Hey guys Matt major with good news York. We are
back again with another incredible episode We
have been jam -packed with all kinds of crazy
things the last couple of weeks if you saw any
of our episodes last week, you might have seen
that we were at the brand new Taco Bell Cantina
in Manlius and Spoiler alert. We're going back
for the actual grand opening. So keep an eye
out for even more taco content coming up soon,
because it's the most exciting thing happening
around town here, at least this week. We've got
all kinds of other incredible things. Mike's
got some great interviews lined up, but he's
been doing such a great job that I figured I'd
let him take the morning off here and do one
myself. Joining me is a gentleman that we almost
got our start in the same spot temporarily. in
a cool little space in downtown Syracuse. But
let's jump to it, man. Go ahead and introduce
yourself. Tell folks what you do. Yeah, sure.
First and foremost, I just want to say thank
you so much for having me here. Absolutely. We
appreciate this. My name is Alame Muhammad. I'm
the executive director of We Rise Above the Streets
Recovery Outreach. We Rise Above the Streets
Recovery Outreach is a nonprofit organization
that goes out and feed the homeless and food
and take care of family. Wow. That's incredible.
We've been hearing a lot, obviously, lately about
folks who are hungry and in need of all kinds
of things. So, obviously, it's applicable, but
I think we should back up a little bit because
this isn't a new thing. You're not jumping in
because of this current crisis, right? You've
been in this work for quite a while, right? Yes,
10 years now. Wow. As a matter of fact, our anniversary
was two weeks ago. Wow. And we had it at Samuel
Saturday. This is an event that we host every
Saturday, every Saturday of the whole year. and
we had a lot of people there came and congratulated
us and gave a lot of gifts as well. We Rise above
the Street has been running since 2014, the city
of Syracuse. And since I've been in the city
of Syracuse, we've served a lot of people. We've
been passed out at least 50 ,000 sack lunches,
90 ,000 men, women, and children, hats, gloves,
and coats as well. Wow. Yes. What? What brought
you here? How'd you get inspired to even do this
sort of work? Yeah, sure, sure. So I was born
and raised in Chicago, Illinois. My parents from
Haiti, died in Haiti. So they came to America
back in the 70s, and they moved to Chicago, and
they had me, the first son, and they had my two
sisters as well. So my parents was a great, great,
great parent. All they do was want to work. They
used to teach us to work hard, to always be kind.
and go to school and pursue your education. So
my father, he was a strong, strong, strong man.
He used to take me like, I like basketball. He
took me to a lot of basketball games. I used
to go fishing with him, and he used to teach
me the tradition of his country, and taught me
the languages and everything else. My mom was
like more comfort with me, you know, always sticking
up for me, and always cooking for me, and teach
me how to cook as well, because she always tell
me that one day. You might not have no woman
with you, so I'm going to teach you how to cook
and clean and everything else. That's fair. So
it was a moment I noticed my parents was having
a like, difficult in their marriage. And I saw
a lot of abuse in my household as well, and they
got divorced. So what happened as I got older,
I was so used to both love for both parents.
And I'm going to highlight that because that's
something that's very important that everybody
need to hear because that's what's going on as
we're speaking today with the youth in our community.
So when they got divorced, my mom fled and left.
And we moved to the North Side of Chicago. All
this is placed in Chicago. So as we was in the
North Side of Chicago, it felt kind of weird,
strange, sad at once. Because I was so used to
my father's love and my mother's love, not just
one love. Sure. So what would happen, I was going
to school. As I got older, I was going to school,
going to high school. And I was searching for
that same love. I was very, very desperate trying
to find that love. And I actually found it. And
I found it in a gang. And that's when I joined
one of the biggest gangs in the city of Chicago,
the Gangster Disciples. Wow. What? So... Clearly,
you're not in Chicago, and I'm guessing you're
not a member of the gang anymore. How did that
come? Obviously, you found a home in that, which
I think is a common story. I think it's probably
why a lot of those gangs exist, right? Yes. A
very similar story. But typically, you hear you
don't get out of those things. How did you do
that? So as I got older, and I was part of the
Gangster Disciple, I started putting a mask on.
I started being someone that I wasn't. I lost
my identity. And I started selling drugs, going
in and out of jail. And as I was going to jail,
getting out, I felt I was getting more powerful.
And I ended up becoming one of the biggest leaders
in the city of Chicago. I can speak about that
now because all the cases has been thrown away.
So I was one of the biggest gang leaders in Chicago.
I sold a lot of bricks of cocaine. you know,
had millions and millions and thousands of dollars
and dollars in the city of Chicago. Wow. And
a lot of harmful words was coming towards me
because when you're in the gang, you're a leader.
A lot of people want to take your life, you know.
Sure. So as I got real, real strong and against
a disciple, I got shot the first time ever. And
I was in a coma for about two months. And as
I got out, Being shot and it's probably kind
of sounds strange, but it's gonna make sense
at the end of the story Yeah, I got more powerful
like, you know got more recognition everything
else. So um I was living in fear every day when
I got out and I started making a lot of money
and then there's one incident Happened again
at a night like I shot the second time but this
time I got shot like seven times Holy shit and
lived through that as well That's incredible.
Yes Is that, after that situation, is that what
made you decide maybe this isn't the way to go?
Is that what made you turn the page? So I got
caught up, and I said I wanted to go to Atlanta.
Went to Atlanta, and I was going to change my
life, right? Because the last time I got locked
up in Chicago, it was like going on back in the
90s. and early 90s and probably 95, 96 when it
got all this Rick Colossal coming out there.
So I got out of jail and I told myself, I've
been blessed. So I had a second chance. So I
moved to Atlanta with a friend and my goal was
to go get a job, live a productive life and try
to like stay clean. But that didn't happen. So
when I got to Atlanta, Atlanta was like the lime
life. Started making money. A lot of people respected
people in Chicago, especially the gang I was
in. And guess what I did? I went right back and
sold drugs again. Wow. So this time was really
kind of horrifying because when it comes to the
South, in cities like New York and Chicago, the
laws are different. Sure. So when I started selling
drugs out there, when I started recruiting people
and everything else, I ended up getting locked
up, got caught with more bricks of cocaine, and
got incarcerated in DeKalb County in Atlanta,
Georgia. Wow. So at that moment right then, I
realized that I was sick and tired. It was a
moment, it took me like 30 something years to
be sick and tired. And I knew that I gave up.
I was like, man, I'm just tired. So when I was
locked up, I had a cellmate and he can't wake
me up because when I first got there I kept sleeping
and sleeping because I was not used to the system
in the South because it was gotten horrible.
It's different from cities because you got control
in city jails in the South, the guards. have
the control of the jail system. So when I was
locked up, I kept sleeping, sleeping, sleeping.
So my cellmate kept wondering if I was OK. And
I kept cussing him out telling him, leave me
alone. He was praying all the time, like praying
all the time. I was wondering what he was doing.
I was disrespecting him, telling him I don't
want to hear that, and everything else. So I
noticed something beautiful happen in the three
weeks I was in there. I noticed that the mask
was coming off my face slowly but surely. I started
finding out the gifts about me. I just realized
I got a good smile when I was in there. Because
in Chicago, you don't smile. Everybody's miserable
out there in Chicago. So I was looking at myself
in the mirror. I said, well, I got a beautiful
smile. Then I was working in a field. they was
planting a lot of flowers. Can you believe that
I was planting flowers? I teach people how to
grow flowers. That's wild. Yeah, you know what
I'm saying? You know, I'm a gangster teaching
people how to plant flowers. You know, so as
I was doing all that, I started finding a lot
of gifts about me. And I started reading, started
doing a lot of writing. And I forgot to mention
I was a ninth grade dropout, so I got my GED
in prison and started doing a lot of learning
about myself and getting into education and everything
else. So, as I started communicating with my
celly, he was so kind, you know, and very respectful
to me. And I was very respectful to him. And
he was telling me, he was telling me that, sorry
about that. He was telling me. It's falling.
Can you carry this in there? Yeah, yeah, you're
good. Okay, okay. So he was telling me. He was
telling me, Alameen, I see you be looking at
pictures every time mail come, you get pictures
coming in. And I was wondering, is that your
daughters? I said, yes, my daughters. I said,
why you ask? And he's like, I got something to
ask you. And there's no disrespecting. He was
like, what legacy would you leave if something
happened in your day? What legacy you would leave
for your kids? And that question really hit me
hard, because I knew I had no legacy. No legacy
at all. The only legacy I had was like committing
crimes. hurting people, doing wrong. So I was
getting interested in him and learned about him,
and I found out that he was a part of Islam.
He was Muslim. And I told myself that I want
to learn a little more about it, because for
a person like him to be so kind and so patient,
I want to know what made him like that. And I
ended up becoming Muslim in there. So when I
became Muslim, I found out that that peace finally
hit me. I finally knew the definition of peace.
And I knew my court date was coming up, and I
knew I was going to be faced like 20 plus years.
But you know what? To be honest with you, and
a lot of people can't say this, I was ready to
get them years, because I was at peace. Whatever
they gave me, I was just ready. So I went to
court that morning, and I ended up finding out
that my case got dropped. and they gave me 10
years probation, I walked out the door. Ended
up finding out, my lawyer told me that because
the apartment was not under my name, it was under
somebody else's name, and they got charged with
it. So I had a second, matter of fact, probably
25 chances now, my 35th chance to get out. So
when I got out, when I got out, so excited when
I got out, I'm about to get me a job this time,
serious, and I knew this was going to work because
Like I was telling you earlier, I found my identity,
who I was. So I got out, but it didn't happen
like that too quick. I became homeless. I became
chronic homeless, started eating out of garbage
cans, started sleeping on the park benches and
abandoned buildings. They wanted to go back in
the streets, trying to get services. It was hard
to get services. I had to go to the shelters
at a certain time. If I didn't make it at time,
I was going to sleep outside. So for 10 years,
it was like trying to get ID, trying to find
side jobs, trying to find food. trying to find
clothes constantly, constantly over the 10 years.
And then one day somebody told me about this
self -sufficient class, where they find you jobs
and housing, can get you clean and everything
else. So I went up there and signed up and there
was a guy named Mr. Santos. He was a caseworker
slash social worker. And he was telling me, keep
coming up there, because then a lot of homeless
people didn't have phones. So we had to come
up there and check out a name on the list. He
was on the top five on the list. you could come
in, into this program. So I kept coming, and
coming, and coming, and coming, and my name was
like 20, 19, it was going too slow. So one day,
I was on my way up there, I was waiting for the
bus, and some told me, and I'll be honest with
you man, I never shared this, it's my second
time sharing, I shared this in my book, that
night I was going to commit suicide, I was tired.
I was tired. I ain't done finding a weapon, right?
I knew what I was going to do and I was walking
to the location. And as I was walking to the
location, a car pulled up. A car pulled up right
in front of me. And guess who was in the car?
It was Mr. Santos. Really? So I was telling myself,
I was like, I'm in the big city of Atlanta, Georgia.
And I was going to end my life. And coincidentally,
I just ride up. and tell me, get in the car,
because my name was on top of that list. Wow.
So I got in the car with him. And it was kind
of funny, because years went by when I got myself
together. I told him, you know, I had a weapon
in the car. He's like, what? I was like, yeah,
you know, I got to tell him the whole story.
You know what I'm saying? So we went to the Self
-Sufficiency Program. And as we got in, he was
telling me, Alameed, I'm going to talk to you
Monday morning. And share with me, how can we
help you? and tell me, um, sharing your story,
and we can take it from there. But for right
now, it was Memorial Weekend, and this is why
Memorial Weekend is so important, uh, for this
organization, because we have the biggest cookout
in the Syracuse for the homeless and food insecure
family, downtown Syracuse. So, um, so I'm at
this shelter. I'm waiting until Monday morning.
I'm taking a shower, and I finally ate out of
a real plate, brother. You know, this is something
that we not, we don't have gratitude. We don't
pay attention to something like this. You know,
eating out of my hands, eating out of styrofoam
plates and paper plates. And I finally seen a
plate and I stared at the plate for like, for
like 10 seconds. Stared at the plate like for
10 seconds, right, smiling. It was like, it was
like a holiday. Somebody gave me a gift. I hold
the spoon and seeing the spark of the spoon and
the feeling of the spoon not touching something
plastic, not eating out of my hand, it was one
of the best moments of my life. Then I finally
slept in the bed, but it was kind of difficult.
for me to sleep in the bed, because it's something
that a lot of homeless people go through when
they overcome homelessness, when they sleep on
the ground. So me sleeping on the ground, so
that long, I was in fear to sleep in the bed.
So it was another young lady who was working
at the center. She kept guiding me to my bed
every night to make sure I was okay. So Monday
morning here, I go to Mrs. Santos' office. And
Mrs. Santos told me to have a seat. And I shared
my story with Mrs. Santos. Like I shared my story
to you, my beautiful brother, and everybody that's
watching. Mr. Santos looked at me, and he was
like, Alameen, what you just shared to me was
very horrifying. And I'm so sorry you had to
go do this. And one day, you're going to help
a lot of people. Never let no one tell you you
can't cheat enough in their life. I see greatness
in you. And one day, you're going to share your
story, and you're going to help a lot of people
around this world. So he came a little closer
to me. And nobody had ever embraced me like that,
because I left my father years ago. He came a
little closer to me, he hugged me, kissed me
in my cheek, and told me three words. And it's
the three words that we need to hear right now
at this moment what this world is going through.
And people take these three words kind of lightly.
And these three words change a young man who
been through gang violence, who been in and out
of prison, saw horrified things, who sold drugs,
lived a gang life. Right? Fat lonely, about to
commit suicide. And this man said three words
that changed my life. You know what three words
was? I love you. I love you. I love you. And
gave me a hug. That's awesome. And I lift out
that door, and that's what I did. I'm gonna strive
for great. Wow. That's incredible. We don't need
no tissue, dude. At least there's onions, something.
I don't know what's happening here. That's crazy.
Let me ask you this, and maybe it's not as dramatic.
I don't know, but you're down in Atlanta. Now
you're here in Syracuse with this awesome organization.
How'd you find your way up north here? Yeah,
sure. So as I was at the Self -Sufficient Program,
Ms. Santos, she was my mentor. So I got my addiction
counselor. I went back to school, went to Emory
College. I got my associate degree. And I started
meeting community leaders. Ed Lauren, if anybody
get a chance, you can Google open door community.
He used to be in Atlanta. He had Baltimore. He
was one of the biggest activists in the city
of Atlanta. He marched for Martin Luther King
and everything else. But he was not an African
American. He was white, but he was so strong
about fighting for... hunger and everything else.
Him and his wife. And his wife just passed away.
That's what my book is dedicated to her because
they both had a mentor in me. So I started meeting
a lot of powerful people and Lauren taught me
how to run a nonprofit and everything else. So
one day I was on Facebook and I met a young lady
on Facebook and then we hit it off and then we
was going to meet up. She said she's staying
in Syracuse. I was like, what is that? That's
a high school. That's a college. I was like,
come on Anthony. She said no, I was asking you
to see it. I was like, you know come from Chicago.
I'm like, Syracuse is a city? That's how it go.
I'm looking at the computer. I was like, well,
I didn't even know it was a city. I think it
was Carmel Anthony, Syracuse University. So I
went down here, flew to Syracuse, met her. We
kicked it off, and we got married. But sadly,
we're divorced now, but we're good friends. So
while we was married, she knew my dreams. She
knew everything I'd been through. She knew my
goals. And I had a lot of connections in Atlanta
and Chicago. to start my nonprofit. I started
getting a lot of contracts, a lot of grocery
stores, and a lot of businesses in Atlanta, you
know, to donate to my organization. So we made
a deal. She went to St. Joseph to become a nurse.
And she's like, when I graduate, we gonna move
back to Atlanta so you can pursue your dream.
I said, okay, no problem. I'm just going to chill
and relax here in Syracuse and just wait on you.
So one day I was driving her to drop off the
work and I was listening to NPR. I heard Syracuse
is one of the poorest cities in the U .S., number
three. And I was kind of confused with that.
I'm like, this small city? It's past Chicago?
I said, nah, I can't believe that. So I called
NPR and I'm having a conversation with them.
And he's like, yeah, you know, we'll send you
the information and everything else. Wow. So
they mailed me the information. I said, you know
what, let me just go out here and use my skill
to help people, like I learned in Atlanta. So
my first day went out, me and my ex -wife, we
made sandwiches and went out. and we started
passing out sandwiches on the bridge downtown.
And I kept doing it over and over and over and
over, and not knowing that was my pursuit to
greatness to start, it was starting something,
you know. So as me making sandwiches, started
getting the hot meals, and started recognizing
a lot of people in the community, I started making
Re -Rise by the Street on social media. And this
is why a lot of people are kind of shocked that
I went to school with social media, because I'm
very good. I do all my social media. So I started
promoting myself. Ended up a lot of people donating,
sharing my stories, speaking to a lot of schools,
speaking to a lot of corporate offices. So a
lot of that was happening. I got my big break
one day. I don't know if you heard about this,
when a homeless man dunked inside Dunkin' Donuts
in Salina. If you get a chance, you can Google
that. It was something big here in Syracuse.
And I was the guy that stuck up for him. Ended
up, had a big protest in front of the Ducal Donors
on Salina. And then it made national news. And
that went big. That's when my name really got
big in the city of Syracuse because of that.
But the thing about it, though, it ended quick,
like in a month. Because I ended up meeting the
second director from Ducal Donor. They flew here.
And I met him and his family and board members
and met them. And I learned something from the
incident that never blame a whole group of people
because it's one person's mistake. Because when
I met them, they was one of the most kindest
people I've ever met in my life. And we made
a couple of deals. And they was kind of nervous.
They were stressed out because of the situation.
Of course, they make national news. They're fractured
by the shutdown because of what happened. So
I told them, hey, no problem. Just come to our
event. We take a couple of pictures. We hug.
and you served coming through the community.
It's going to be over Monday morning. And that's
what happened. Wow. So I think that right there,
Gabby Big, then Gayle King came to Syracuse and
did an interview with me. You can look all that
on YouTube. CBS this morning and noon came here
and did an interview with me as well. And I want
to be honest with you, my friend, after that
happened, so much that happened over the years,
especially during COVID, I was the only nonprofit
out here in the streets helping people. It was
not homeless people. It was everybody struggling,
so I was out here helping people as well. And
I'll be honest with you, our organization is
totally different from other organizations, I'm
gonna tell you why. If you follow us, if you
ever been to Sam or Saturday, it's gonna be kind
of strange to you. And I'm not saying the bad
way, the good way, because you'll never see a
group of people in one room from all walks of
life. Different religion, different background,
different race. You got rich, you got middle
class. Everybody in one room. And this ain't
coming out of my mouth, because I got a lot of
people who follow me on TikTok. all around the
world, they'll look at it like, you know, I never
seen nothing like this. This is what peace in
the world looks like. So a person like me, an
African -American man like me had a background
like me and bringing like corporate people to
our events and supporting my events and bringing
people from all walks of life. We had no connection,
but we built a relationship with each other,
being in one room. It's very amazing. That's
incredible. It's very amazing. At this moment,
every Saturday, we have over two, three hundred
people every week, and we got children's love
coming in. That's why a lot of parents come,
too, because I speak to a lot of schools. I just
don't speak in the private schools. I go to rich,
wealthy schools, and actually that's my favorite
one, because when they hear my story and I share
what's going on, they ready to do something about
it. They force their parents to do something
about it, and come out here, come out here. After
our organization, they see what's going on, and
they want to help as well. So tell me a little
bit about how this works, because this is incredible
to me. You're feeding a couple hundred people
on a Saturday. Sandwiches. Yes. That tells me
somebody's got to make a couple hundred sandwiches,
right? Yes. How does that whole operation work?
So at Sandwich Saturday, first you get now, you
got to register, because we've got so many people
coming. So you go on our website, you register,
and then as soon as you register, somebody reach
out to you as quick as possible. and they'll
give you the day where they meet. We meet at
Lincoln Middle School, 1613 James Street. We
meet at 10, you gotta be there at 930 at 10.
And I just wanna shout out the City School District.
They've been a thousand supporting me like crazy
over these years. So you gotta be there by 10.
I'm sorry, you gotta be there by 930, at least,
because the events start at 10. So as soon as
we start, I say... The lowest crowd we had was
50, the highest, like 400 -something people there.
You know, families, kids, sorority, schools,
universities, everything. So we started making
sandwiches, and then we have a table, inspirational
table, kids make inspirational messages, and
they put it in the bag, you know, little kids.
And then families or kids, they make sandwiches.
And we got one table there, packed the sandwiches
in the bag, we go to all the bars, chips, fruits,
and inspirational messages the kids made. and
put them all in a bin. So as soon as we make
about close to 300, 400 sandwiches, we stop.
And as soon as we stop, I announce everybody
to stop, we clean up, we circle up, and that's
when I speak. And I just get everybody prepped
before we go out, what to do before we go out
there. Because I try to explain to everybody
that this is different. A lot of you probably
be volunteers everywhere else. No disrespect
to y 'all, probably standing around, not doing
nothing, not saying nothing, but here, I have
to prep y 'all for you out there. And this is
what you have to do. When you go out there, keep
eye contact to the people you're serving. Smile.
And I'm glad we got a name tag sitting under
your name. Ask questions. What's your name? How
can I help you? What size are you wearing? What
size do you wear? Are you looking for something?
Have a conversation with people you're serving
that don't stand around. And then I share my
story like I share with everyone that's watching
and sharing you as well. and then share upcoming
events, and then I'll tell the location where
we're gonna be at. So we've been, so for the
past 10 years, we've been in a lot of locations.
We started under the bridge, downtown. We was
at the Park Building Park, where they're fixing
school now, right next to the hub station. It
was there for a couple of years, and it was on
the corner out of Daga, but now we're at 207
Wyoming Street, White Cross Street from the WCNY
building. And shout out to the mayor and Rob
the man and our new deputy mayor, they always
support me, give us a property when something
happen. And as soon as we get to the property,
I'll tell everybody the location, we leave, we
get to the property. And a lot of people think
it's just the sandwiches. I don't say nothing.
They're new people, but everybody know where
they follow us and see on social media know it's
more than a sandwich. As soon as we get there,
we're connected with 21 local restaurants that
come cater for us. We got clothes, men, women,
children clothes. We got hygiene products, we
got women pads, we got brand new sneakers. We
got desserts. Cathy Cookie was my greatest supporter.
You know, she shut down now, but she still make
cookies for us. Wow. You know, and we have household
good. It's magic going to an event. It's like
a flea market, but everything is free. Yeah.
You know what I'm saying? Every day we got volunteers
on the other side of the table, organizing everything.
And so these are in different locations on the
different Saturdays? No, same location. Oh, OK.
Yeah, the reason I'm sharing different locations,
we had to move. Just over the years. Yeah, over
the years. Because something had came up. Yeah,
yeah, of course. We had to move over the years.
But every time we moved, we at least been at
this area for about two, three years. Yeah. And
then we set the tables up, the volunteers on
the other side of the table, then everybody who's
struggling through homelessness, food insecurity.
You don't have to go through this. A lot of people
got houses. or have homes, but they're struggling.
They need interview clothes, they need food to
feed their families, and they come there as well.
So we feed close to 300 people every week. Because
right now, we're right there in the heart of
the property. We're on the west side. So we're
right in the middle where the world knows where
the property is happening. Everybody's happy
that we're there, because we're getting a little
closer. Last but not least, this Saturday is
our 8th annual Thanksgiving dinner. We're having
that St. Lucie's. That's probably one of the
best events through the whole organization. Yeah.
You cook a lot of turkeys? Yes. Yeah. So how
we do it, we get volunteers. We tell the volunteers
to make a meal. Oh, wow. So we have like 30 cooked
turkeys. We have a lot of desserts. We have a
lot of side dishes, drinks. We have DJ, haircuts,
face painting. We have coats, women's trishaw
coats, hats, gloves. It's a great event, but
it's not like a soup kitchen. You stand in line.
So the volunteers will walk our guests to the
table, and other volunteers come and take their
order. And they go prepare their food and bring
it to the table. That's awesome. And while the
kids wait, we got crayon, we got coloring books
on the table. And as soon as they're done, they
eat. They go pick what they want on the table
with their coats and everything that's over there.
And then they're lying. I'm being honest with
you, brother. Over the years, if you open the
door, It's about hundreds of people staring at
the line trying to get in. But now, this is the
first time I'm kind of nervous because what's
going on with the snap, they know the crowd is
going to be kind of, so I'm trying to volunteer
to bring, the one turkey you bring, bring two
turkeys. That's incredible, man. You know what
really impresses me, and I'm kind of reading
between the lines here, but you see a lot of
charities and a lot of these big organizations.
and they gotta go out and they gotta get millions
of dollars of funding and they gotta hire 50
people and they gotta get trucks and they gotta
all this, you know, fancy stuff. You're feeding
all these people and from what I can tell by
efforts that you've kind of community sourced,
for lack of a better term, right? You've gone
out and found folks to make this happen. And
I find that just incredibly, incredibly impressive.
So along those lines, I guess... What are things
that people can do to help and how can the community
continue to support you and continue to make
sure you can feed people? Yeah, so what people
do is they contact us and if they want to drop
off clothes, men, women, children, because right
now with the winter season, we're looking for
clothes or they want to donate for Samba Saturday.
We're looking for cheese, turkey, individual
chips, granola bars, and drinks. And then if
they want to donate socks, that's one of the
most important things. I forgot to mention that
we do have socks out there too, Brandon Sock,
and they're doing donate socks. Really, we take
everything. But we want to make sure everything
is new because we go out there, we want to make
sure we treat people with dignity as well. Absolutely.
And then if some people don't want to go to the
store, they can go on our Venmo or PayPal or
our website, and they can send money as well.
That's phenomenal. Do you have any particular
grocery stores you partner with at the moment?
Yes, well, Wegman has been supporting me since
2009. Since I got here, they saw me from the
bottom, you know, grew up and everything. So
they're like 100 % grocery store. We got King
David. King David catered for us some weeks.
We got Pyramid. It's on Lowlight. It's a Halal
store as well. And I'm sorry I can't pronounce
that piece. He's going to be mad at me. It's
that piece of drawing over there in Fairville.
I probably forgot the name of it. I'm sorry.
I'll probably think about it after we're done.
But they donate pieces to us as well. That's
incredible. And last but not least, toss pieces.
Toss. Toss. They donate as well. That's so incredible,
man. I feel like we could talk for hours, but
I also know we got to get you back to your mission
here. This has been incredible. And what you've
got going on is incredible. And I just think
that it's something that people need to realize
is people are in need. But the other side of
it is like, look what it's done to this gentleman.
And look at the smile on his face from helping
people. You can be selfish. Yeah, because helping
people make you feel so good and I love to see
people doing that. So thank you With that one
more time if you could website social media all
those cool plugs We'll get them in there for
you and then we'll send you on your way. What's
what's the website for you, man? Ww -w -w -w
-w -w -w -w -w -w -w -w -w -w -w -w -w -w -w
-w -w -w -w -w -w -w -w -w -w -w -w - I just
want to lead something into everyone. Two things.
This organization, we do pass food. We do pass
a lot of items. But the number one blueprint
of us is spread kindness and compassion. That's
our number one. And then the number two, I just
want to lead this where everybody. Today, smile.
Be kind to one another. Meet a reason someone
smiled today. Thank you for having me. I love
that. What a great message. I don't have anything
better to say. So with that, folks, this has
been Good News York. Stick around for all kinds
of incredible stuff we got going. I got nothing.