We’ve all heard the phrase “putting a face on homelessness” countless times. The idea is a simple one: show some flesh and blood to allow the rest of us to grasp the larger problems of poverty.
It’d be so easy to dismiss as another tired cliche if it weren’t powerfully truthful. Consider “Lulu’s Story,” a multimedia piece on an 18-year-old Portland girl who has been homeless since losing her mother at the age of 12.
“Lulu’s Story” is part of a showcase of work on teen homelessness at the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies on Thursday starting at 7 p.m. Since August, Salt has featured an exhibit on Do1Thing.org, a national project that paired photographers with homeless youth around the country earlier this year.
Photographer Alexandra Daley-Clark oversaw the project locally, and co-produced “Lulu’s Story” with Suzi Piker (a Salt alum, and online producer for PressHerald.com) for Thursday’s event.
The event, called “Do1Thing.org: An evening with the creators,” will showcase the photography from the Do1Thing project and a talk from Najlah Feanny Hicks, co-founder of Do1Thing.
UPCOMING EVENT:
Do1Thing.org: An evening with the co-founder [ + Fundraiser ]
September 17, 2009 // 7-8:30
@ Salt Institute for Documentary Studies
561 Congress Street // Portland, Maine
Free + Open to the public
Please bring an item donate from the list below. Monetary donations also welcome. In celebration of the current exhibit at Salt, Do1Thing.org: Young Faces of Homelessness, please join us for an evening with one of the creators of the project. Weʼre pleased to welcome Do1Thing.org Founder, former Newsweek photographer Najlah Feanny Hicks to speak about Do1Thing.org, which sheds light on young adult homelessness in Maine and around the country.
Several powerful and uplifting multimedia pieces will also be screened. In addition, we are excited to premiere Lulu’s Story, a multimedia piece produced by Mainers:
photographer Alexandra Daley-Clark, Director of Photography for Do1Thing.org, and audio and multimedia producer Suzi Piker, an alum of the Salt radio program. Their intimate portrait tells the story of a young woman who is currently experiencing homelessness in Portland, Maine.
Here’s an easy way to do a lot of GOOD! We do everything we can to let everyone know that there are tens of thousand of foster kids hoping to get adopted at The Heart Gallery of New Jersey, and now we have a great chance to raise $10,000 to support the cause.
All you need to do is to go to: NAU and vote for our cause. It’s Nau’s Grant for Change and every vote counts!
Do1Thing photographic gallery opens tonight at the Salt Institute gallery on Congress Street in Portland, Maine!
Director of Photographer Alex Daley-Clark curates the moving show highlighting, stunning photographs! http://salt.edu/events/communityevents.php
With you’re help, we’ve been able to fund the first gallery showcasing more than 40 images of homeless youth from across the country. Thanks to you! Please keep supporting Do1Thing so we can continue to travel the gallery and spread the word that TODAY, there are more homeless than at any other time in American history. 1.3 million of them are youth.
Renowned photographer Martin Schoeller photographs many of the most well know celebrities, sports heroes, royal families and elected officials worldwide. What you many not know about Martin is that he also donates his time to photograph foster children hoping to be adopted through his work for The Heart Gallery of New Jersey and this year he photographed dozens of homeless youth who aged out of foster care for the Do1Thing project.
When Esquire Magazine ran a portfolio of Martin’s images including his cover photograph of George Clooney in May’s issue, Martin also included images of homeless youth. Next to his images of Clooney, Brad Pitt, President Obama, Justin Timberlake, John McEnroe, Denzel Washington, Arnold Schwarznegger, Joe Namath, Alex Rodriguez and so many other famous names were Martin’s images of homeless youths Edrice Cooper, Salif Diarrassouba and Eric Crespin.
Martin Schoeller is a New York based photographer whose style is distinguished by similar treatment of all subjects whether they are celebrities or unknown. His most recognizable work are his portraits, shot with similar lighting, backdrop, and tone. His work appears in The New Yorker, Outside Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, Rolling Stone, GQ, Esquire, and Vogue.
Berrie Foundation Pays Tribute to New Jersey’s Unsung Heroes for Acts of Community Service
Recipients of 2009 Russ Berrie Award for Making a Difference – Honored at Ramapo College Ceremony
The Russell Berrie Foundation carries on the values and passions of the late Russell Berrie, through promoting the continuity of the Jewish people, fostering religious understanding and pluralism, supporting advances in diabetes and humanistic medical care, celebrating unsung heroes and elevating the profession of sales.
Last year the foundation honored Do1Thing founder Najlah Feanny Hicks for her work in co-founding the Heart Gallery of New Jersey, a traveling portrait gallery that publicizes the plight of adoption-eligible children mired in the foster care system. To date, 191 New Jersey foster children have been adopted because of the Heart Gallery’s efforts.
She used most of her award to launch an organization called Do1Thing. It’s a nationwide effort of photographers, writers and Web designers to portray the face of homeless teenagers. The Web-based organization links to a number of non-profit partners that provide services to homeless teens. In recalling last year’s ceremony, Hicks said, “The beauty of this is that it allowed me to do one more thing. There is always something each of you can give.”
Read about the 2009 recipient Patient care technician Angelica Mercado. Mercado assisteda driver whose gas tanker overturned and exploded. Driver by as the accident occured, she pulled over at the scene of the accident, pulled the driver to safety and transported the driver to the hospital. Healthcare professionals at The University Hospital in Newark, where the driver was taken, believe Mercado’s quick actions likely saved the man’s life.
Do1Thing is giving a shout out to the folks over at DeviantArt who donated proceeds from their Color Me Club May Lineart Contest to helping homeless kids. The donated $2 from each entry totaling $226 and sent us the proceeds.
Just one more way each one of us can do 1 thing to help.
Thanks DeviantArt and all the artists who participated!
Auston Higgins suffered a lifetime of heartache. Growing up with a mentally ill mother, he taken to live with his grandparents. He had a special bond with them and them one by one, they both died. In an out of the foster care system, finally aging out, he’s on his own now but one things for sure, he wants a college education. With your help, he can do it. Auston needs a scholarship and The Orphan Foundation of America need you to help make it happen. Will you consider funding a scholarship for a deserving youth? Visit http://www.orphan.org and the Do 1 Thing project at http://www.do1thing.org
Before a packed Hudson Theatre at the Millennium Hotel in New York City, and with Tony-Award winner and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Diana Ross lending her support, Covenant House youth told their story through a performance of the Jordin Sparks song “One Step at a Time” that had over 700 attendees on their feet.
Proudly singing for a crowd of more than 700 donors, the teens were joined with stars from Broadway’s famed shows including “Jesus Christ Super Star”, A Tale of Two Cities,
Les Miserables, A Christmas Carol, Fiddler on the Roof and The Phantom of the Opera.
With you’re help, we’ve been able to fund the first gallery showcasing more than 40 images of homeless youth from across the country. Thanks to you! Please keep supporting Do1Thing so we can continue to travel the gallery and spread the word that TODAY, there are more homeless than at any other time in American history. 1.3 million of them are youth.
Do1Thing is giving a shout out to the folks over at DeviantArt who donated proceeds from their Color Me Club 
