On Friday, January 17, every student in the Potomac community participated in making sandwiches for Martha’s Table and Cornerstones. Getting ready for the long weekend, the whole school worked together to prepare more than 4,100 sandwiches in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Originating 35 years ago, Sandwich Day has been a longstanding tradition and an integral part of the service learning program at Potomac. However, this is the first time that the entire school community has participated all at once.

This special event highlights the service that MLK Day inspires. Combating food insecurity fits into one of the pillars of service learning here at Potomac, which is why Potomac consistently partners with Martha’s Table. Through Martha’s Table’s work, sandwiches are distributed on Mckenna’s Wagon, and a truck brings sandwiches to the customers free of charge. Similarly, Cornerstones is another organization that provides for those facing food insecurity. 

Although the sheer number of sandwiches made last Friday was a very impressive feat, there was also something special about the meaning of the entire school’s participation. A new and unique aspect of this sandwich day was that seniors went to the Lower School to work with Kindergarteners in the process of making sandwiches. Although other grades were split up, partnering created a greater sense of community. Tami Aje ’25, who participated in this collaboration, said, “It was meaningful to work with them because they were very sweet and very motivated. They were very invested in making the sandwiches!”  The impact of this event was not only helping the greater community, but bringing together the Potomac community. 

All of this connects to Dr. King’s legacy, preparing students for the MLK assembly leading into the long weekend. As reminded at the assembly, Dr. King’s legacy teaches us the importance of service to the community. The quote “Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve” was repeated multiple times during the assembly as a reminder of how meaningful service is. Through the school coming together to serve the greater DC area, we strive to follow King’s words and bring personal reflection about his legacy into our long weekend. Although sandwich-making may seem simple, Dr. King’s idea that service makes a difference and makes people great shows us that even small acts have a significant impact.