Do1Thing Blog

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!

Take a minute and help us out by voting for The Heart Gallery.

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.

What if we all did 1 thing to help?

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.

Diana Ross did more than 1 thing when she came on stage at Covenant House’s “Night of Broadway Stars” and donated $75,00 to Covenant House International. Joined by more than a dozen homeless teens, Ross acknowledged more than 700 donors in attendance, praising Covenant House staff and lending support to homeless teens.

Ross told the crowd, “Covenant House is a builder of bridges, a place of shelter and hope that truly saves the lives of these beautiful children.”

Here’s to you Diana!

Writer Betsy Franco read about the Do 1 Thing project in People Magazine and felt compelled to do her 1 thing to help.

She did it unassumingly, without any fan fare had we not wrote to inquire about the unusual amount she donated, $412, we would never have know. Betsy writes young adult novels, compile anthologies of teen writing, and write picture books and poetry. “Whenever I receive money, I give a percentage to an organization I care about. Since I’m totally into helping teens, I noticed your article in People Magazine and intended to donate to you. I recycled the magazine, thinking the article would be online. When I couldn’t find it, I scavenged through a big bin of recycing to retrieve it. I really wanted to donate,” she said

We share this with you because every doing 1 thing really does make a difference. The funds Betsy donated will be used to help print, frame and travel the “Young Faces of Homelessness” photographic exhibit.

Here’s to you Betsy!!!

“This month, the *color-me-club champions those people who found themselves in the thick of life’s muck. The theme of ‘Impaired’ can be interpreted as facing overwhelming odds, finding yourself in absolute dire straits, lost in depression, cripped by injury, but amongst all that, still expressing the heroic strength and ethic to overcome. It can be captured by showing a community coming together to rebuild after disaster, or a depiction of one of history’s greatest heroes.”

Talented people doing outstanding work yet still realizing there are so many people so much less fortunate than themselves.

The folks over at deviantART is sponsoring an art competition with proceeds going to Do1Thing. Check it out! Just one more ingenious way people are Doing 1 Thing to help homeless youth.

Huffington Post writer Tamar Abrams states, “The more than half a million children being raised in foster care belong to all of us and deserve at least as much support, guidance and love as our biological kids. But the sad truth is that less than a third of the 25,000 young people who age out of the foster care system each year will obtain either a high school diploma or a GED. They are also much more likely than our biological children to suffer from depression as a result of childhood trauma, to become victims of crime or be incarcerated. Fully 30% of them will become homeless at some point after leaving foster care.”

We’ve been saying this for the last year and this week, Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) and President Obama, did the right thing, did the 1 thing these kids needed, they added programs for mentoring foster youth to the list of national service programs through the Serve America Act.

These children belong to NO ONE but in reality, they belong to US ALL. Mentoring is a critical component in the success of teens, and The Orphan Foundation of America (OFA) is has decades of experience in mentoring them. Take a look, see how you can mentor a youth in need, heed the call. Do1Thing. Anyone can Do1Thing.

Chloe Noble contacted Do1Thing to let us know about Pride Walk 2009 when Chloe and Jill will begin their walk across America to raise awareness for LGBTQ homeless youth.

Below is their press release. We wish them well!

HOMELESS YOUTH PRIDE WALK 2009

In May, 2009, Jill Hardman and Chloe Michelle Noble are walking across America for LGBTQ homeless youth. They will set out on foot from Seattle, Washington traveling first to San Francisco. They will continue to travel east across the country, to Boston, New York, and then Washington D.C. From there they will continue souththwest to New Orleans and end their long journey in Austin, Texas. Their goal is to cover 6000 miles, (over 3000 of it on foot), to raise awareness about homeless LGBTQ youth in America. Their entire walk will be homeless, which will give them a unique opportunity to film homeless youth all over the United States.

Says Noble, “We are excited for this opportunity to serve those less fortunate in the LGBTQ community. Through this walk we will be a part of something beautiful, powerful, thought-provoking, and meaningful.”

Everyone who is interested can “virtually walk with them” by following their website – which will be loaded with videos, photos, and posts collected on their journey. Others can support Homeless Youth Pride Walk 2009 by simply sharing their link on many popular networking channels. Also, supporters can get current updates by becoming followers of their blog – which includes interactive media tools, such as Google Maps, Twitter, YouTube, and Kyte TV.

“Almost 40% of homeless youth in America identify as LGBTQ,” says Noble, “This diverse group of Queer youth has a profound and powerful voice. We want to support them in their progress and give them a platform to stand on. Studies show that many LGBTQ homeless youth who receive appropriate guidance, support, resources, and encouragement, eventually become successful members of the LGBTQ community. By raising awareness we hope to inspire others to make sure more resources are available to all homeless youth for this reason.”

In the future, Noble and Hardman plan on producing public service announcements with LGBTQ youth in the Utah area, using the footage they bring back from their walk. These PSA’s are intended to launch a multi-media web site, that Queer youth can use to express themselves and empower others through personal, local, national, and international activism. Noble says about the web site, “It is our intention to unify LGBTQ youth through artistic expression, and to teach them how to become mutual mentors in a process of self-awareness and collective healing.”

Hundreds of heart wrenching emails continue to flow in to Do1Thing and many of you are asking how to help. We understand your desire to make a one to one connection with a youth in need and we understand you want 100% of your donation to go to that youth.

WE HEAR YOUR CALL FOR ACTION AND WE ARE MOVED!

Today Do1Thing formed a partnership with the Orphan Foundation of America (OFA) which serves thousands of foster teens across the United States.

WHAT DO THEY DO? They provide “aged out” youth with college scholarships, connecting them with mentors and internships, sending them care packages, testifying before Congress and most importantly, they’re there to help the teens deal with everyday problems that life offers up.

In the coming weeks we’ll introduce you to youth after youth, tell you their needs and ask you to reach out and do1thing. There will be a multitude of things you can choose from including offering or paying for a college scholarship, paying for a youths school books, providing a laptop, giving them spending money, helping with personal needs, offering internships, offering mentoring, just letting them know that they’re not alone in this huge world. You would be amazed to know how many of these youth have NO ONE and the ONLY birthday card they receive is from a staff member at The Orphan Foundation. The only connection they have to a caring voice is someone at the Orphan Foundation. It’s a simple thing but when you have no one, it’s a major boost.

Do1Thing met one to one with The Orphan Foundation team and believes in the work they’re doing.

WHY DID DO 1 THING PARTNER WITH THEM? Many reasons. First, they care and know these teen intimately. They just don’t give out scholarships or send out care packages. They answer everyone of their emails and phone calls. They talk these teens “off the ledge” when they can’t handle the pressures of life and they put them together with mentors who help them with daily struggle. They partner with these teens helping them to a better future not just offering a one time band aid.

Visit their site and stay tuned to meet amazing teens who are overcoming a lifetime of horrendous events. We can make a difference. You and I can make a difference. We can do it 1 thing at a time!