Call to Action: Idealist.org Needs Our Help

In a recent email I recieved some bad news regarding one of my favorite sources of information, the Idealist website. According to this email, Idealist is on the verge of possibly having to close up shop due to the same financial troubles which are effecting all of our lives at the moment. Readers of this blog can certainly identify with all that is involved with having a sudden streak of bad luck. When I first moved to NYC 9 years ago, I found Idealist to be a enormously valuable resource on a day to day basis. In fact, one of my very first jobs outside of school was an internship that I found through their site. It could even be safe to say that somewhere rooted in the idea behind Home Free Organization, at least in the beginning, might have been somewhat inspired by sites like Idealist which pool resources and volunteers around important causes and activism.  Here is just a portion of the email which I recieved from Idealist:

Very briefly, here's what happened. Over the past ten years, most of
our funding has come from the small fees we charge organizations for
posting their jobs on Idealist. By September 2008, after years of
steady growth, these little drops were covering 70% of our budget.

Then, in October of that year, the financial crisis exploded, many
organizations understandably froze their hiring, and from one week to
the next our earned income was cut almost in half.

That was 16 months ago, and since then we've survived on faith and
fumes, by cutting expenses, and by getting a few large gifts from new
and old friends. But now we are about to hit a wall, and this is why I
am reaching out to you.

If over the past 15 years Idealist has helped you or a friend find a
job, an internship or a volunteer opportunity; connect with a person,
an idea or a resource; or just feel inspired for a moment, now we need
your help. I wouldn't be asking, and not like this, if this were not a
critical time.

Idealist needs our help and your help in order to stay afloat. It takes a great amount of courage to put oneself out there as Idealist has above and to me that indicates a level of seriousness which should be addressed-therefore I am doing my part. Every day, Idealist helps connect 70,000 people with 90,000
organizations around the world, in English, Spanish, and French. In addition to our work online, every year we also organize a series of events across North America, including 10 Nonprofit Career Fairs, 20
Graduate School Fairs, and 5 Global Volunteering Fairs. If you or your organization has the funds to spare, please consider donating to Idealist at http://www.idealist.org/donate

Home Free Organization and Social Networking for Urban Homeless

I just wanted to let our readers know about new changes to the Home Free Organization Social Network, which is now featured in the Ning Directory here.
For the Currently Homeless 
If you are currently homeless (or Home-Free, rather) you might want to consider joining our social network and use the tools provided such as Google Wave, video and photos and our discussion forum in order to step up your search for solutions, at least until we get our trucks on the streets and in your city.
For Professional Who Would Like to Volunteer 
If you are a professional or councilor who might want to volunteer your services and time for a tax break, join the same community (linked above) and list your talents or skills in your profile so that we may connect you with someone in need of what you have to offer.

For Everyone
Please share this post on Facebook, Myspace, Linkedin or anywhere else on the web  where you have connections with people who care. We hope this is reaching the people in need and it can only do so with YOUR HELP....thanks for your continued support as we make Home Free Organization a reality for many out there who need what we have to offer.

Home Free Organization is a non-profit initiative to eradicate homelessness in urban environments through the provision of free wireless internet, social networking and resource allotment. We take donated bread trucks which have come off route and add donated computers and hardware to create mobile wireless access hubs for homeless individuals to utilize for finding family, jobs, resources and ways off the street. The goal is simple: Provide a resource for the homeless which will allow them to find ways off the street. Of course there are many who prefer the streets to a 9-5 and home life, but for those who are stuck and cannot find there way, Home Free will provide the tools to try.

Call To Action: Spread the Word about Home Free Organization

Dearest Friends, Followers and Supporters of Home Free Organization, we come to you with a small request today which will only take 5 minutes of your time and may do more for the world than you could possibly know. Home Free Organization is currently in search of funding and/or a mentor nonprofit organization (ex. Salvation Army) to take us under their wing so that we can become an accredited charity. If you have just five minutes to spare, please forward Home Free Organization's information to just 10 people or simply make it a point to talk about us at your next business meeting or dinner. As you may know already, Home Free Org is not your normal nonprofit entity as we are not on the streets soliciting monetary donations from strangers.  At this point we are not even asking for cash donations (although they will help)-instead Home Free is asking for individuals and/or businesses to donated their unwanted materials so that we can convert them into usable resources for those in need [a full list of donation types listed here].Nevertheless, if  you prefer to donate cash, we ask at this time that you do so by purchasing official Home Free Organization branded merchandise such as shirts and hats from our Cafe Press store. 

The World Needs Your Network
Everyone out there has someone in their life with a big heart and resources to share.  Home Free Organization needs you to speak with that person and mention us to them.  We are in great need of donations of unwanted bread trucks and computers in order to increase the number of homeless individuals that we can help.  Craigslist is always full of unwanted "bread truck" and "box van" type of vehicles for cheap!  The idea is to reuse what is unwanted and convert it into something useful to help those in the streets find ways to get off the streets.

End Homelessness, Support Home Free Organization

It is going to take a lot of heart and word of mouth to get to this next phase and we need your help.  Please forward this to anyone you know who might be willing to brainstorm and help. Thank you for your time and effort know...you are doing a great thing. 

Home Free Organization Truck Logical Network Diagram

Home Free Organization is on the front lines and in the streets with new and emerging technologies connecting to anywhere at anytime. With new and emerging technologies available to the world daily Home Free is committed to make the most of what is offered to in turn provide seamless access to much needed support mechanisms to the Home-Free. The diagram to the left is a peek into how we at Home Free are able to provide this much needed access.

UPDATE: College of Charleston Magazine Features Home Free Organization

There are quite a few more people behind the goals of Home Free Organization today...quite a few hundred! As previously mentioned, College of Charleston Magazine featured our growing cause in their latest Alumni Issue, which can now be read by visiting the magazine's website. You could also order a copy for print even if you're not a student or alumni if you wish.  We are really pleased with the way that the article turned out and excited to have so many more compassionate individuals involved with the project.

There are just a couple of things that we would like to note for those looking to get involved. First, our Home Free social network is setup and available for volunteers and those in need to join and begin networking for change. This will give every volunteering person involved their own profile page for showcasing exactly which talents, skills or professional background that respective members are bringing to the table. As for those who are Home-Free and are in search of assistance, this will be a safe and discrimination-free place to easily describe those issues which are holding you back. 

Where can I Find Home Free Organization at Work?
We are still working out the bugs in the prototype truck and accepting material donations (not asking for money at this time) and hope to be in the streets of NYC before the end of the year.  However there is much work to be done in the background and that means volunteers can start helping by committing a small amount of time just spreading the word.  With that said, you can find Home Free Organization building an army on any of the following social networking sites.  If you happen to be a member on these sites, lets be friends.

TIP: If you are a person who might be well connected with someone who owns a bread company or some other business which uses delivery vans, by all means, please mention us to them as we are going to need all the trucks we can find.   Maybe you're not this person but rather a terrific speaker on behalf of organizations such as our, please contact the Salvation Army and put in a good word for us as we would love to ultimately become a mobile version of their cause.  And a final tip, if you just happen to have cash laying around and would like to contribute to our cause, a great place to start would be trying your local Craigslist and searching for "bread truck" or "box van," as many cities have individuals looking to get rid of their unwanted trucks cheap! Diesel trucks work best as per our wonderful relationship with TriState Biodiesel (Brooklyn), however gasoline trucks can be converted by our friends at Diesel Depot (of Georgia)!

Home Free Organization is now on Google Wave as beta testers which is extremely exciting as both volunteers and the home-free can now communicate (including the sharing of all forms of media) in real time. 
What is Google Wave?
Google Wave is a browser-based collaboration tool that combines messaging, document writing and discussions in real time. I participated by proxy in an experiment with the tool last week that involved fellow content management professionals.You can watch a video about using Google Wave here and read this Google Wave User Guide and an in depth guide on the Mashable blog.  Google Wave is of course new to everyone in the world, so lets work the bugs out together and make this a problem solving machine for those in need.

Thank you for all of your support towards helping Home Free Organization help those in need help themselves to a better life.  Feel free to email any questions to homefreeorganization@gmail.com and one of us will be happy to speak to you when it is most convenient for you.  Take care and remember you are not homeless, you are Home-Free!