CEO, Sam Solakyan, Sleeps on Los Angeles Streets for Good Cause

Sam Solakyan
Jul 20, 2017 · 3 min read

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. Sam 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.”

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.”

Original Posted http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ceo-sam-solakyan-sleeps-on-los-angeles-streets-for-good-cause-241259771.html

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