Campus & Community

Social Workers United Donation Drive to Benefit We Rise Above The Streets

Wednesday, February 5, 2025, By Matt Michael

“If it was not for you Al-amin Muhammad I would not be alive and I would have not been in my own apartment for a year and three months.”

– Social media post from a client to We Rise Above The Streets founder Al-amin Muhammad

We Rise Above The Streets Inc. is a Syracuse-based, non-profit organization that “delivers high energy messages that encourage people to live up to their full potential by breaking the cycle of homelessness and criminality,” according to its website.

In their ongoing efforts to provide essential resources to those in need in the Syracuse community, students from Social Workers United (SWU) selected We Rise Above The Streets as the beneficiary of their annual donation drive that runs through March 10. SWU is comprised of students from the School of Social Work in the Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics, and they’re “dedicated to fostering service projects aligned with the students’ passions,” says SWU member and graduate student Mary Claytor, a graduate assistant in the School of Social Work.

Here are the details on how you can support individuals experiencing homelessness and food insecurity through We Rise Above The Streets:

Needed Items (all items must be new):  Food (canned food, granola bars, chips, snacks, water bottles, brown bags, sandwich bags); hygiene products (soap, body wash, toothbrushes, shampoo, conditioner, tampons, pads, lotions, brushes, combs, ChapStick, bandages, face wash, face lotion, baby oil, diapers); and winter essentials (hand and foot warmers, hats, gloves, socks, jackets, scarves, earmuffs, and more for men, women, and children).

Drop-off Locations: School of Social Work Suite 244 (second floor of White Hall) and donation boxes outside of each department in Falk College. Items can be dropped off through March 10.

Online Donations: For those unable to drop off donations in person or prefer to shop online, items can be purchased directly through SWU’s Amazon Wishlist.

Faculty and staff advisors Jennifer Genovese, Nadaya Brantley, and Kristin Esposito advise and support SWU students as they develop service projects, but the students lead the projects.

“The students of Social Workers United continue to exemplify the core values of social work: service, social justice, human dignity, the importance of relationships, integrity and competence,” says Genovese, social work associate teaching professor and Master of Social Work Program director. “These key values drive all social workers and can be seen in action in the students of Social Workers United.”

For more information about the donation drive, please contact the School of Social Work at 315-443-5550 during regular business hours or Genovese at jgenoves@syr.edu.

U.S. News and World Report ranked the Syracuse University School of Social Work among the “Best Schools of Social Work” in the country. To learn more about the School of Social Work’s academic programs, experiential learning, and career opportunities, visit the Falk College website.