21 Jan, 2014
CEOs Spend a Night on Los Angeles Streets To See How It Feels to be Poor
LOS ANGELES, Jan. 21, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — On November 21, 2013, Global Holdings CEO, Sam Solakyan, joined business leaders across North America for the Annual Covenant House Sleep Out. The Sleep Out was a nationwide event orchestrated by Covenant House, where for one night CEOs and prominent businessmen and women left behind the comforts of their home to sleep in cardboard boxes and sleeping bags in order to raise awareness and money for the homeless youth in America.
Solakyan and the participating executives spent a cold, drizzly night on the hard ground, experiencing firsthand what it is like for thousands of homeless youth who lay their heads on the Los Angeles concrete every night.
“It was cold and rainy, yes, and that was uncomfortable. But what surprised me the most was the noise. It was unsettling to say the least,” Sam Solakyan shares. “Night after night that noise would be a constant reminder to a child of how vulnerable he or she really is. Living in a state of fear and uncertainty is terrible for anyone, but for someone at an impressionable age like these kids, it is all the more worse.”
Since 2011, Covenant Houses across America have organized a night for the nation’s business leaders to show their solidarity and support for ending youth homelessness. Each successive year has garnered more participants and contributors with even greater success.
“These kids don’t get to go home at the end of the night,” said Solakyan. “The cold, the noise and the discomfort… that is their reality every day. No child should have to live like that.” Each executive who took part in the Sleep Out set individual fundraising objectives which were then generously supported by other members of the community in leading up to the big event. Last year the Sleep Out raised over $3 million.
This year, Los Angeles chapter alone raised $375,000.00, while nationwide Covenant House reached an astounding $4 million, all in the name of making a difference in the lives of homeless youth across our country. “I think what Covenant House is doing is crucial in the fight to save these kids,” Solakyan said. “There comes a point when talk must give way to action if we ever hope to make a difference. Not only does the Sleep Out start a coast-to-coast dialogue, it is a very effective way to take an active involvement in what this organization does.”
Covenant House was founded 40 years ago with one simple mission: to help young people. It began, as so many things do, as an idea — that together two men, with the power of a community, could do more. In the late 1960’s Father Ritter left his secure tenured position at Manhattan College and with his colleague, Father James Fitzgibbon, moved into a rundown tenement building in the East Village of New York City. Armed with nothing more than a few friends, neighbors, and former students, they began an effort that would one day change the nation.
Since that time, Covenant House has become a beacon for the at-risk youth of America. Now, with campuses in twenty-two cities across the United States, Canada and Latin American, these houses are not only a place to find safety and shelter, they are a place to find hope. Within the sanctuary of the Covenant House walls, kids are free from any abuse they may have suffered on the street. At Covenant they are able receive medical attention that is so often needed, along with a hot meal and a safe place to lay their heads.
“I never wonder where I’m going to sleep at night,” Solakyan said. “I know when I leave the office that I have a safe place to go. With the work Covenant House is doing, these kids have a place to go home to, and that’s a wonderful thing.” On a daily basis, the dedicated men and women of Covenant House venture into the most dangerous neighborhoods in their respective cities to reach out to young people in need and offer immediate assistance.
The organization’s goals do not stop with getting youth off the streets — they are committed to helping these young people seize all the opportunities they can so that they may successfully transition into independent living. Sam, who has recently taken a position on the Board of Directors for Covenant House California, stated, “It is a pleasure to be a part of this extraordinary group that makes such an immediate impact on the lives of these kids.”
The Sleep Out took place outside Covenant Houses across the United States — from Anchorage, Alaska to New York City. The Los Angeles event included such instrumental participants as: Paul Hanneman (Co-President of 20th Century Fox), Liza Pano (Senior VP of Worldwide Distribution Services at Paramount Pictures), and David Angelo (CEO of the advertising firm David & Goliath).
For more information, visit the CHC website.
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