Volunteers gather to sleep outdoors and raise $57K for food bank, homeless awareness
Randy Slaughter, of Glendale, puts “better” cardboard on his sleeping space at the Rose Bowl for the Salvation Army’s Homeless Sleep Out Los Angeles on Thursday, June 30, 2016.
The Rose Bowl has hosted many legendary college football matches over the years, but on Thursday it was the backdrop to recreate what living life on the streets could be like.
Glendale resident Randy Slaughter and about a dozen others gathered at the Pasadena venue to sleep outdoors, on the ground, all with the goal of raising funds for the Salvation Army.
“I have a new appreciation for cardboard,” Slaughter said, jokingly.
A flattened box was his mattress for the night, and a few pieces of toast and processed ham was his dinner.
The event was the first-ever Homeless Sleep Out, and it raised about $57,000 for the Salvation Army with some of the money going to the Glendale chapter to help pay for a new food bank.
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Randy Slaughter, of Glendale, tells a life story at the dinner table at the Rose Bowl for the Salvation Army’s Sleepout Los Angeles on Thursday, June 30, 2016. The “sleepout” is a fundraiser providing business leaders and community members an opportunity to personally experience homelessness. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)
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Using a new cardboard box, Randy Slaughter, of Glendale, slides it under his sleeping bag hoping it will be more comfortable than other cardboard he found at the Rose Bowl for the Salvation Army’s Sleepout Los Angeles on Thursday, June 30, 2016. The “sleepout” is a fundraiser providing business leaders and community members an opportunity to personally experience homelessness. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)
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John McRoskey, of Brentwood, and Randy Slaughter, of Glendale, look through a bin of cardboard looking for the best peices to make a bed at the Rose Bowl for the Salvation Army’s Sleepout Los Angeles on Thursday, June 30, 2016. The “sleepout” is a fundraiser providing business leaders and community members an opportunity to personally experience homelessness. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)
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With his first batch of cardboard placed, Randy Slaughter unfurls his sleeping bag and sets it for the night at the Rose Bowl for the Salvation Army’s Sleepout Los Angeles on Thursday, June 30, 2016. The “sleepout” is a fundraiser providing business leaders and community members an opportunity to personally experience homelessness. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)
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Participants with the Sleepout prepare their beds for the night in the lockerroom at the Rose Bowl for the Salvation Army’s Sleepout Los Angeles on Thursday, June 30, 2016. The “sleepout” is a fundraiser providing business leaders and community members an opportunity to personally experience homelessness. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)
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A news photographer from Channel 7 makes video of Randy Slaughter, of Glendale, as he prepares his sleeping area in the lockerroom at the Rose Bowl for the Salvation Army’s Sleepout Los Angeles on Thursday, June 30, 2016. The “sleepout” is a fundraiser providing business leaders and community members an opportunity to personally experience homelessness. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)
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Randy Slaughter, of Glendale, climbs stairs in the press box of the Rose Bowl during a tour for the Salvation Army’s Sleepout Los Angeles on Thursday, June 30, 2016. The “sleepout” is a fundraiser providing business leaders and community members an opportunity to personally experience homelessness. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)
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Randy Slaughter, of Glendale, takes in the view from the ground of the stadium at the Rose Bowl for the Salvation Army’s Sleepout Los Angeles on Thursday, June 30, 2016. The “sleepout” is a fundraiser providing business leaders and community members an opportunity to personally experience homelessness. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)
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Randy Slaughter, of Glendale, walks with other Sleepout voluneers on the 7th floor of the Rose Bowl for the Salvation Army’s Sleepout Los Angeles on Thursday, June 30, 2016. The “sleepout” is a fundraiser providing business leaders and community members an opportunity to personally experience homelessness. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)
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Randy Slaughter, of Glendale, as part of the tour, plays catch on the field at the Rose Bowl for the Salvation Army’s Sleepout Los Angeles on Thursday, June 30, 2016. The “sleepout” is a fundraiser providing business leaders and community members an opportunity to personally experience homelessness. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)
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Long Beach Salvation Army Captain Sergio Ramos unrolls a brand new sleeping bag in the lockerroom at the Rose Bowl for the Salvation Army’s Sleepout Los Angeles on Thursday, June 30, 2016. The “sleepout” is a fundraiser providing business leaders and community members an opportunity to personally experience homelessness. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)
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Southern California Salvation Army Colonel Kyle Smith uses his shoe as a tee and kicks a rugby ball on the field of the Rose Bowl for the Salvation Army’s Sleepout Los Angeles on Thursday, June 30, 2016. The “sleepout” is a fundraiser providing business leaders and community members an opportunity to personally experience homelessness. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)
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Volunteers and Sleepout participants pose for a group photo on the field of the Rose Bowl for the Salvation Army’s Sleepout Los Angeles on Thursday, June 30, 2016. The “sleepout” is a fundraiser providing business leaders and community members an opportunity to personally experience homelessness. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)
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Randy Slaughter, of Glendale, puts “better” cardboard on his sleeping space at the Rose Bowl for the Salvation Army’s Sleepout Los Angeles on Thursday, June 30, 2016. The “sleepout” is a fundraiser providing business leaders and community members an opportunity to personally experience homelessness. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)
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A curtain provides privacy for the women’s restroom at the Rose Bowl for the Salvation Army’s Sleepout Los Angeles on Thursday, June 30, 2016. The “sleepout” is a fundraiser providing business leaders and community members an opportunity to personally experience homelessness. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)
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Randy Slaughter, of Glendale, is asked to represent the group to thank Rose Bowl tour guide Perry McCoy for his informatative historic peak of the Rose Bowl for the Salvation Army’s Sleepout Los Angeles on Thursday, June 30, 2016. The “sleepout” is a fundraiser providing business leaders and community members an opportunity to personally experience homelessness. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)
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Randy Slaughter, of Glendale, makes a picture with his cell phone of his meal at the Rose Bowl for the Salvation Army’s Sleepout Los Angeles on Thursday, June 30, 2016. The “sleepout” is a fundraiser providing business leaders and community members an opportunity to personally experience homelessness. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)
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Randy Slaughter, of Glendale, looks into his sack lunch, a meal that is the same as meals given to homeless at shelters, at the Rose Bowl for the Salvation Army’s Sleepout Los Angeles on Thursday, June 30, 2016. The “sleepout” is a fundraiser providing business leaders and community members an opportunity to personally experience homelessness. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)
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Randy Slaughter, of Glendale, right, sits down with his friend John McRoskey, of Brentwood, for dinner at the Rose Bowl for the Salvation Army’s Sleepout Los Angeles on Thursday, June 30, 2016. The “sleepout” is a fundraiser providing business leaders and community members an opportunity to personally experience homelessness. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)
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John McRoskey, of Brentwood, and Randy Slaughter, of Glendale, get to know each other at the Rose Bowl for the Salvation Army’s Sleepout Los Angeles on Thursday, June 30, 2016. The “sleepout” is a fundraiser providing business leaders and community members an opportunity to personally experience homelessness. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)
Currently, the Glendale chapter feeds anywhere between 700 to 1,000 people a month with prepackaged meals.
Now, the local branch of the nonprofit wants to switch to a “people’s choice market,” where needy individuals and families can choose their own food items.
Slaughter, who serves on the Glendale Salvation Army’s advisory board, said letting people pick out what they need will waste less food and have additional benefits.
“We’re trying to make it more efficient and also a better way to source food out to the needy,” he said.
The experience may have left him with a sore back, but it also left him with one thing on his mind: his wife, six children and 13 grandchildren.
“I’m just grateful for what I have,” he said. “I told myself I was going to wake up and tell them how grateful I am.”
Volunteers and Sleepout participants pose for a group photo on the field of the Rose Bowl for the Salvation Army’s Homeless Sleep Out.
(Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)
Jessica Sneed, who runs the Glendale Salvation Army with her husband Joshua, said her branch wants to transition to the new food bank system by the end of fall.
She added to Slaughter’s remarks about the importance of letting people choose what to eat.
“It kind of strips a person of their dignity when they’re given preselected bags of food and it doesn’t take into [account] what kind of cereal their kids might like or something as important as dietary restrictions and religious restrictions,” Jessica Sneed said.
This week’s fundraiser will go toward buying new refrigerators and to cover some remodeling to accommodate the display nature of the new market, she said.
As for Slaughter, he said being homeless for a night has galvanized him even more to continue volunteering.
“I’m charged up, fired up,” he said. “I want to do more.”
Those wanting to donate to the new food bank program may drop off donations at 320 W. Windsor Road Glendale.
Arin Mikailian was a city hall reporter for the Glendale News-Press. Aside from covering issues like development and the local impact of the drought, he also wrote about business and features. A Glendale native, he graduated from the University of Southern California.
