Minneapolis Man Spends Nights Handing Out Thousands Of Sandwiches To Homeless
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- More than two million people know about a certain Minneapolis man and what he does all night, every night.
A short, online documentary about Allan Law and his one man charity, Minneapolis Recreation Development, has gone viral. The mission statement printed on the side of his minivan is "Love One Another," and he's been giving out sandwiches on the streets overnight for years.
WCCO found out there's even more to his story.
It's especially quiet on the dawn of Christmas Eve. Law is delivering about 300 coats to the back entrance of a Salvation Army shelter.
"They're all clean. They have to be clean," he says while unloading.
Leroy works security for the Salvation Army, and he's very familiar with Law.
"He helps us out a lot," Leroy said.
And he helps those on the streets out too. At 5:30 am on Christmas Eve, he was inside the Salvation Army's Harbor Light center.
"Man, he works so hard," one man in the shelter said of Law.
This time, it's free socks, free bus tokens and even free jokes.
Major Jeff Strickler is with the Harbor Light Center. He says Law is faithful.
"He really thinks ahead of the needs of people. He's very familiar with the homeless population," Strickler said. "I think in many ways he sometimes helps people stay alive in the cold."
Law asked WCCO to emphasize one thing – that this is not a holiday mission. It's mission for every single night of the year. He delivers hundreds of sandwiches a night, along with clothes and token after token. He never skips a night -- not even Christmas.
At this point in the story, you may be wondering when Law sleeps, but there's not really an answer.
"You never know," he said. "Last night I slept 20 minutes someplace."
Law sleeps when he can in his car throughout the night. In fact, the only nights he's slept in a bed since 1999 were after his cancer surgery -- a cancer that came back this year.
"I had radiation this summer and I still spent the night on the street," Law said.
The retired teacher now works 20 hours a day. You may be wondering, as we were, why he cares so deeply. He was silent for a moment after we asked, and teared up.
"I just do," he finally said.
That's OK -- actions speak louder than words.
Law says every penny of his charity goes to helping people -- no salaries. He says he could always use some help with socks and gloves, coats, and especially bus tokens.
To find out more about his work, or to donate to the cause, check out his website.