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!
Theresa Ng
Age 24 , Boston MA
Place in care at age 15 – aged out
4 homes, 3 different social workers & 3 different high schools
She has 1 birthday wish.
I was born premature 2lbs and 10 oz, my birth mother passed away from lymphoma when I was 5 months old.
At age 3, my father married my step mother, who was mentally and physically abusive. My father carried on the cycle of “neglect” from his family history.
Now looking back I was quiet person, didn’t do drugs and got good grades. But what I didn’t have back then was my voice, to ask for all the things I needed and the courage to speak. My childhood has silenced me along with all of it’s horrors.
In fourth grade I finally got the courage to report it while my best friend at the time held my hand. There was no life boat.
In ninth grade I broke down and became depressed and no longer saw the light in life.
Finally at age 15 I was placed in foster care. I was placed in 4 homes, 3 different social workers, and was in 3 different High Schools.
At age 18 I aged out of the system, dropped out of school to support myself. I refused to go to job corp, because I wanted a High school Diploma and not a GED. I wanted the normal experience, something all my friends around me got. I highly don’t recommend going this route. I support Job Corp very much.
My journal entry on my 18th birthday read “Happy Birthday me, I’m turning 18. Honestly I am freaking – scared…”
Scared to death, of trying to find where I was going to sleep, and eat. I had so many doors close, and so many people turning there back. My best friend and mentor “RD”, believed in me, but didn’t see how it was possible. “Next to homeless and wanting desperately to get a high school diploma.” Something needed to be done. He finally brought me to his church pastor. Saving grace. Thank God! I was linked up to a family that provide me room and board in exchange for helping w/the kids, meals, and etc, and a chance at getting my high school diploma! I repeated my junior year. My senior year had my own place, and at one point juggled 3 jobs and full time high school.
2004 I finally graduated with a high school diploma!!! I was the keynote speaker at the Department of Education Conference, MA. ” (About) Over coming homelessness in High school.” In front of 400 teachers and social workers.
Today, I am proud to say that “I have beat the odds.”
I am a member of Foster Care Alumni of America (FCAA)
FCAA’s mission is to connect the alumni community and transform policy and practice, ensuring opportunity for people in and from foster care. I am currently trying to put an MA Chapter together.
I am an avid foodie, I love to cook, and bake, comedy improv lover and Big thinker. I enjoy rock climbing ( indoors that is.) I have two note pads next to my bed, one for recipe and menu planning, and the other for all my “big ideas” in hopes that someday I will turn my dream of owning my own non profit helping foster youth into a reality. I’ve been dreaming since 2002, cause no child should have to experience what I have.
No child asks to be placed in the system, no child asks to be homeless on their 18th birthday either.
I will be turning 25 in May. (May is also National Foster care Awareness Month) I am very excited and happy to announce this will be my 2nd annual using my birthday “instead of gifts” to donate to an organization that helps with foster care youth that are aging out of the system, that will experience homelessness. I started to donate my birthday to causes because I am just one person who has a big enough voice and heart.
I wanted to do something, to help. I want my experience to inspire people to help, and also bring healing and hope to those who have to age out of the system. And to create awareness.
I am happy to say I have chosen do 1 thing! My wish for foster youth that are aging out for the system, is to have a fighting chance, and a hope to lead happy, healthy lives.
No child asks to be placed in the system, no child asks to be homeless on their 18th birthday either. So help by doing 1 thing.
My 25th b-day wish to support homeless foster youth!
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.”
We couldn’t be more proud of photographer Ida Benedetto who donated her time for the Do1Thing project. Behind the scenes, Ida shot images of Do1Thing photographers photographing homeless teens, helping to tell the story of why we do what we do. She worked “Behind the Scenes”, photographing images of Ron Haviv,Nina Bermanand talked about the project on forums including Lightstalkers with no fan fare and many of you knew nothing of the hours she spent helping our cause.
Now it’s our turn to tell the world how much we think of Ida and we tip our hats to her for winning a Fulbright grant.
Ida received a 10 month grant to work in Ethiopia. She’ll be working with Sudden Flowers, a youth video cooperative in Ethiopia’s capital. “Between now and then, I’ll build on the amazing intellectual and creative resources I’ve tapped into at Parson’s Communication, Design, and Technology department to prepare for the trip. While Sudden Flowers works mainly in video, their collaborative production methods allow for a multiplicity of creative projects. During my last trip, Sudden Flowers director Daniel Negatu and I spent a lot of time cooking up imaginative schemes for facilitating social justice media practices. I’m brimming with enthusiasm,” Ida said.
View Ida’s blog to learn more.
This email came into Do1Thing today. We hope others will be moved to donate $100 to be 1 of 500 to support a traveling Do1Thing. Gallery. Change only comes with knowledge and action.
“I am 1 of 500. I hope that this project sheds light on the fact that it is not our children to blame it us. We ignore the problems. We turn our backs on the innocent and helpless. We refuse to ask questions about our governments part in the lives of children. We should be so ashamed of ourselves for letting our most vulnerable citizens suffer.
I am a former homeless teen. At 14, my mother decided she would rather run of with a new boyfriend than protect her own daughter. I never asked for help. I didn’t know who to ask for help. When I was put in a group home, the lady who ran it let me leave. I hid and went hungry. I would never admit then how scared I was, but I was truly frightened beyond belief. Although that life made me strong, it also scarred me in ways that I am still learning about.
I am now dealing with the Foster system again. This time with my 2 year old niece who is being trapped in their clutches. In this case the only thing that went wrong was that this little girls mother passed away from a brain tumor and my brother lives in another state. I have finally been given permission to see my little niece but they refuse to let her stay with me and opt for a foster home. Where did this system get so screwed up? Why do these case workers playing God think it best to break families apart?” Former homeless youth, Christy
A Community Steps Forward – Antwaun Fischer UPDATE
Great news out of Dayton, Ohio from one of the Do1Thing homeless youth featured in People Magazine
Sinclair officials see homeless 19-year-old in ‘People’, offer scholarship
Reprinted from The Dayton Daily News.
DAYTON — While living on the streets, 19-year-old Antwuan McCoy would walk through the night listening to jazz on his iPod, too afraid to sleep.
“I’d keep myself up just until daytime would come, when I know I’d be safe,” said the teen, who found himself homeless last year after he left home following a dispute with his mother. 
McCoy now lives in an apartment at Daybreak, the Miami Valley’s only emergency youth shelter and a transitional housing program for young adults.
He just appeared in People magazine, which spotlighted him and other homeless teens from across the country who had been photographed for the Do 1 Thing project to raise awareness of homelessness.
McCoy’s picture, printed in black and white, caught the eye of officials at Sinclair Community College. Spokeswoman Natasha Baker said they are giving a scholarship to the 2008 Patterson Career Center graduate, who had been one of the leaders of the Respected Young Businessmen of Tomorrow club at his high school.
McCoy, who said he apologized to his mother and visits her on weekends, is thankful for the help he has received and hopes that sharing his story will help other homeless teens.
“Most people think they’re all alone but someone’s always watching,” he said. “As you can see, someone was watching me.”
Rocky writer James Meadow, a gifted storyteller passed away Sunday night of injuries sustained in a bicycle accident Friday. James was a true wordsmith and had a gift for storytelling. His unique style brought sparkle to whatever subject he was writing about.
One of the last stories he wrote was about homeless teens Michael and Leah featured in the Do1Thing project. James and photojournalist Judy DeHass document these teens struggle to survive. You can read the story here.
Many of us never met James personally yet all of us were moved by his story about Michael and Leah.
You can also view the video of Michael and Leah on out multimedia page. The video is called Denver:Boundless Promise of Love.
Not long after The Rocky Mountain News ran the story, the newspaper folded leaving hundreds of journalist out of work and a city left without a Pulitzer-prize winning newspaper with a magnificent 150 year history. Two Pulitzer-prize winning photographers who donated their time to shoot for the project, Judy DeHaas and Preston Gannaway both lost their jobs. Judy was fortunate to be hired by the Denver Post and Preston by the Virginian-Pilot newspaper in Norfolk. Just weeks ago the Virginian-Pilot announced yet another round of layoffs.
Several other photographers and journalist lost their jobs when their newspapers folded or layoffs took place during and soon after the Do1Thing project launched. None of them question why they spent hour after hour documenting the plight of homeless teenagers, all volunteering their time to do so. You see, we are storytellers. This is what we do. We document history and are compelled to share it.
We believe that regardless of todays economic climate or the nations propensity to want to know more about what million dollar movie stars, overpaid athletes and crooked ceo’s are doing than helping to change the world we all live in, we at Do1Thing will continue to document the injustices and social dilemmas facing Americas youth. That’s one thing you can count on.
As for James, our words can not comfort his families tremendous loss. We want him to know that because of the story he wrote about homeless teens for the Do1Thing project, he did yet 1 more thing to raise awareness for a great social injustice and we hope that you all will be moved to Do1Thing to help.
As a tribute to you James, we urge all of you to got to “I Want My Rocky”, leave a note for James’s family and show your support for the journalists who refuse to let the Rocky Mountain News die.
The thoughts and prayers of the Do1Thing community are with his family and friends and the more than 1.3 million homeless youth struggling to survive. Here’s to you James.
Do1Thing has entered our project in a Microsoft’s “dream assignment” competition and we need your help to win much needed funds to shoot, print and travel the Do1Thing gallery. Will you take a second and go to the link below and pick Do1Thing to win the grant?
We constantly get asked how people can get involved. We’ll list a number of ways but first, we want you to know the Do1Thing also needs your help.
We introduced you to hundreds of homeless teens across the country, putting a face on a tragic social dilemma while helping you to make a one to one connection with real homeless teens suffering through real issues. We did our 1 thing to expose a new wave of homeless and now we’re asking you to Do1Thing to help. The issues surrounding homelessness are enormous and the solutions offered are endless. But what if we all did 1 thing to help? We think radical change would occur.
You want to talk about radical? We even encourage donors to donate directly to the non profits listed on our site. It is the goal of Do1Thing to empower homeless youth to move themselves from homelessness to a permanent housing. Empowerment comes by outfitting the teens with training, items and supplies needed to overcome their current situations move forward. We partner with non profits who have a proven track record of moving youth off the street and into permanent housing.
We want to continue shining the light on homelessness but we can only do so with your help. Here’s how you can help the Do1Thing project:
In Kind Donations ~ We realize we’re in the midst of tough economic times and we want to cognizant of that. Did you know that all the photographers, editors, writers and staff donated all time? That’s right. They did it all for free. Now we need you to donate some of your talents and offerings by helping us with the following:
Here are other ways you can get involved:
1) Visit a homeless shelter and drop off supplies. Click “by state” or “by organization” for a list of needed supplies.
2) Tell a friend to visit Do1Thing.org. Click on the Tell A Friend button at the top of this page.
3) Donate money. Click on the Donate tab on the navigation bar.
4) Wear Do1Thing clothes with our cool logo, you can order them off our Donate page.
5) Contact Your Members of Congress: Get the names of your Senators and Representative and how to reach them. Visit www.senate.gov and www.house.gov to identify your Senators and Representative and their contact information for both D.C. and home state offices. THEN, Call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 225-3121 to connect with your Senators and Representative.
6) Contact your LOCAL Runaway and Homeless Youth Organization (RHY) and ask if they need volunteers.
7) Organize a HYGIENE DRIVE (a collection of soap, shampoo, socks, deodaront, toothbrushes, toothpaste, etc.) and deliver them to your local organization.
Donate $5 or $10—ask five friends to do the same.
9) Link your blog sites to the do1thing.org site, sign up to follow us on twitter to get up to date info on what we’re doing, join our community on facebook causes
10) Many homeless teens have little access to good dental care. Donate your services.
11) To get off the streets you have to be able to pay your bills. Offer a teen a job.
But there is so much more you can do. These kids have dreams, and odds are you can help fulfill one.
Perry has dreams of going to music school and wants to become a musician, a music instructor or recording engineer. Can you help?
Perry ~ Dreams and Reality
Sakina put herself through college while she was homeless. She graduated and now she wants to be a designer. Can you help?
Sakina ~ Off the Streets
Donors Doing 1 Thing to help homeless teens stopped by Covenant House Michagan and bought lizzie t-shirts: T-shirt text reads:
front: “this is lizzie” “lizzie doesn’t have a home” “i care about lizzie”
back: “i care about homeless kids. you can too. visit www.covenanthousemi.org to start caring.
This fashionable 50/50 cotton-polyester-blend T-shirt is available in red, yellow and blue (pictured in yellow) and demonstrates that you care about homeless youth!
These awesome tees are available in sizes S-3X for only $20 (plus $4.95 s/h). Naturally, all proceeds go directly to helping homeless youth! What a deal! Buy 2! … or 4!! Or put it on your list for Santa.
Call 313.463.2004 to place your order!
http://www.covenanthousemi.org/article/buy-lizzie-shirt
