WSSU fraternity to host the 27th annual Sleep-Out for the Homeless Campaign

Members of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Incorporated along with Winston-Salem State University (WSSU) students will brave the elements on Friday, Nov. 17, to shed light on the issue of homelessness in the community.

WSSU’s Delta Alpha Chapter of Phi Beta Sigma will sponsor their 27th annual Sleep-Out for the Homeless Campaign on WSSU’s campus near the clocktower beginning at 6 p.m. on Friday and concluding at 6 a.m. on Saturday. During the 12-hour event, donations of clothing items, non-perishable food, school supplies and monetary donations will be collected. These items will be 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 introduced this program to the WSSU campus in 1996 as part of its Social Action Program. For the last 26 years, on the Friday before Thanksgiving, fraternity members have slept in cardboard boxes, sleeping bags and tents to raise awareness about the issue of homelessness.

Last year, the fraternity donated $1,500 to Samaritan Ministries for its annual penny campaign, 918 pounds of non-perishable food items were donated to Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest NC, four boxes and three bags of clothing were donated to the Winston-Salem Rescue Mission, and Project HOPE of WS/FC Schools received 26 backpacks and school supply bundles for middle to high school students.

Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. was founded on January 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.”