NEW YORK (By Tim Sullivan/ Dan Klores Communications) - You say you want a revolution? This summer Boost
Mobile RockCorps challenged the notion of America's so-called "age of declining volunteerism" and young people around the nation answered the call. As a reward for their efforts, and celebration of the youth volunteerism movement, Boost
Mobile RockCorps is staging a FREE concert with top-selling artists T.I. and Fat Joe, and hip-hop newcomers Young Jeezy, Slim Thug, Paul Wall, and more, hosted by Lil' Jon. The landmark event, produced exclusively for the 5,000 volunteers who contributed four hours of volunteer service at one of 75 Boost
Mobile RockCorps projects, will be held at
Radio City
Music Hall on Saturday,
September 24.
Partnering with non-profit agencies to organize volunteer projects in major metropolitan areas around the U.S., Boost Mobile RockCorps launched June 25 in Los Angeles and has affected positive change in Atlanta, Chicago, Minneapolis and Washington, D.C. throughout the summer. The movement culminates in New York this month as numerous projects are taking place in the New York City-area over the next two weeks, giving young people the opportunity to connect with the volunteer movement. In exchange for contributing four hours of community service work, Boost Mobile RockCorps volunteers earn tickets to the Radio City Music Hall event.
"We Got Your Back"
As the Boost Mobile RockCorps program was in full swing, our nation suddenly was grappling with one of the worst national disasters ever faced as hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans. With a volunteer infrastructure already in place, Boost Mobile RockCorps activated a plan encouraging high school volunteers to collect backpacks filled with supplies for students in New Orleans and Mississippi.
Boost Mobile RockCorps is partnering with "Do Something" and "Teach For America" in this relief effort. Boost Mobile RockCorps volunteer project sites throughout the five boroughs of New York City will serve as drop off points, and will provide shipping for youth who want to provide a backpack with school supplies to fellow students who are displaced from their homes and are now enrolling in schools throughout Texas. This Katrina relief program is called "We Got Your Back."
Do Something (www.dosomething.org), a national nonprofit whose goal is to make community service relevant to young people, has leveraged their national network to rally youth to pull together backpacks with resources. Do Something is running public service announcements (PSAs) on Nickelodeon as well as email blasts. Boost Mobile RockCorps is raising awareness through its network.
Teach For America (www.teachforamerica.org) teachers from New Orleans and Houston will be teaching in a new school opened specifically for displaced New Orleans students now living in Houston. Teach for America will be collecting these backpacks collected by Boost Mobile RockCorps and others at the Hogg Middle School in Texas and will be distributing them throughout the school systems in Texas, to children left without resources from the hurricane. Teach for America is the national corps of outstanding recent college graduates of all academic majors who commit two years to teach in urban and rural public schools.
