National Organizations Mark 20th Anniversary of the McKinney Act with Call for Program Reauthorization; HEARTH Act Gains Momentum

On April 13th, a collection of national organizations including Give US Your Poor issued a set of fundamental principles for addressing mass homelessness and called on the 110th Congress to reauthorize McKinney Act programs. The document calls for an explicit national commitment to meet the immediate needs of people experiencing homelessness as expressed through HUD McKinney-Vento reauthorization, and that Congress must appropriate sufficient resources for the purpose. At the time of its adoption in 1987, McKinney-Vento was viewed as only the first step in a national response to homelessness by providing emergency relief to be followed by measures to prevent homelessness and by more systemic solutions to the problem.

The Twentieth Anniversary of the McKinney Homeless Assistance Act: A Consensus Statement on Five Fundamentals, http://www.npach.org/McKinneyConsensusStatement.pdf

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WAYLAND MOMS RECRUIT LOCAL VIPs FOR 2nd ANNUAL COMMUNITY-WIDE EVENT FOR HOMELESSNESS

Wayland Women photo GUYP Wayland Auction

Six Wayland, MA mothers teamed up to raise money toward the fight against homelessness recently with a dinner, raffle and silent/live auction featuring local “celebrities” and VIPs. The 2nd Annual Give US Your Poor Auction was held Thursday, March 8, 2007 at the Sandy Burr Country Club. The proceeds from the event went to benefit Give US Your.

The event was emceed by Wayland native Ted Wayman, formerly of CBS and UPN and currently on boston.tv, and also featured Wayland’s Chief of Police Robert Irving, Fire Chief Robert Loomer, Magic 106 DJ David O’Leary, Wayland High School Football Coach Scott Parseghian and Wayland Youth Sports Coach Adrian Gomes among others as auctioneers for the live auction.

Wayland mothers Jennifer Bonner, Lisa Clayton, Susan Cohen Cummings, Nancy Funkhouser, Kim O’Shaughnessy and Ashley Welch joined to organize the 2nd annual event with the hope of raising awareness for Give Us Your Poor, a UMass Boston-based organization founded by Executive Director and Wayland resident John McGah, with a special focus on education. Currently, the Wayland Public Schools are exploring ways to incorporate the Give US Your Poor homelessness curriculum, developed by the UMass Boston, in their middle schools.

“We all tell our children how fortunate they are and how some families don’t have hot meals or homes to live in,” comments Jennifer Bonner, chairperson of the event committee. “Becoming involved with Give Us Your Poor is a way to really show my kids how a community can do something to help solve the problem rather than merely acknowledging it.”

“I was really inspired by these women and their enthusiasm to get out there and get involved. They all have multiple kids under the age of six and hectic schedules, but they were eager to get the word out about the cause and organize this event,” comments McGah. “I think it says a lot about the community of Wayland and the ability to bring awareness and aid to a problem that might not affect it directly.”

Homelessness is not foreign to Massachusetts, however. Wages in the state have failed to keep pace with rental costs and families are unable to pay for housing, food, child care, and health care; they are forced to decide which of these necessities they can afford. Today, there are more than 10,500 homeless families in Massachusetts; 20,000 of these family members are homeless children. For every ten household with extremely low incomes, there are only four affordable housing units that these families can actually afford. Across the United States, there are approximately 3.5 million homeless individuals; over 1 million of these individuals are children.

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Public Service Announcement Playing on Massachusetts Cable TV

The Give US Your Poor Public Service Announcement featuring Danny Glover is currently running on cable stations throughout Massachusetts. Thanks to viamedia broadband advertising partners, Chris Howe and of course Danny Glover !! It is running April through June reaching 90,000 homes and featuring Danny Glover describing the need to address homelessness and the unique approach that Give US Your Poor takes.

To see extended version of the PSA click here: http://giveusyourpooroverview.flimp.net/

Dr. Marshall Goldsmith Keynotes Seminar on Leadership at Inaugural Event to Raise Awareness of “Give US Your Poor”

Dr. Marshall Goldsmith, one of corporate America’s thought leaders and best selling author was the featured speaker at the “Responsibility on Leadership Today” seminar held on March 29 in Boston. The event was hosted by UMass Boston and produced by King Fish Media of Salem, MA . The seminar was attended by many top local executives from companies such as State Street and Mintz Levin, in addition to key state and local officials.

This unique seminar was designed to explore leadership and the benefits of corporate responsibility, while supporting the national homelessness awareness and prevention initiative, Give US Your Poor, based at UMass Boston's McCormack Graduate School. Give US Your Poor’s mission is to create a revolution in public awareness, dispel myths and inspire action towards ending epidemic homelessness in the United States. The morning was hosted by Stephen P. Crosby, Dean of the McCormack Graduate School of Policy Studies at UMass Boston.

Dr. Goldsmith is a best selling business author, management consultant and coach to the CEO’s of some of the largest companies in the world. He is an authority on making successful leaders even better; he helps them achieve positive behavioral changes for themselves their relationships, and their teams. At this exclusive event, Dr. Goldsmith spoke about his new book “What Got You Here, Won’t Get You There” which was has been featured in Business Week and on NBC’s The Today Show.

“We at Give US Your Poor felt very fortunate to offer folks in Boston the opportunity to get in front of Marshall Goldsmith in an intimate setting, while supporting our efforts to end epidemic homelessness.” said John McGah, Director, Give US Your Poor “This kind of event is part of the larger solution: nonprofits, private businesses, and government institutions working together for a common goal that benefits us all.”

To learn more about Give US Your Poor and donate, go to www.giveusyourpoor.org