WS Chronicle

Members of the Delta Alpha chapter of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Incorporated, located on the campus of Winston-Salem State University (WSSU), just concluded their 28th annual Homeless Awareness Week (HAW) last week.

The HAW (Nov. 18-22) was designed to educate the students at Winston-Salem State University, draw attention to the problems of poverty, and build up the base of volunteers and supporters for local anti-poverty agencies.  Activities held throughout the week began with a Homeless Awareness Week Kickoff in the Thompson Student Center breezeway (11/18), a Candlelight Vigil (11/19), the Pursuit of Happiness movie night showing (11/21), the 28th annual Sleep Out for the Homeless (11/22) and culminated with a Community Outreach Project at the Cumberland Courts Park in Greensboro.

The Sleep Out for the Homeless was held on WSSU’s campus near the clock tower beginning at 6 p.m. on Friday evening and concluded at 6 a.m. on Saturday morning. During the 12-hour event, donations of clothing items, non-perishable food, school supplies, and monetary donations were collected. These items were donated to organizations, such as the Winston-Salem Rescue Mission, the Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest North Carolina, Project HOPE of the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools, and the Samaritan Ministries. 

Phi Beta Sigma (Delta Alpha chapter) introduced this program to the WSSU campus in 1996 as part of its social action program in recognizing National Hunger & Homelessness Week the week before the Thanksgiving holiday.  For the last 28 years, on the Friday before Thanksgiving, fraternity members have slept in cardboard boxes, sleeping bags, tents, etc. to raise awareness about the issue of homelessness.

This year the fraternity will be donating $1,000 to Samaritan Ministries for its annual penny campaign (which provides 324 meals or 18 nights of shelter), 200 lbs. of non-perishable food items were donated to Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest NC, 14 boxes of clothing and two boxes of shoes were donated to the Winston-Salem Rescue Mission, and Project HOPE of WS/FC Schools received donations of personal hygiene and toiletry items.

Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. was founded on Jan. 9, 1914, by three young African American male students. The founders, Honorable A. Langston Taylor, Honorable Leonard F. Morse, and Honorable Charles I. Brown, wanted to organize a Greek letter fraternity that would truly exemplify the ideals of brotherhood, scholarship, and service.  From its inception, the founders also conceived Phi Beta Sigma as a mechanism to deliver services to the general community. This deep conviction was mirrored in the Fraternity’s motto, “Culture for Service and Service for Humanity.”