In June, the House of Representatives heard testimony from - among others - singer/songwriter Jewel about the condition of homeless teens in America. Jewel, herself, was homeless as a teenager and knows firsthand the dangers of the streets and the difficulties of making a better life. The initiative to designate November as National Homeless Youth Awareness Month was launched in conjunction with Virgin Mobile's The RE*Generation campaign aimed at connecting at-risk and homeless youth with people who want to help.

"'A resolution and designated month will go a long way toward building awareness of the more than one million children and teens that are without homes and in crisis,' said Dan Schulman, CEO of Virgin Mobile USA. 'We trust November will serve as a call to action for Americans to learn more about this vital issue, as well as find ways to support the organizations working to help homeless youth in their own communities.'"

As part of the RE*Generation campaign, Virgin Mobile created the TXT2CLOTHE initiative which allows mobile phone users from any wireless carrier to send a text message that results in a piece of clothing being donated to a homeless teen.

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Labels: at_risk, awareness, homelessness