When you’re hungry and need to get food before class, they help you. When you’re running late to an exam and need a ride to the other side of campus, they help you. You might not always see them, but the staff at Washington University and all college campuses allow students to thrive and do their best every day.

Enter Febin Bellamy, a Georgetown University senior who, last year, started an organization that takes the student-worker relationship to new heights. Bellamy noticed the oft-overlooked work and humanity of the servers, janitors and other workers on his campus and decided to start Unsung Heroes, a Humans of New York style group that aims to represent these faces. Through Unsung Heroes, Bellamy and other members interview, film and write about the people they see every day in order to build a stronger connection within the campus. Beyond this, Unsung Heroes works to raise funds for workers so that they can achieve some of their most important dreams, whether that be opening a jerk chicken restaurant or buying a plane ticket to visit family.

This semester, freshmen students Ben Goodfriend and James Abraham have been working to start an Unsung Heroes chapter on Wash. U.’s campus. They saw how integral Bear’s Den workers and janitors were to our everyday lives at Wash. U. and wanted to have a part in forming this relationship. Abraham remembers, “The attitude I saw towards the workers was always polite, usually a ‘thank you’ and ‘have a nice day,’ but it wasn’t deep or genuine. Considering how hard our staff members work, we want to start a dialogue so that students and workers have real, meaningful interactions when they see each other.” Already, Abraham, Goodfriend and the Unsung Heroes of Wash. U. team have taken steps to build this connection by conducting interviews with workers, setting up a Facebook page and passing out thankful notes and candy in Bear’s Den on Worker Appreciation Day.

With direct help and support from Bellamy and the national Unsung Heroes organization, Unsung Heroes of Wash. U. aims to have a lively social media presence and recognition on campus by next year. Though fundraising is one of the ultimate goals, the club plans to first start interviewing and filming Bear’s Den servers and other workers. Eventually, the club will start crowdfunding for workers in the same way that students supported the recent “Bill on the Grill” Venmo campaign. With student support and passionate leadership from the club’s founders, Unsung Heroes of Wash. U. is poised to provide a priceless resource to our campus, one that change the attitude toward those who work tirelessly for us every day.