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. 

Boardbreakathon!

Its an exciting day for everyone at HALO today as we prepare for our 5th Boardbreakathon.  HALO was started by a group of karate students (kids) who wanted to raise funds for orphans in need.  They raised $5,000 for an orphanage in Mexico.  The next one they did raised $40,000. 

Needless to say a light bulb went off.  Children helping children.  This is how HALO was born.  It is a unique concept that benefits everyone involved.
 
Youth in the US learn about what it is like to be an orphan on the other side of the world.  What language do they speak?  What do they eat?  Do they have an X-Box?  Learning these things made everyone aware and full of compassion with a desire to make a difference.  It is inspiring to say the least. 

This is a photo of one of our HALO supported children in India who made this sign for kids who raised funds at the Boardbreakathon.  Its a beautiful thing to connect the world and watch kids flourish, making a huge impact on youth just like them.

To read more about the event or watch a video, click here.

Victory

I firmly believe that any person's finest hour — his greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear — is that moment when he has worked his heart out in good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle — victorious.
~ Vince Lombardi

I read this quote today and it reminded me of the volunteers and staff of HALO.  So many people work their heart out for our cause.  I feel lucky to watch such a thing take place.  

I spent the past week with our Program Director, Lacy Voight.  She came to Denver to see our programs and new HALO Center for Youth.  I have spent thousands of hours with Lacy,  working until we can't see straight at times.  It is the truth that when we are done with a project, completely exhausted and we have reached our goal, we feel victorious.  

Every effort Lacy puts forth is geared toward giving hope to the children we currently support and improving the lives of more children in need.  She works her heart out in good cause and I firmly believe she holds these efforts and outcomes dear to her heart.  I have seen her exhausted on the field of battle after events, meetings and programs.  All of which are victories for HALO.  They all bring us one step closer to improving the lives of children in need.  Fulfillment.

Click here to join our mission.

HALO Heroes

Last night a friend of the HALO Family, Leib Doddell, hosted a cocktail party at his house to share one of our giving opportunities with his friends and family.  We are looking for HALO Heroes.  Since orphans do not have parents to meet their needs, a HALO Hero is someone who helps us provide food, water, shelter, clothing, education, art therapy and care takers.

We had 4 people sign up to become HALO Heroes last night.  Not only are they meeting basic needs, but as soon as they sign up, Woodland Charities makes a donation of $1,000 for a scholarship in their honor.  This funding goes toward giving a HALO supported child the chance to learn a vocation, giving them the ability to make a positive impact on their communities once they are out of the home.

This campaign gives HALO children the chance to dream.  They dream of learning a skill that will allow them to support themselves...  That is why we call it the HALO Heroes.  These people become heroes, dramatically shifting the future of children in need.

Click here to read more about how you can become a HALO Hero. 

My Favorite Birthday

I had a birthday this week.  Until I was 22 years old I didn't care much for birthdays.  22 was a great one which made my expectations way too high from that point on.  I was in Honduras and thought nobody knew or would remember which was no big deal.  That day my boss told me I wouldn't be able to go to the orphanages where I spent a lot of time volunteering.  She said I had some other task I had to do for work. Boo.

Finally around 5:00 I did a little sneaking and went to the orphanage anyway.  I was my birthday, right?  I walked in and heard some music playing which was different because they had no radio.  I turned the corner into the community room and there were all the kids with a huge sign they made for me that said "Feliz Cumpleanos Rebecca!" 

They were thrilled to have a borrowed radio we danced to for a good 2 hours before we busted the pinata to pieces.  I was so full of bliss that day.  I remember sweating outside with the kids, twirling them around, hearing their screams of excitement as candy fell to the grass.   I came home thinking I could never top that.  Although there have been many attempts, I have to admit that was my favorite. 

Many HALO supported kids have no records when they come to us.  Most of them have no idea when their birthday is.  It used to be one of the conversation starters for me - How old are you?  When is your birthday?  Now I just leave that one alone.  One time I asked one of our kids, Denis (bottom right) how old he was.  He said he was 11.  He had been living as an 11 year old for a long time.  When we got his records we realized - Denis was 9 years old.  When we told him about his new age, he laughed.  He didn't know his birthday.  He was actually excited... he was a bit small for his age before :)