Last week, Mercer Islander Geri Alhadeff and 10 friends made and delivered 180 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to the homeless in Seattle.

“After watching a segment on Dateline a couple of weeks ago about a fifth grade class that made 3,000 sandwiches and gave them out to the homeless, I thought it would be a great idea for myself and my friends to do,” Alhadeff explained.

All of the peanut butter, jam, bread and baggies were donated by both the South and North end Mercer Island QFCs, she noted. “There was no hesitation to give a $50 gift card to me by each of the stores,” she said.

The group got together, made the sandwiches, then broke up into three groups to distribute them. One group went down to Pike Place Market, another group went to the park near the Courthouse and the other group went to Pioneer Square.

“All of the people were so appreciative. It was great to be able to make a difference in someone’s life just by making a simple sandwich,” Alhadeff said. “The effort was so successful — the group plans on doing it again.”

With Alhadeff, the group included Pearl Grohe, Bellevue; Linda Goodman, Bellevue; Rosa Mezistrano, Mercer Island; Pam Gordon, Bellevue; Marianne Benveniste, Issaquah; Jeanie Benaroya, Kirkland; Jackie DeLeon, Bellevue; Joyce Agoado, Bellevue; Theresa Lieberman, Bellevue; and Shelley Funk, Bellevue.