Ornaments of Hope

On August 27^th, 2010 KooDooZ together with the Boys & Girls Club of Santa Monica hosted an evening to raise awareness of youth homelessness.  

Invited to speak was 7-year old Jonas Corona, founder of Love In The Mirror who served to remind us that anyone of any age can make a difference, and Ehecatl Rojas, outreach coordinator for Los Angeles Youth Network who described the conditions under which a youth might find him/herself homeless:

Kids in Foster Care

• The foster care population in the United States is approximately 496,000 (2007 figure)
• 20,000 youth leave foster care nationally each year with no job or income, few educational prospects and little emotional support or community connections
• 20%-50% of these kids will find themselves homeless within 6 months due to lack of resources and support.

Kids who Run Away

• It’s estimated that between 1.6 and 2.8 million youth run away or are kicked out of their home each year.
• 21% of teens who ran away from home did so due to current episodes of sexual and/or physical abuse within the home. 
• Approximately 5.8 million children were involved in an estimated 3.2 million child abuse reports and allegations.
• Beyond abuse or neglect the trigger to run away can happen just as easily from rejection based on youth who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.

Kids and Alcohol / Drugs

• 47% of teens in public school say that drugs are used, this suggests as many as 5.7 million public school children in the U.S. attend schools with both drugs and gangs.
• 11% of all alcohol in the United States is consumed by youth ages 12-20 years.
• Children who have been sexually abused are 3.8 times more likely to develop drug addictions.

Kids who are Bullied

• Almost 30% of youth in the United States (or over 5.7 million) are estimated to be involved in bullying as either a bully, a target of bullying, or both.
• 46% of teens in public schools say there are gangs in schools.

Causes of youth homelessness also include the typical suspects – lack of affordable housing, poverty, unemployment, and mental health.  Many homeless youth lack the finances, skills, maturity and independent living skills that can help them end their homelessness.

Beyond learning about the causes of homelessness, participants were taught some of the ways they could help.

1. Change Attitudes About Homeless People
   In general, society sees homeless people as morally and socially inferior.  The fact that a homeless youth has gone through an overwhelmingly harsh existence which overtakes her or her ability to cope – mentally, emotionally or physically – is an important fact about which to educate the public.
2. Organize Sock Drives
   Socks are basic necessities that many in our homeless communities have to do without.  Rain wear, such as lightweight raincoats or ponchos can also be very helpful depending on where you live and the time of year.
3. Stuff Care Packages In Backpacks
   Filling backpacks with vital hygiene items (soap, shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrushes, anti-perspirant, deodorant, washcloth, shavers, shaving cream and feminine products) as well as zip-lock bags (especially the durable gallon-size freezer bags) are very useful for keeping hygiene items together and for protecting things like clothing items and books from getting wet in the rain.  A small flashlight, a small radio can be a great comfort and an ample supply of batteries are helpful.  Backpacks allow the homeless to carry all of their belongings with them at all times, and will lessen the risk of having donated items lost or stolen. 
4. Donate Gift Card or Voucher Donations
   From local restaurants and drug stores to clothing outlets and shoe stores, an alternative to giving cash, gift cards or vouchers can help steer purchasing decisions in the right direction. 

Though not anticipated, the bite of the damp ocean wind did reinforce to participants how cold it must be to live on the streets.   150 emergency  blankets were passed around for warmth of the body but also to provide these kids with the opportunity to craft an Ornament Of Hope for a homeless peer.  The messages were both breath-taking and inspiring, and they came from kids ages 7 through 17:

• “You Are Loved, Believe In Yourself”
• “Be Strong”
• “Be The Strength You Want To See In The World”
• “You Pack A Punch In The World, You Are Powerful”
• “Don’t Follow Your Dreams, Lead Them”

Finally, we invited the kids to pin these messages and stencil  one word on each blanket:  “HOPE.”

Posted via email from KooDooZ

Youth Homelessness

Homelessness is an extraordinary challenge in the United States, mainly due to the fact that the majority of the people affected are “invisible” victims.  That's to say, they are functioning members of society who happen to be experiencing such extreme poverty that they simply can’t afford to keep a roof over their heads.

This situation of quiet desperation is experienced by an estimated 1.5 million youth and a collective 2.3 to 3.5 million Americans at least once each year.

*** The Facts ***
34% of the homeless population are made up of women and children

• of which, 84% are female headed (on average the single mothers are in their late 20’s w/ 2 young children)
• 640,000 of homeless children are under the age of 6

42% of homeless youth are school-aged and enrolled in school

• of which, 77.3% (697,130) are in grades K-8
• of which, 22.7% (204,978) are in grades 9-12
• of which, 43% repeat a grade

Not since the Great Depression have so many kids stood at poverty’s door.  But even more than the debilitating effects of being impoverished, homelessness is profoundly destructive to the educational outcomes of these youth.

Children in families experiencing homelessness are unable to attend school regularly.  Alarmingly, poor attendance is a significant predictor of dropping out of school and the impact of interrupted schooling can have long-term consequences. 
 
Statistically, by the time a homeless child is in secondary school, they are left on their own without structured academic help.  By the time they’re in their teens, most homeless youth are “couch surfing” or one of the 50,000 youth in the United States who sleep on the street for six months or more.  Field experts are quick to point out that there are far less family and teen shelters than there are for single sex shelters, an issue which clearly needs to be addressed.

There are approximately 110 homeless shelters in California and only 3 are for teens.

According to a First Focus report the number of homeless public school students nationally rose 41%.  In fact, the number of homeless students (preK-12) increased in a school year from 679,724 (2006-2007) to 956,914 (2008-2009).  A recent article in the NY Daily News says, “At 19 of the 20 schools that the Education Department announced last month it plans to shut down, the number of homeless kids jumped by more than 100%.”  

“School is a refuge for homeless children and youth, providing safety, structure and services.  Education is also their surest path to economic and stable housing in adulthood.” 

In order to raise awareness of the challenge of youth homelessness, KooDooZ and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Santa Monica is hosting a Sleep Out from 6 pm on Friday, August 27th to 8 am on Saturday, August 28th.  Up to 150 kids are invited to make no-sew blankets, watch a movie on this topic and learn how to help in meaningful ways.
 
EVENT SPECIAL GUESTS:
·         7-year old Jonas Corona will discuss how he has been able to help homeless youth through his nonprofit organization, Love in the Mirror with the donation of backpacks filled with supplies for middle school students.
 
·         Ehecatl Rojas of Los Angeles Youth Network will discuss some of the characteristics and traits traditionally seen in homeless youth.  Many are frequently shy and withdrawn.  Homeless students are likely to have lower self-esteem and higher levels of anxiety than their peers.  Overall, their academic performance is compromised.

While the recession has certainly refocused our attention on the plight of the poorest families, our nation doesn’t yet understand what actions every day people can take to help.  This event is an important way for kids and their families to learn what to do to help a worthy cause.

Posted via email from KooDooZ

The Gift of Giving with KooDooZ

On December 22^nd KooDooZ organized a “KDZ Giving” event for members of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Santa Monica. Our purpose was to introduce kids to the KooDooZ philosophy (and software) by providing them with a series of online and offline challenges and rewarding them for their efforts.

For me – after two years of intensive research, analysis, development and testing – this event stood out ... Not because it was monumental in comparison to any other product launch I've been a part of, but because the KooDooZ prospects ("KDZ" aka "Millennials") were so enthusiastic about a tool developed to increase their ability for "making a difference" in their personal, local or global lives.

As an aside, I have to share my passion for Millennial change-makers. The concept of “doing good” is a rationale Millennials don't only impose on themselves, they extend it to their peers, parents, neighbors, communities and just as significantly, to companies (as pointed out by a recent Cone Study.) As the first global generation ever, Millennials care strongly about justice and the problems faced by their society. Not only are they engaged in some kind of civic activity at school, they also have a deeper sense of “community.” Additionally, no generation understands new technology as intuitively as the Millennials do. So it was such a compliment to earn their verifiable vote of confidence by way of enthusiastic participation with KooDooZ.

On this day, we engaged 50 young minds (the youngest still in elementary school and the oldest just beginning to embark on their career) and while it was no surprise that most of these kids were more interested in “the doing” of a challenge than in “the prize” of a reward, it did spread my smile wide to see it in person.

The “KDZ Giving” event very specifically reaffirmed the fact that Millennials:

1. Prefer to learn by doing, within a framework of organization
2. Crave challenges and have a high motivation for turning them into achievements
3. Thrive in structured team activities where they can build new relationships and foster new dialogue
4. Partner well with mentors
5. Care less about personal rewards and more about benefiting a social cause

Equally as important, the KooDooZ biz dev team targeted some forward thinking companies to sponsor specific challenges which allowed us to further prove that there is an emotional link that connects Millennials to causes and ultimately to the companies that support and/or benefit those causes.

According to research, there are an estimated 15.6M Millennials in the United States who are actively engaged in helping humanity and sustainability. This represents a huge potential opportunity for companies embracing Cause Marketing / Branding.

Sponsors from around the country who contributed to this event included: Albertsons, AMF, Ask Kids, Avery Dennison, Best Buy of Santa Monica, Color Me Mine, FedEx Office of Santa Monica, Pacific Park, Pavilions, Perricone MD Cosmeceuticals, Ralphs, Santa Monica Playhouse, Ultimate Arcade and Vons.

Because the event was themed around “giving" these corporations supplied products and prizes for the offline challenges so that kids could create some personalized gifts for the holidays. I’ll highlight two of my favorites: (i) “To Get Fueled Up” in which the kids measured then layered ingredients into jars for a meal to share with friends, family or to donate to a homeless shelter and (ii) “To Get Sweetly Soft” with all natural ingredients for a sugar body scrub which they mixed by hand.

What sold the “KDZ Giving” event to corporate sponsors was KooDooZ ability to add that third dimension into the brand marketing experience of fostering a relationship between the cause and the consumer. For example, KooDooZ challenged the kids “To Do Something Noteworthy” by either (i) writing a letter to Santa in support of Macy’s Believe campaign to raise up to $1M for the Make-A-Wish Foundation; (ii) designing an image centered around “change” for President Obama through the SecretBuilders contest; or (iii) composing a letter to a solider whose sacrifice for his/her country deserves constant recognition.

As I write this blog, it strikes me that I have not shared the KooDooZ mission, which is to "turn the good will & passions of "KDZ" (kids) into skills & strategies for creating change." KooDooZ was built as a “virtual meets virtuous” social networking site where KDZ are rewarded for subscribing to, designing and collaborating on goals that address a social mission. KDZ challenge themselves both online and offline, giving them the opportunity to impact people within their family, school and community as well as the worldwide web.

To prove that these young people constitute a potentially powerful force for good, KooDooZ engaged three other organizations: Iridescent, Centro Latino for Literacy and A Star Inside to continue to challenge KDZ throughout our private beta.

KooDooZ is committed to strategic partnerships with ethical brands and institutions, foundations, non-profits, schools and families. Parties interested in participating in our private beta program should send all requests to info@koodooz.com