The primary beneficiary for Dance Marathon 2010 will be StandUp For Kids, a national nonprofit organization helping homeless youth, DM group members announced Tuesday night.
The organization’s Miami Executive Director Eddie Ameen, Weinberg ’03, said the selection of StandUp For Kids is especially “close to heart.” After spending four years involved in DM at Northwestern, Ameen will return for the 30-hour marathon next March to stand on the other side of the check.
“I couldn’t think anything more appealing as a cause than to help needy kids living on the streets,” said Ameen, who encouraged StandUp For Kids to apply for the first time this year. “I know how we operate. We’re going to be so accessible to Northwestern for the whole year.”
DM executive members chose the organization out of 60 applicants, said DM co-Chairs Lauren Troy and Ryan Farrell. Next year will mark the second time in DM’s 36-year history that members have decided to dance for a social cause – in 2003, DM raised money for the Chicago Urban Youth Scholarship Fund.
With more than 26,000 homeless kids in Chicago, StandUp For Kids offers DM a local connection to a national cause, said Troy, a SESP junior.
“There are so many kids nationally that are affected by (homelessness),” she said. “While there are other causes that are moving, this is something that is particularly relevant now.”
The mission of StandUp For Kids is to help homeless children through on-the-streets outreach efforts, said Rick Koca, the organization’s founder and chief executive officer.
A retired Navy officer, Koca said after working to build schools in other countries, he was shocked to return home to see kids living on the street. He founded StandUp For Kids in San Diego in 1990 to offer a caring environment of support for homeless youth, he said.
“It’s about going to the streets and saying, ‘We want to help you do what you want to do,'” he said. “It’s about getting kids a life. It’s about giving them hope.”
The organization now has outreach programs in 43 cities in 23 states. Between 3,500 and 5,000 volunteers help to maintain relationships with them over the years, said Koca, who recalled meeting singer-songwriter Jewel when she was playing on the streets of San Diego.
Volunteers walk the streets to provide assistance to homeless children, organize classroom presentations through the Don’t Run Away Program for third- to eighth-graders on dealing with abusive situations and teach social skills to young adults in the apartment support program.
For Koca, finding out StandUp For Kids was DM’s beneficiary was “earth-shattering,” he said. Having college students support the organization’s mission is a validation of its work, he said.
“This is the icing on the cake but better than that,” he said. “If you put something on the icing on the cake, that’s what Northwestern gave us.”
NU students will be able to volunteer with the organization throughout the year, Troy said. DM executive members are planning events to bring homeless youth to campus and train NU students to act as street outreach mentors.
Having college students involved in their lives will be inspiring, Koca said.
“It’s not as threatening as an old guy like me coming to the streets,” he said. “There are not a lot of walls you have to break down. They know the lingo, they know the dress.”
Koca said he was excited about working with NU and raising awareness of homelessness.
“I think it’s going to be a wonderful year,” he said. “I’m going to help this year’s team breach the million dollar mark.”
The Evanston Community Foundation, which builds and manages community endowments and provides grants to local programs, will be DM’s secondary beneficiary for the 13th year and will receive 10 percent of the money raised.
