On the third floor of Mandeville Hall, room 375 is converted into a sandwich-making operation.

Bread slices cover the table, which is surrounded by about 20 people from all over campus. The participants are divided into three groups: peanut butter spreaders, jelly smearers and those completing the job by putting the two halves together.

Students and faculty involved with the Business Information and Technology Society (BITS) are behind this operation, gathering people to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for homeless people every other Friday throughout the school year.

“It’s a very easy way to see and feel like what you’re doing with your time is making an impact,” said BITS president Claudia Deegan ’18.

BITS is a group on campus which invites alumni to speak to business students about job opportunities. The club’s advisor, Kathleen Campbell Garwood, Ph.D., professor in the business and analytics department, explained it was harder for first and second-year students to identify with these alumni because some business majors don’t take their major classes until junior or senior year. The sandwich-making service opportunity opened a door to expose the group to something beyond job opportunities.

During the group’s most recent event on Feb. 9, participants made about 200 sandwiches, which is a typical number for the bi-monthly event.

Sandwiches are delivered through the volunteer food service group FoodConnect, which picks up the sandwiches and distributes them to various shelters around Philadelphia.

The sandwich fixings come from donations, which are placed in boxes around campus. Campbell Garwood said the group is still running off the first batch of donations. In fact, Campbell Garwood said her office is filled with about 80 jars of peanut butter.

The group has connections with students and faculty all across campus, so if supplies are low they rely on many people to donate.

Deegan said this service event is more laid back than many other service opportunities on campus, and a key feature is that a variety of people are invited to participate. A range of business majors, faculty, graduate students and international students have taken part this year.

Nancy Komada, Ph.D., senior director for the Office of Adult Student Life, helps at each event and said  these service events are great for “getting to know other people on the university’s campus and being able to help the homeless.”