 Mineola high school students, Nancy Regan and Eileen Burke spearheaded a community-service project Monday afternoon to make 500 cheese sandwiches to feed the homeless.

Dubbed "Sandwich Inn Some Time For Others", the school is donating the sandwiches to the Interfaith Nutrition Network, or INN, in Hempstead.

Together, Regan and Burke co-head the Falk-Sysak Student Service Center at Mineola High School. Eight years ago, the two organized an event that would be a "day of service for the memory of 9/11 victims," Regan said.

Originally approached by Tuesday's Children, a group that helps children who lost their parents in the 9/11 attacks, Regan and Burke stuck with the idea after receiving a positive reaction from the community. The center has tackled various projects over the years, including planting trees and flowers, clean-ups, and collecting school supplies for needy students. Last year, however, Burke and Regan decided on donating sandwiches to the soup kitchen.

The event is a "way of remembering in a positive way," Burke said. Maureen Connolly, an English teacher at the high school, said that the event is "a simple, positive way to give to others" that still need help.

Connolly worked on making sandwiches with one of her former students, sophomore Pedro Miranda. For him, the gesture felt "good because [he] knew [he] was doing something."

"It's about helping," Miranda said.

While the faculty understood the importance of what they were doing, the students were also proud of what they accomplished. Fellow sophomore Delores Chichi said that the sandwich making "says we appreciate what we have and are willing to help others." She added that it "felt good" to give back, especially in honor of 9/11.

Sitting in groups in the school cafeteria, the students worked almost like an assembly line, slapping pieces of cheese between two slices of bread, then wrapping the sandwich inside a plastic bag.

Senior Freddy Muller worked with a teammate on his soccer team to package the sandwiches before they left for practice. Speaking while he cut the sandwiches in half, Muller said it "feels good to help out others."

Burke quickly collected the multiple steel trays full of sandwiches, saying she would be delivering them right away, as they would be served for dinner on Monday night.