Questions and Support

Hi:). My name is Jessica Dushane, and I guess I would like to ask for you help with something- which I'm sure you get a lot! However, this is something that I am very passionate about too, and I think that maybe you really would like to be able to be involved. I work in Northern Michigan for an agency that works with homeless and runaway youth. Like a lot of social services, we aren't getting funded the way we used to be. In fact right now, we are waiting on pins and needles to see if we get a very important grant, and if we don't I will find myself laid off. However, I'm not about to give up that easy! I've only been with Staircase Youth Services for a year because I just graduated college in 2010, but I have definately become attached.

What I want to do is start an annual fund raiser in our communities to raise awareness and create a way for us to keep us running to help the youth of our communities. My vision is to have the fund raiser during Runaway and Homeless Youth Awareness month in November (which is sooo close, I know!) We would purchase a mass amount of green lanterns, and then sell them for a profit. The event itself would be held at an indoor/outdoor venue, and after it's dark enough, everyone would release their green lanterns at the same time (Green is the color for runaway/homeless youth awareness). The goal would be to sell as many green lanterns as there were runaway/homeless youth in Michigan the previous year to create an awesome visual. Of course whenever you are trying to start a new fund raiser as involved as this, it is very difficult to draw in people to be involved. I think that it could really be something we do every year, but we have to get people interested. That is where I hope you come in!! I would love to have someone that cares about our cause and can create that attention that we need! Having you there to have a benefit concert would draw more people than we would ever be able to even hope for!

I really believe in what we do. The youth we serve don't have family or people in their lives to support them. It always chokes me up when, me- their caseworker, was the only person in their lives willing to sit with them in the hospital at 2am or even something as simple as show them how to fill out a job application. We keep youth in their homes with their families, and the ones that don't have that, we provide for them.

Please please PLEASE consider this. I realize that you probably get asked to do things like this ALL the time. I just can't stress enough how great it would be to have someone like you behind the cause! Thanks so much for your time!

I really do not check facebook that often, so if you do choose to respond (which I hope you do) the best ways to get ahold of me are below. God bless!

Jessica Dushane
Outreach Homeless Youth Specialist
Staircase Youth Services
jdstaircase@yahoo.com
231-233-0759