A Bigger Apple

I traveled to the wonderful world of New York City this week.  When I got in my first cab I rolled down the window, closed my eyes and felt the city. The smell of exhaust was quickly drowned out by a bakery stand on the street.  Ahh, New York. 

The song by Alisha Keys about New York with the lyrics, “the big lights will inspire you” is true.  I felt inspired just watching people walk briskly to their next important destination. Times Square reminded me that people do big things. Somebody started each of those stores/campaigns/organizations/companies and somehow they all grew to astronomical sizes.  It made me think bigger about HALO.  Thanks, Big Apple.

I had a meeting with an acquaintance who works on the corporate philanthropy side of a very well respected clothing company.  She was kind enough to let me pick her brain on how HALO could possibly benefit from partnering with a company focused on CSR (corporate social responsibility).

We have produced items over the years for HALO geared toward raising funds and awareness about our cause.  We have t-shirts, necklaces, onesies and bags for sale at our events and on our website store.  Its very small scale, but it has been successful and for whatever reason we haven’t put much effort into growing it.  We print artwork on greeting cards and sell them.  We also sell t-shirts that say the difference they make. 

Wilson with his picture of someone who cares for him.

This meeting made me think bigger.  We have thousands of pieces of artwork that need to be shared with the world.  Why couldn’t we mass produce these items and sell them at stores around the US?  What is stopping us? 

We have a very unique product that has the potential to connect the consumer with the cause and the spirit of the child artist.  We could expand to putting artwork on t-shirts.  We have such potential to make impact on the consumer and on the lives of children in need around the world.

I leave feeling invigorated.  If anyone knows anyone in merchandising or with experience in these sorts of endeavors, please send them my way.  I want to talk to people who have done this before, bought for a company, created and driven campaigns… anyone with experience in this arena. 

If you would like to purchase a HALO shirt or greeting card, please visit our store at: http://www.haloworldwide.org/store.php

A little investment

Over 3.5 million people in the U.S. are homeless. 39% of those are under the age of 18.  1.3 million runaway and homeless youth live on the streets of America - almost half left their homes because of abuse and over one third because of sexual abuse.  Many are homeless with their single mom or dad.

My first time going to a homeless shelter I was expecting to see mostly older men who were addicted a substance, like the ones I see on the side of the road.  I was wrong.  There are families. There are children.  There are teens.  It was an eye-opener.

The HALO Learning Center, Kansas City

HALO currently partners with homeless shelters and residential care facilities in Denver and Kansas City with the mission of giving at-risk, homeless, and foster care children life skills, art therapy, tutoring, and hope of a brighter future. 

Unlike in the other countries where HALO provides support, in the US there is federal and state funding available to help support these children through the foster care system, shelters, and residential care facilities that provide their basic needs.  But most of the time, the missing piece is life skill development and exposure to resources.


How do we break the cycle?  It is rare for them to have a role model capable of inspiring them and helping them set tangible goals.   Simple things like how to balance a check book, how to get a job, how to pursue an education.  There are scholarships and resources out there...we just need to connect the kids with them.

Showing them that there is hope,  that they can be happy, responsible adults who are capable of supporting a family one day.  All it takes is a little investment from others to share life skills. 

If you are interested in sharing a life skill or just spending time with kids who need your support, please email lacyvoight@haloworldwide.org in Kansas City or blaineheydt@haloworldwide.org in Denver.

 PS.  One way to help homeless people you drive by on the streets - type up a page of shelters and resources in your area, print out multiple copies and keep them with you in your car.  You can even tape your pages them to little packages of crackers for a little sustenance :) Shelters are amazing places with missions of helping homeless people get back on their feet.

A good quick read

I recently picked up the Time Magazine special edition of Mother Teresa at 100, celebrating her work over the past 100 years.  Her story absolutely captivated me.

Mother Teresa started working with street children.  She would gather them under a tree, and invite other sisters to teach them until their group got so big that the city built them a building.  The sisters now reach thousands of orphans around the world.

Her humble beginning invigorates me.  She started with that one group of children at 38 years old.   62 years later, millions of people have been touched - the poorest of the poor - from orphans to people dying from horrendous diseases.  She loved them with all her might. She was their voice in this world, fighting for their right to live without suffering.

HALO has been around for just over 5 years.   I think about us when we are 62 years old. 2067.  I can only hope we reach millions, that with each child who comes into our care the world becomes a brighter place.   Actually, I hope the world will no longer need HALO by that time.