I'm extremely dedicated to my daily blog, which you can find here: http://amyyarick.tumblr.com
I will probably eventually just stop posting here and move over there permanently. So if you care to know about my life and/or read my thoughts and/or see my pictures, then go follow me over there. :)
If you do, you'll see my latest post was the persuasive speech I just wrote for my Public Speaking class at school. I wanted to post it here too. So enjoy :)
I. Attention Step
A. In 2009, there was an estimate of 656,000 reported homeless people in the United States. In 2010, there were 100 million people worldwide, having no home whatsoever.
B. A lot of people believe that individuals have only themselves to blame for being homeless. We choose to ignore those who have nothing because “it’s their fault anyways so they deserve it.” We forget what the real problem is. The problem is not how these people became homeless, but the problem is that they ARE homeless. Instead of ignoring the tugging at our hearts, we should help those who have less than us and get them back on their feet.
C. We all want to change the world. We all want to make an impact. By helping someone who has less than you, you ARE changing the world. One person at a time, you’re making the world a better place and leaving your mark on this generation. In the words of Mother Teresa, “If you can’t feed a hundred people, feed just one.”
II. Need Step
A. In the United States today, the U.S. Census Bureau reports 16 million children living in poverty. The United States government predicts that soon, 25 percent of the kids in America will live in poverty.
In countries like Kenya, the numbers are so high that they’re not even reported and are impossible to even calculate.
An episode of 60 minutes on CBS said that the number of children without an actual home in America last year was 1.5 million. That’s 500 times as many students as there are currently enrolled at Florida Gateway College that have no home to live in and are lucky to have food to eat.
While we worry about where to go for lunch, what new iPhone app to download, what new album to buy, and where to vacation this summer, there are over 1 million children wondering whether or not they will have somewhere to sleep the next day.
These things aren’t said to make us feel guilty about our lives or what we have. Instead, they’re to make us aware of what is going on in the world around us everyday. Oftentimes, when we hear the word “poverty,” we think of countries overseas and third world nations. We don’t realize that it’s here in the United States too, in Florida. In fact, Orlando has one of the most rapidly growing populations of homeless children and families.
B. In Tanzania, there is a 13-year-old girl named Sofia. Sofia’s Dad is dying and she spends her days helping her Mom take care of him. She wants to go to school so that she can get an education and provide for her family. But, she can’t go to school because her family cannot afford the mandatory school uniform required to attend.
We complain, day in, and day out about getting out of bed to get to school or trying to finish our homework on time. None of us can wait to graduate, but this little girl wants nothing more than to be where we are right now. And she can’t.
III. Satisfaction Step
A. There are so many ways to help homeless people and children. There are so many opportunities for us to help children like Sofia and begin to put an end to poverty, worldwide.
In 2010, a man named James Barnett qui his job and sold everything he had to experience poverty in America firsthand- He became homeless.
Day by day, he walked the streets with homeless people and started to realize the small basic things they needed, things like socks. James founded and created the company CYNY, which stands for ‘Clothe Your Neighbor As Yourself.’ The company prints t-shirts, containing the logo and sells them online. They then use all of the profits to provide homeless people with the basic clothes and necessities that they need.
B. But it doesn’t stop here.
CYNY has recently expanded to reach people worldwide. They are now using some of the profits to provide school uniforms so orphans in countries like Tanzania and Kenya can go to school and get an education.
Not only are they providing these kids with the ability to go to school, but they are also creating jobs and boosting the economy in those countries. The money you spend to buy a t-shirt goes toward jobs for the Kenyan women to make the uniforms.
Along with clothing people in need, providing jobs, and helping orphans go to school, CYNY helps the U.S. economy too. The company purchases their wholesale from American Apparel, which uses ethical employment and environment initiatives.
According to the CYNY website, American Apparel is quick to provide jobs for foreigners coming into our country and helps pay for their schooling. The average sewer at American Apparel makes 12 dollars an hour, almost twice the federal minimum wage.
IV. Visualization Step
A. By purchasing a t-shirt from CYNY, you’re making the first step to ending poverty and homelessness worldwide. By buying a shirt, you’re first and foremost donating money to provide people with the necessities in life that we tend to take for granted. You’re also helping create opportunities for children in these poverty stricken areas to get an education and make a better life for themselves. By wearing the shirt, you’re raising awareness of the ongoing issue of homelessness. You’re also showing people that we need to help others in any way we can.
B. By purchasing and wearing the shirts, you’re starting a movement. You’re spreading the word to stop poverty and homelessness in the world. Ideas spread like wildfire. One person sees your shirt and tell their friend and before you know it, cities full of people will be displaying on their chests the need to help those less fortunate than us.
V. Action Step
A. So, instead of spending $20 on a shirt at the mall, go to CYNY.organd purchase a t-shirt. Wear your shirt proudly and explain to people what it means. Spread the word. It’s that simple. You don’t have to start a big rally, hold riots, have huge fundraisers, or vote for a certain political figure. All you have to do is buy a shirt… and wear it.
B. Maybe one day, that 656,000 people, will turn into 0. Maybe that 1.5 million children will turn into 0. When starting the company, James Barnett said, “Only by doing can we begin to offer hope and love to a world whose cup is half empty.”
It doesn’t take much to change the world. It really only takes one person. One person with one t-shirt, fighting to end poverty and homelessness worldwide. Be that one person.
(c) Amy Yarick
No comments:
Post a Comment