Awareness leads to progress and progress leads to breakthrough. This is what Sevenly is all
about, helping bring awareness to various causes – with hopes of leading people towards their own
breakthroughs. Three years ago was when Sevenly began their quest, but progress was not far in
their future. Their first charities were only raising around six thousand dollars; through knowledge
and experience they were able to progress and grow into an extremely well working system.
Because of their efforts with social media websites, and their modern approach to an old concept,
Sevenly has been able to make vast improvements in raising money for charities over the past few
years. The fact that they used devices that were unique and have had a great impact on the current
society is rather simple, yet ingenious. The creators or founders were able to use social networking
to create a business that would benefit others. Though it was rocky at first and took some time to
promote, they have progressed to achieve more awareness from the population. This meant well
business has had the chance to support its’ employees and also change peoples’ lives all around
the world through their charity work. Their current charities are raising anywhere from sixteen to
forty thousand dollars per week. Through their expansion they have been able to make products
other than shirts, and have brought other companies products into their organization to help both
raise awareness for themselves and great companies that support them.
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
What Sevenly Means to Us Personally
Personally, I, Emily, can relate to a number of charities that Sevenly has supported and raised money for. I find that I relate most to the National Autism Association charity. During my childhood, my mother worked as a teacher for those effected with Autism, so I spent a lot of time learning about it. I would also attend work functions with her and would interact with the children she worked with. Also, as I grew up I have had the chance to be friends and attend school with many children and young adults with Autism. This makes the charity have emotional relevance to me and I can understand raising awareness and helping families out is important.
While teaching, she was also an aid to students with Down syndrome; this allowed me to also have the chance to interact with those children. The teachers would have trips and days when they would take to the children to the movies and I would tag along. And I am glad that I was given the chance to interact and meet with them. This allows me to understand why it is important to help expecting parents understand Down syndrome and allow for more awareness in the population as well.
I, Dayna, appreciate the fact that Sevenly has donated to the Humane Society of the United States multiple times. I support the work the HSUS does, especially with pit bulls. As a pit bull
owner myself, I am angered when I see the severe discrimination and abuse against that breed.
The HSUS advocates in favor of pit bulls, working to end that discrimination and abuse by working
with the national and state governments and legislators. Their message on that issue is that
discriminating against a breed has been proven ineffective, because breed alone is not what makes
a dog a danger to others. I love that Sevenly donates tens of thousands of dollars towards this
cause, and many other causes that the HSUS fights for.
I, Jessi, find everything that sevenly does to be an inspiration. I personally have a hard
time focusing on just one issue, or just one cause. So, I may not know much about every one of
them – but I know about each of them a little bit. I also find it nice that I can pick and choose what
cause I am supporting, and in the process I am also supporting good companies in the process. Out
of the causes we chose to highlight I find that I align myself most with Mercy Ships. I think what
they do is far different than any charity I have heard of before, and they help a variety of people
with a variety of needs. I like that their cause can affect people in various places around the word,
rather than having a focus on just once specific area. For me supporting a charity that supports a
very wide variety of people matters most.
Mercy Ships
Mercy ships is a company that thrives on the idea that people deserve health care, even if they have no access to it. Their mission started in the 80’s, and is still prevalent today. What they do is man ships with volunteers, turn the ships into mobile hospitals, and boat around the world towards countries without healthcare. On their website they show a chart listing all that happens in just one single day on the African Mercy, their current ship. Here are some of the numbers: 138 dental procedures, 128 beds, 10 radiology procedures, and over 1600 hours of labor. The procedures they do are both large, and small. A specific story shown by Sevenly was about an African boy with a deformity on his face. In his community they outcast people with deformities; Mercy Ships visited his community and he was allowed to have a surgery that removed the growth. These stories are not rare for Mercy Ships however, they are abundant. These are the kinds of life changes they strive for on a daily basis.
For more information see the Mercy Ships website:
Lettercase
Lettercase is a charity or organization that began in 2008; its goal is to bring awareness to those with Down syndrome. With the use of a book called Understanding a Down Syndrome Diagnosis, which they created. Over 25,000 copies of the book have already been distributed to homes all over the United States in hope that families will gain more knowledge about Down syndrome, especially those families that have a member with Down syndrome. In 2009, the book was selected by Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation First Call committee as the gold standard for prenatal information about Down syndrome. Now the organization has branched out to more books to help those seeking knowledge. The books also allow expecting parents who receive a prenatal diagnosis or already parents that have received a diagnosis of Down syndrome in a child to gain information and support right away. The books are all up-to-date on information, balanced, and accurate; books are written in Spanish and in English. The material written also includes common medical conditions for those with Down syndrome, educations and health resources that may be available to the families, and other helpful resources.
For more information on Lettercase see website:
RE-Generation
Re-Generation is charity that was started by the company Virgin Mobile and is comprised of a group of partners including Green Chimneys, National Alliance to End Homelessness, Sasha Bruce Youthwork, and Virgin Unite. The mission when beginning the charity was to, as they put it, “A generation helping its own”. The charity focuses on young people within the United States that due to certain circumstances may have become or are currently homeless. Whether they have become homeless do to natural disasters, family troubles, or financial struggles; the occurrences are out of their power. Re-Generation seeks to ensure that those young people have a chance and the means to complete school and stay away from the streets, begging, drugs, and prostitution. This charity is specific to young homeless people or kiss because they have different needs than homeless adults, especially being as they have not had a chance to live their lives yet. So, Virgin Mobile and Virgin Unite created this charity to change this. They bring together youth with those that seek to help the homeless youth by bringing together with organizations that would like to do the same. This they believe will empower youth. Virgin Mobile also connects the charity with texting, volunteering, donating, and making phone downloads. Since 2009 the outpouring of support for Virgin Mobile FreeFest has provided 75,000 hours of community service have been donated to homeless youth, nearly $800,000 raised for homeless youth charities, nearly 25,000 outreach kits created for kids on the street and 1000 pairs of shoes were donated by Converse to youth homelessness all because of Re-Generation.
For more information see the Re-Generation website:
http://www.virginmobileusa.com/virgin-mobile-life/regeneration-past-about
Angel Faces
Sevenly donated $18,844 to Angel Faces, an organization that gives aid to young girls who have suffered from burn/trauma injuries. The money was donated primarily to the Angel Faces programs and retreats. The organization was founded by Lesia Cartelli. She is the current CEO, well as an inspirational speaker. Cartelli created Angel Faces after suffering from a traumatic burn injury herself at the age of nine. She was at her grandparents’ house when a natural gas explosion occurred, destroying half of her face and body. Miraculously, she was able to survive such a horrific incident and eventually rise above her circumstances. Angel Faces was founded in 2003. According to the official website (http://www.angelfacesretreat.org/af/), Angel Faces is “a nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide healing retreats and ongoing support for adolescent girls with burn/trauma injuries.” Their goal is to help these girls be the best they can possibly be, and they also help the girls “develop meaningful relationships for themselves, their families, and their communities.”
The charity places a focus on teen girls, ages 11 to 19. These girls can experience the healing benefits of Angel Faces by either going through the programs, which include the Angel Faces retreat and the Angels in Flight ongoing support. The programs are meant to encourage, inspire, and support teen girls living with these traumatic injuries. They come face-to-face with their deepest emotions and grief, gain a stronger self-esteem and confidence to help them move forward in their lives. The programs also teach the girls how to handle stares and/or teasing that comes as a result of their disfigurements in a loving manner. Healthy boundaries are developed and maintained in their daily lives.
The Angel Faces retreat is residential and lasts seven days. It is held once a year in Southern California. According to the Angel Faces website, the retreat consists of: skill building and practice sessions, emotional healing, corrective cosmetics, the importance of self care, mindfulness and physical strength, and friendships, balance, and play. This retreat allows the teen to begin the emotional healing process. The retreat continues to support her journey through life after the seven days are over.
Angel Faces is the only organization of its kind in the country and in the world. It is different from other burn camps because it addresses grief and trauma in addition to social and self-esteem problems. Their goals for the future are to reach a broader audience- possibly teen boys with burn/trauma injuries. They also want to get the surrounding communities more involved in their mission. Ultimately, they want to further spread their message about the “beauty and personal power within us and how we each can rise above our circumstances to create a meaningful life.”
For more information see the Angel Faces website:
Polaris Project
The Polaris Project was founded on February 14th, 2002 by two college students Katherine Chon and Derek Ellerman. This organization is the leading organization in the global fight against human trafficking and modern day slavery. It was named after the North Star “Polaris” which guided slaves to freedom along the Underground Railroad.
Sevenly donated $27,160 to this organization. The money that they raised for this organization goes toward multiple areas of the Polaris project. The following paragraphs explain multiple areas where the money donated could benefit the organization.
They have a crisis response team which provides emotional support, legal advocacy, emergency housing coordination, transportation assistance, and critical social services support. Another thing that is part of the crisis response team is the national human trafficking hotline.
Next they have therapeutic services. This includes individual therapy and group therapy. Group therapy helps the survivors support each other in the healing process.
Case management is another thing they have. With case management everyone is assigned a case advisor that helps them set goals and help with their individual needs. Some of those needs include helping find food, clothing, obtaining government benefits, receiving health services, access to classes, and supporting them with criminal justice proceedings against the trafficker.
Workshops are also offered. They have weekly workshops that provide a positive supportive environment to discuss relationships, careers, and transitions. Skill providing workshops are another type of workshop offered. The skill building workshops focus on areas like budgeting, nutrition, exercise, and goal setting. They also provide creative outlets such as art therapy, dance, acting, and photography.
Lastly they have a drop in center which is a safe place for the clients to feel at home. At the drop in center they can come in and use the computers, phones, receive donated clothing and appliances, eat, and rest/relax.
To find more information on the Polaris Project see their website:
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