To Write Love on Her Arms
Encyclopedia
To Write Love on Her Arms (TWLOHA) is an interfaith
, American
non-profit organization
which aims to present hope for people struggling with addiction
, depression
, self injury, and thoughts of suicide
while also investing directly into treatment and recovery. Based in Melbourne, Florida
, TWLOHA seeks to connect people to treatment centers
, websites, books, support groups, and other resources . TWLOHA also encourages people to have honest conversations about these issues, to live in community.
A large portion of the work is dedicated to bridging the gap between traditional treatment (i.e. rehab, counseling, helplines) and the lives of people who need help. Examples of this include music festivals and tours, social networking sites, and schools and universities. Wanting to support existing professional help organizations rather than replace them, TWLOHA also sends a portion of donations directly to such causes as Hopeline, InTheRooms.com, S.A.F.E. Alternatives, Minding Your Mind, and (in Australia
) Kids Help Line
.
The group's main exposure comes from musicians and bands who wear the organization's distinctive T-shirts in photographs and performances, however it has recently gained more and more public exposure through merchandise and public community websites such as Facebook
, MySpace
, Twitter
, and Tumblr
. TWLOHA had a booth at every stop at Vans Warped Tour for the past five years.
TWLOHA began operating as a non-profit organization
in October 2006 under the umbrella of Fireproof Ministries. On April 30, 2007, TWLOHA left Fireproof and TWLOHA, Inc. was established in Florida as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. The TWLOHA team is made up of 12 full-time staff members and a rotating group of approximately 6 interns . The organization had their offices in Cocoa, FL until 2011 when they moved to downtown Melbourne, FL.
In addition to the story, T-shirts were printed and sold in Orlando
to fund Yohe's drug treatment, and a MySpace
page was created to serve as home base for the project. Bands such as Anberlin
and Switchfoot
showed their support and began wearing the TWLOHA T-shirts right away, and TWLOHA's MySpace and Facebook page began to receive messages and comments from young people struggling with the same issues that Yohe faced. What began as an attempt to help one person in Orlando quickly generated wide interest – to date, TWLOHA responded to over 160,000 messages from over 100 countries and invested over $850,000 in treatment and recovery.
On the FAQ for TWLOHA's official website, it stated that Renee has finished rehab and although she will have to fight her addiction for the rest of her life. Yohe published a collection of journals in a book titled "Purpose for the Pain" . Yohe's story has also been turned to a major motion picture titled "Renee". She will be portrayed by actress Kat Dennings
. The organization will be prominently featured with Chad Michael Murray
portraying Tworkowski. Actors Corbin Bleu
and Rupert Friend
will also star
TWLOHA has risen to prominence through endorsements of celebrities and bands including Miley Cyrus
, Joaquin Phoenix
, Christina Perri
, Skillet
, Boys Like Girls
, OneRepublic
, the members of Paramore
, Jon Foreman
from Switchfoot
, Sean Smith from The Blackout
, Derek Sanders from Mayday Parade
, Deon Rexroat
from Anberlin
, Amy Lee
from Evanescence
, Bryce Avery from The Rocket Summer
, Casey Calvert from Hawthorne Heights
, Kevin Skaff from A Day To Remember
, Sam Boyd of samspeaks.net and Brendon Urie and Ryan Ross from Panic at the Disco and has a growing loyal fan base. Other supportive bands - even in other countries worldwide, such as Fresno
, from Brazil - and musicians include A Skylit Drive
, Between the Trees
who wrote two song about Renee Yohe, "A Time For Yohe", as well as the song "The Way She Feels". The Rocket Summer
, Fireflight
, The Almost
, Underoath
, All Is Forgiven, Bayside
, As We Collide, The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
, Skillet
with the song "The Last Night", Mat Kearney
, and many more.
The organization has been invited to tour with several artists has a medium to convey their message. Some artists include Switchfoot
, Anberlin
, The Rocket Summer
, Athlete
, Blue October
, MYCHILDREN, MY BRIDE, OH, SLEEPER
, and more.
Supporters have said September 10–17 is "TWLOHA Week" and many write "LOVE" on their arms during that week, sharing the story of hope with others. However, there are some regions that observe this day on November 13. The organization address this event and clarified that it was something they did not create, but appreciate their supporters taking on such an active interest in promoting the organization.
In August 2007, TWLOHA was awarded a MySpace Impact Award in the Community Building category.
On September 12, 2008, To Write Love on Her Arms was featured on the NBC Nightly News segment "Making a Difference".
TWLOHA cut all ties and funding to Mercy Ministries
, and Teen Challenge
in 2008 after discovering their alleged mistreatment of patients. TWLOHA also addresses this on their FAQ section. TWLOHA's support of the LGBT community is evident on their website. They participated in the "Wear Your Purple" Day and have promoted the It Gets Better
Campaign.
"Love is the Movement", "Rescue is Possible", "Hope is real, Help is real" and "Stop the Bleeding" are slogans often used by the organization. "Stop the Bleeding" is the slogan TWLOHA uses for live events, which combine music, art and speaking.
On November 25, 2009, Rolling Stone
magazine featured an article about TWLOHA. On November 12, 2009, Jamie invited anyone in the NYC area to join in on the photo-shoot in Washington Square Park. The photos were taken by Peter Yang, whose photo of then Presidential Candidate Barack Obama won "Cover of the Year" in 2008. He later commented after the shoot that this was the largest group of subjects he'd photographed to date.
At the end of 2009, organization founder Jamie Tworkowski received mtvU
's Good Woodie Award, which is given to artists whose commitment to a social cause has "effected the greatest change this year".
The TWLOHA Spring 2010 UChapters Tour, "Evenings of Lyrics and Conversation," features music by Damion Suomi
, Andy Zipf
, and Lauris Vidal.
In March 2010 TWLOHA won the Best Non-Profit Use of Twitter Award at the 2nd Annual Shorty Awards held in New York City.
In October 2010, TWLOHA was part of a piece on CBS Morning News about preventing The Youngest Suicides.
In February 2011, for the second year in a row, TWLOHA was a finalist in the Shorty Awards
.
As of January 12, 2011 TWLOHA had reached over 1,000,000 likes on their Official Facebook Page.
On April 5, 2011, Behind the Brand interviewed founder Jamie Tworkowski about the past, present and future of TWLOHA.
In the summer of 2011 TWLOHA launched a new campaign titled "Fears vs. Dreams" which asks people two questions: "What is your biggest fear?" and "What is your greatest dream?".
On October 1, 2011 TWLOHA's first ever high school campaign, "The Storytellers" began accepting applications. The campaign aims to give high school students resources and support to bring awareness about the issues while also fundraising for the organization. The top fundraisers will receive a TWLOHA event at their school for no cost .
On October 6, 2011 Chase Bank announced the five finalists for the American Giving Awards in which the five finalists will share $2 Million in grants. TWLOHA is one of those five and gained the most votes in Round 1 of any other organization .
Interfaith dialog
The term interfaith dialogue refers to cooperative, constructive and positive interaction between people of different religious traditions and/or spiritual or humanistic beliefs, at both the individual and institutional levels...
, American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
non-profit organization
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
which aims to present hope for people struggling with addiction
Addiction
Historically, addiction has been defined as physical and psychological dependence on psychoactive substances which cross the blood-brain barrier once ingested, temporarily altering the chemical milieu of the brain.Addiction can also be viewed as a continued involvement with a substance or activity...
, depression
Depression (mood)
Depression is a state of low mood and aversion to activity that can affect a person's thoughts, behaviour, feelings and physical well-being. Depressed people may feel sad, anxious, empty, hopeless, helpless, worthless, guilty, irritable, or restless...
, self injury, and thoughts of suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
while also investing directly into treatment and recovery. Based in Melbourne, Florida
Melbourne, Florida
Melbourne is a city in Brevard County, Florida, United States. As of 2009, the population estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau is 78,323. The municipal area is the second largest by size and by population in the county. Melbourne is a principal city of the Palm Bay – Melbourne – Titusville, Florida...
, TWLOHA seeks to connect people to treatment centers
Drug rehabilitation
Drug rehabilitation is a term for the processes of medical or psychotherapeutic treatment, for dependency on psychoactive substances such as alcohol, prescription drugs, and so-called street drugs such as cocaine, heroin or amphetamines...
, websites, books, support groups, and other resources . TWLOHA also encourages people to have honest conversations about these issues, to live in community.
A large portion of the work is dedicated to bridging the gap between traditional treatment (i.e. rehab, counseling, helplines) and the lives of people who need help. Examples of this include music festivals and tours, social networking sites, and schools and universities. Wanting to support existing professional help organizations rather than replace them, TWLOHA also sends a portion of donations directly to such causes as Hopeline, InTheRooms.com, S.A.F.E. Alternatives, Minding Your Mind, and (in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
) Kids Help Line
Kids Help Line
Kids Helpline is a free, private and confidential, telephone and online counselling service specifically for young people aged between 5 and 25. Counsellors respond to more than 6,000 calls each week about issues ranging from relationship breakdown and bullying to sexual abuse, homelessness,...
.
The group's main exposure comes from musicians and bands who wear the organization's distinctive T-shirts in photographs and performances, however it has recently gained more and more public exposure through merchandise and public community websites such as Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
, MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
, and Tumblr
Tumblr
Tumblr is a website and microblogging platform that allows users to post text, images, videos, links, quotes and audio to their tumblelog, a short-form blog. Users can follow other users, or choose to make their tumblelog private. The service emphasizes ease of use. The site ranks as the 10th...
. TWLOHA had a booth at every stop at Vans Warped Tour for the past five years.
History
TWLOHA was founded by Jamie Tworkowski in March 2006. Prior to that, the seeds of the group were sown by a story written by Tworkowski, about 19-year-old Renee Yohe, who struggled with addiction, depression, self-injury, and attempted suicide. Tworkowski's story, written in February 2006, chronicles Yohe's life five days before she entered treatment. Unable to get Yohe checked into a treatment centre in the meantime, friends offered moral support.TWLOHA began operating as a non-profit organization
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
in October 2006 under the umbrella of Fireproof Ministries. On April 30, 2007, TWLOHA left Fireproof and TWLOHA, Inc. was established in Florida as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. The TWLOHA team is made up of 12 full-time staff members and a rotating group of approximately 6 interns . The organization had their offices in Cocoa, FL until 2011 when they moved to downtown Melbourne, FL.
In addition to the story, T-shirts were printed and sold in Orlando
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
to fund Yohe's drug treatment, and a MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
page was created to serve as home base for the project. Bands such as Anberlin
Anberlin
Anberlin is an American rock band formed in Winter Haven, Florida in 2002. Since the beginning of 2007, the band has consisted of lead vocalist Stephen Christian, guitarists Joseph Milligan and Christian McAlhaney, bassist Deon Rexroat, and drummer Nathan Young.Members of Anberlin originally formed...
and Switchfoot
Switchfoot
Switchfoot is an American rock band from San Diego, California. The band's members are Jon Foreman , Tim Foreman , Chad Butler , Jerome Fontamillas , and Drew Shirley .After early successes in the Christian rock scene, Switchfoot first gained mainstream...
showed their support and began wearing the TWLOHA T-shirts right away, and TWLOHA's MySpace and Facebook page began to receive messages and comments from young people struggling with the same issues that Yohe faced. What began as an attempt to help one person in Orlando quickly generated wide interest – to date, TWLOHA responded to over 160,000 messages from over 100 countries and invested over $850,000 in treatment and recovery.
On the FAQ for TWLOHA's official website, it stated that Renee has finished rehab and although she will have to fight her addiction for the rest of her life. Yohe published a collection of journals in a book titled "Purpose for the Pain" . Yohe's story has also been turned to a major motion picture titled "Renee". She will be portrayed by actress Kat Dennings
Kat Dennings
Katherine Litwack , better known by the stage name Kat Dennings, is an American actress. Emerging with a role in an episode of the HBO dramedy series Sex and the City, Dennings has since appeared in the films The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Big Momma's House 2, Charlie Bartlett, Raise Your Voice, The House...
. The organization will be prominently featured with Chad Michael Murray
Chad Michael Murray
Chad Michael Murray is an American actor, former fashion model and spokesperson. Murray is well known for portraying Lucas Scott in The CW young adult drama series One Tree Hill, in addition to the commercially successful films A Cinderella Story, Freaky Friday and House of Wax...
portraying Tworkowski. Actors Corbin Bleu
Corbin Bleu
Corbin Bleu Reivers , known professionally as Corbin Bleu, is an American actor, model, dancer, producer, and singer-songwriter. He performed in the High School Musical film series, the Discovery Kids drama series Flight 29 Down, and the Disney Channel Original Movie Jump In!...
and Rupert Friend
Rupert Friend
Rupert Friend is an English film actor, who is best known for his roles as Mr. Wickham in the 2005 film Pride and Prejudice, Lieutenant Kurt Kotler in the 2008 film The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, and Prince Albert in the 2009 film The Young Victoria.-Career:He made his debut in the film The...
will also star
TWLOHA has risen to prominence through endorsements of celebrities and bands including Miley Cyrus
Miley Cyrus
Miley Ray Cyrus is an American actress and pop singer-songwriter. She achieved wide fame for her role as Miley Stewart/Hannah Montana on the Disney Channel sitcom Hannah Montana....
, Joaquin Phoenix
Joaquin Phoenix
Joaquin Rafael Phoenix , formerly credited as Leaf Phoenix, is an American film actor. He was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and his family returned to the continental United States four years later...
, Christina Perri
Christina Perri
Christina Judith Perri is an American singer and songwriter from Philadelphia. Her song "Jar of Hearts" charted in the United States after it was featured on the Fox television show So You Think You Can Dance in 2010. Rolling Stone named her the "Band of the Week" on October 26, 2010...
, Skillet
Skillet (band)
Skillet is an American Christian rock band formed in Memphis, Tennessee in 1996. The band currently consists of husband and wife John and Korey Cooper , along with Jen Ledger and lead guitarist Seth Morrison. The band has released eight albums, two receiving Grammy nominations: Collide and Comatose...
, Boys Like Girls
Boys Like Girls
Boys Like Girls is an American rock band from Massachusetts. Formed in 2005, the group gained mainstream recognition when it released its self-titled debut album. Boys Like Girls was the co-headliner with Good Charlotte for the Soundtrack of Your Summer Tour 2008 that toured across the United...
, OneRepublic
OneRepublic
OneRepublic is an American pop rock band from Colorado Springs, Colorado. Formed in 2002 by Ryan Tedder and Zach Filkins, the band achieved massive success on MySpace, becoming the most prominent unsigned act on the website then...
, the members of Paramore
Paramore
Paramore is an American rock band from Franklin, Tennessee, formed in 2004. The band consists of lead vocalist Hayley Williams, bassist Jeremy Davis, and guitarist Taylor York...
, Jon Foreman
Jon Foreman
Jonathan Mark Foreman is the lead singer, lead guitarist, main songwriter and co-founder of the alternative rock band Switchfoot. He started Switchfoot in 1996 with drummer Chad Butler and bassist Tim Foreman ....
from Switchfoot
Switchfoot
Switchfoot is an American rock band from San Diego, California. The band's members are Jon Foreman , Tim Foreman , Chad Butler , Jerome Fontamillas , and Drew Shirley .After early successes in the Christian rock scene, Switchfoot first gained mainstream...
, Sean Smith from The Blackout
The Blackout (band)
The Blackout is a post-hardcore band from Merthyr Tydfil, Wales, formed in 2003. After some time backing Lostprophets on their Liberation Transmission Tour, along with Dopamine, Covergirl, Kids In Glass Houses, The Guns and Men, Women and Children, they released their first mini-album The Blackout!...
, Derek Sanders from Mayday Parade
Mayday Parade
Mayday Parade is an American rock band from Tallahassee, Florida. The band formed in 2005 when members of popular local Tallahassee bands Kid Named Chicago and Defining Moment converged in 2006. Their debut EP Tales Told by Dead Friends was released in 2006, and sold over 20,000 copies without any...
, Deon Rexroat
Deon Rexroat
Deon Rexroat is the bassist for the alternative rock band Anberlin. Originally playing for the short-lived punk band SaGoh 24/7, the band dissolved, and most of its members went on to form Anberlin. He is one of the band's founding members...
from Anberlin
Anberlin
Anberlin is an American rock band formed in Winter Haven, Florida in 2002. Since the beginning of 2007, the band has consisted of lead vocalist Stephen Christian, guitarists Joseph Milligan and Christian McAlhaney, bassist Deon Rexroat, and drummer Nathan Young.Members of Anberlin originally formed...
, Amy Lee
Amy Lee
Amy Lynn Hartzler , best known as Amy Lee, is an American singer-songwriter and classically trained pianist. She is co-founder and lead vocalist of the rock band Evanescence. She cites influences ranging from classical musicians such as Mozart to modern artists Björk, Tori Amos, Danny Elfman and...
from Evanescence
Evanescence
Evanescence is an American rock band founded in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1995 by singer/pianist Amy Lee and guitarist Ben Moody. After recording private albums, the band released their first full-length album, Fallen, on Wind-up Records in 2003. Fallen sold more than 17 million copies worldwide...
, Bryce Avery from The Rocket Summer
The Rocket Summer
The Rocket Summer is the solo-project of Bryce Avary who is based in Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas. Avary is a multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, and producer. He writes and produces every song on his records, and plays every instrument on them....
, Casey Calvert from Hawthorne Heights
Hawthorne Heights
Hawthorne Heights is an American rock band from Dayton, Ohio, formed in 2001. Their line-up currently consists of lead-singer and rhythm guitarist JT Woodruff, lead-guitarist and vocalist Micah Carli, bassist and backing vocalist Matt Ridenour, and drummer Eron Bucciarelli...
, Kevin Skaff from A Day To Remember
A Day to Remember
A Day to Remember is an American rock band from Ocala, Florida. Founded in 2003 by guitarist Tom Denny and drummer Bobby Scruggs, the band has released four studio albums, nine singles and eight music videos...
, Sam Boyd of samspeaks.net and Brendon Urie and Ryan Ross from Panic at the Disco and has a growing loyal fan base. Other supportive bands - even in other countries worldwide, such as Fresno
Fresno (band)
Fresno is a Brazilian emo band formed in Porto Alegre in 1999. Currently, members are Lucas Silveira , Rodrigo Tavares , Gustavo Mantovani and Bell Ruschel...
, from Brazil - and musicians include A Skylit Drive
A Skylit Drive
A Skylit Drive is an American post-hardcore band from Lodi, California. The band released one DVD, one EP and three studio albums: Wires...and the Concept of Breathing on May 20, 2008, Adelphia on June 9, 2009, and most recently Identity On Fire on February 15, 2011. Michael Jagmin has provided...
, Between the Trees
Between the Trees
Between the Trees was an American Rock band from Orlando, Florida, formed in 2005. The band consisted of vocalist/guitarist Ryan Kirkland, lead guitarist Stevie Benz, drummer Josh Butler and bassist Jeremy Butler....
who wrote two song about Renee Yohe, "A Time For Yohe", as well as the song "The Way She Feels". The Rocket Summer
The Rocket Summer
The Rocket Summer is the solo-project of Bryce Avary who is based in Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas. Avary is a multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, and producer. He writes and produces every song on his records, and plays every instrument on them....
, Fireflight
Fireflight
Fireflight is an American Christian rock band formed in Eustis, Florida in 1999. The band is signed by Flicker Records. They have played in Shoutfest, Revelation Generation, and have been featured on The Scars Remain tour with Disciple, Family Force 5, and Decyfer Down...
, The Almost
The Almost
The Almost is an American alternative rock band from Clearwater, Florida, formed in 2005, and is most notable for being the side project of former Underoath drummer, Aaron Gillespie.-History:...
, Underoath
Underoath
Underoath is an American Christian metalcore band from Tampa, Florida. Founded by Dallas Taylor and Luke Morton on November 30, 1997 in Ocala, Florida, subsequently its additional members were from Tampa, Florida...
, All Is Forgiven, Bayside
Bayside (band)
Bayside is an American punk rock band from Queens which formed in the winter of 2000. The band has released five full length albums since signing to Victory Records...
, As We Collide, The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus is an American rock band that formed in Middleburg, Florida.-Early years :Originating in Florida, childhood friends Ronnie Winter, Thomas Amason, and Duke Kitchens started the band while attending an AP music theory class, in 2003...
, Skillet
Skillet (band)
Skillet is an American Christian rock band formed in Memphis, Tennessee in 1996. The band currently consists of husband and wife John and Korey Cooper , along with Jen Ledger and lead guitarist Seth Morrison. The band has released eight albums, two receiving Grammy nominations: Collide and Comatose...
with the song "The Last Night", Mat Kearney
Mat Kearney
Mathew William "Mat" Kearney is an American musician born in Eugene, Oregon, now based in Nashville, Tennessee. Kearney has received critical acclaim and widespread recognition for his Columbia Records debut, Nothing Left to Lose. So far, he has a total of four top 20 hits on the Adult Top 40...
, and many more.
The organization has been invited to tour with several artists has a medium to convey their message. Some artists include Switchfoot
Switchfoot
Switchfoot is an American rock band from San Diego, California. The band's members are Jon Foreman , Tim Foreman , Chad Butler , Jerome Fontamillas , and Drew Shirley .After early successes in the Christian rock scene, Switchfoot first gained mainstream...
, Anberlin
Anberlin
Anberlin is an American rock band formed in Winter Haven, Florida in 2002. Since the beginning of 2007, the band has consisted of lead vocalist Stephen Christian, guitarists Joseph Milligan and Christian McAlhaney, bassist Deon Rexroat, and drummer Nathan Young.Members of Anberlin originally formed...
, The Rocket Summer
The Rocket Summer
The Rocket Summer is the solo-project of Bryce Avary who is based in Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas. Avary is a multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, and producer. He writes and produces every song on his records, and plays every instrument on them....
, Athlete
Athlete (band)
Athlete are a British rock band formed in Deptford, London, comprising Joel Pott , Carey Willetts , Stephen Roberts and Tim Wanstall...
, Blue October
Blue October
Blue October is a rock band from Houston, Texas. The band was formed in 1995 and currently consists of Justin Furstenfeld , Jeremy Furstenfeld , Ryan Delahoussaye , Matt Noveskey , and Julian Mandrake .-History:Blue October was formed by lead...
, MYCHILDREN, MY BRIDE, OH, SLEEPER
Oh, Sleeper
Oh, Sleeper is an American metalcore band from Fort Worth, Texas and is signed to Solid State Records. They have recorded three full-length albums to date, the most recent being their third album Children of Fire, released on September 6, 2011....
, and more.
Supporters have said September 10–17 is "TWLOHA Week" and many write "LOVE" on their arms during that week, sharing the story of hope with others. However, there are some regions that observe this day on November 13. The organization address this event and clarified that it was something they did not create, but appreciate their supporters taking on such an active interest in promoting the organization.
2007-2008
YouTube celebrity Kevin Wu of KevJumba and JumbaFund created interest in this organization when he created JumbaFund, a YouTube channel where all proceeds go to a charity voted on by its viewers. Other YouTube celebrities such as SwiftKarateChop (Matthew Brian Brown) have also begun supporting this organization.In August 2007, TWLOHA was awarded a MySpace Impact Award in the Community Building category.
On September 12, 2008, To Write Love on Her Arms was featured on the NBC Nightly News segment "Making a Difference".
TWLOHA cut all ties and funding to Mercy Ministries
Mercy Ministries
Mercy Ministries is an international, Evangelical, charismatic, Christian, charitable organization that offers a long-term residential program for young women aged 13–28 who struggle with various "life controlling" issues...
, and Teen Challenge
Teen Challenge
Teen Challenge is a Pentecostal Christian recovery program and a network of Christian social and evangelizing work centers. It is a 12-18 month program that serves drug addicts, alcoholics, gang members, prostitutes and people with other characteristics that the program considers to be...
in 2008 after discovering their alleged mistreatment of patients. TWLOHA also addresses this on their FAQ section. TWLOHA's support of the LGBT community is evident on their website. They participated in the "Wear Your Purple" Day and have promoted the It Gets Better
It Gets Better
It Gets Better is an Internet-based project founded in the United States by Dan Savage and his husband Terry Miller on September 21, 2010, in response to the suicides of teenagers who were bullied because they were gay or because their peers suspected that they were gay...
Campaign.
"Love is the Movement", "Rescue is Possible", "Hope is real, Help is real" and "Stop the Bleeding" are slogans often used by the organization. "Stop the Bleeding" is the slogan TWLOHA uses for live events, which combine music, art and speaking.
2009-2010
In early 2009, TWLOHA partnered with Kristin Brooks Hope Center to create IMAlive. IMAlive will be the first ever online crisis counseling over instant messenger staffed by people 100% trained and certified in crisis intervention. TWLOHA won $125,000 for IMAlive.On November 25, 2009, Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine featured an article about TWLOHA. On November 12, 2009, Jamie invited anyone in the NYC area to join in on the photo-shoot in Washington Square Park. The photos were taken by Peter Yang, whose photo of then Presidential Candidate Barack Obama won "Cover of the Year" in 2008. He later commented after the shoot that this was the largest group of subjects he'd photographed to date.
At the end of 2009, organization founder Jamie Tworkowski received mtvU
MtvU
mtvU is a division of Viacom's MTV Networks which produces a 24-hour television channel that is available on more than 750 college and university campuses across the United States, as well as several digital cable packages...
's Good Woodie Award, which is given to artists whose commitment to a social cause has "effected the greatest change this year".
The TWLOHA Spring 2010 UChapters Tour, "Evenings of Lyrics and Conversation," features music by Damion Suomi
Damion Suomi
Damion Suomi is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He currently resides in Cocoa Beach, Florida.-Music career:Suomi began singing in church as a child and later took up the guitar after his parents' divorce as a means to feel more connected to his father, who also played guitar...
, Andy Zipf
Andy Zipf
Andy Zipf is a singer/songwriter from Indianapolis, Indiana, currently living in Northern Virginia. Zipf has been touring across the country for the last seven years and has quickly become a constant on the East Coast...
, and Lauris Vidal.
In March 2010 TWLOHA won the Best Non-Profit Use of Twitter Award at the 2nd Annual Shorty Awards held in New York City.
In October 2010, TWLOHA was part of a piece on CBS Morning News about preventing The Youngest Suicides.
Present
On January 6, 2011 TWLOHA won the 2010 "Must-Follow Non-Profit" Award at the 4th Annual Mashable Awards.In February 2011, for the second year in a row, TWLOHA was a finalist in the Shorty Awards
Shorty Awards
The Shorty Awards, also known as the Shorties, are an awards event that honors top short-form content creators on the micro-blogging website Twitter. The awards have primarily been sponsored by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, and are organized by the co-founders of the Brooklyn-based...
.
As of January 12, 2011 TWLOHA had reached over 1,000,000 likes on their Official Facebook Page.
On April 5, 2011, Behind the Brand interviewed founder Jamie Tworkowski about the past, present and future of TWLOHA.
In the summer of 2011 TWLOHA launched a new campaign titled "Fears vs. Dreams" which asks people two questions: "What is your biggest fear?" and "What is your greatest dream?".
On October 1, 2011 TWLOHA's first ever high school campaign, "The Storytellers" began accepting applications. The campaign aims to give high school students resources and support to bring awareness about the issues while also fundraising for the organization. The top fundraisers will receive a TWLOHA event at their school for no cost .
On October 6, 2011 Chase Bank announced the five finalists for the American Giving Awards in which the five finalists will share $2 Million in grants. TWLOHA is one of those five and gained the most votes in Round 1 of any other organization .
External links
- Official website
- Official Street Team
- Bandnation interview with founder Jamie Tworkowski
- Wrecked for the Ordinary Interview with Jamie Tworkowski
- Jamie Tworkowski on the Power of Story
- http://www.twloha.com/files/library/thenewyorktimes.pdf
- http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/living/2008/12/05/dcl.ypwr.tworkowski.cnn
- http://www.imalive.org
- http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b163443_miley_cyrus_lures_beardless_joaquin.html?utm_source=eonline&utm_medium=rssfeeds&utm_campaign=rss_topstories