Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

Wayne State University Athletics

Warrior Strides for Release

General Jeff Weiss, Senior Associate Director of Athletics/Media Relations

Second Annual Warrior Strides Campaign - A Resounding Success

DETROIT -- The second annual Warrior Strides campaign – spearheaded by the WSU Sports Medicine Department – was again a resounding success.  Warrior Strides collected a combined total of 936 pairs of shoes and socks during this year's collection campaign! 

Warrior Strides is a campaign to support Alternatives for Girls (AFG), a Detroit-based organization whose mission is to help girls and young women avoid violence, early pregnancy, and exploitation.  AFG provides a stable home that helps these women avoid high risk activities, such as domestic violence, sex work, drug use, and gang involvement, empowering participants to make positive choices in order to live safe and healthy lives, and WSU is happy to continue to support their efforts.   

Warrior Strides collected new socks and old shoes throughout the entire month of October, which is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month.  The slogan of "making strides to end the silence surrounding domestic violence" is a testament to WSU's commitment to supporting community organizations like AFG, and their goal in reducing homelessness and providing support to the girls and young women who need it most. 

Why Socks and Shoes? 

Socks are one of the most needed items in shelters, since people cannot donate used socks.  New socks (with tags still on) collected via Warrior Strides were donated to Alternatives for Girls, to go directly to the girls and young women who are using the services and resources provided by AFG.  WSU Sports Medicine was able to donate 509 pairs of brand new socks to AFG due to the 2023 Warrior Strides campaign. 

Warrior Strides also worked with GotSneakers and the Wayne State W Food Pantry and Thrift Shop regarding their used shoe collection drive.  GotSneakers is a sneaker recycling organization that helps support fundraising programs throughout the country.  GotSneakers paid Warrior Strides for each pair of old athletic shoes collected, and the funds raised were donated to AFG along with the new socks.  Non-athletic shoes that were still in good condition were donated to the W Food Pantry and Thrift Shop, which provides currently enrolled Wayne State Warriors with supplemental gently used clothing items, as a way to help enhance student success.  In total, Warrior Strides collected 407 pairs of shoes that were distributed across both organizations.  The environmental impact of recycling 407 pairs of shoes also resulted in 232 pairs being displaced from landfills, 6,960 pounds of carbon dioxide being displaced, and 523,624 gallons of water being saved. 

Questions about the campaign can be directed to Associate Athletic Director and Head Athletic Trainer Lisa Erickson via email at lisa.erickson3@wayne.edu. 

Warrior Strides would like to thank the many volunteers and community partners who made this campaign possible, including Printarun, Corrigan Moving, Beyond Juice, Condado Tacos, Pie Sci, the Majestic Theatre/Garden Bowl, the Motor City Cruise, and the Detroit Pistons.  

If you are interested in learning more about Alternatives for Girls, GotSneakers or the W Food Pantry and Thrift Shop, please visit their websites at:  

https://alternativesforgirls.org/ 

https://gotsneakers.com/   

https://thew.wayne.edu/
"Warrior Strides - making strides to end the silence surrounding domestic violence." 
Print Friendly Version