Knowledge is Power (and So is Money)
Next Event: Warm Clothing Drive
Warm Winter event, 12/5/19, 5:30-8:30 pm
Kindred Causes is a non-profit raising awareness of children's issues and fundraising for non-profits that serve and protect children.
Four times a year, Kindred Causes focuses the public eye on a children's and/or youth cause kindred to our own values and beliefs. Our awareness and fundraising campaigns offer a chance to learn about unique efforts that support children both near and far from our home in Portland, Oregon.
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Our fundraisers directly benefit established non-profit organizations. Unless otherwise stated, all donations go directly to the identified organization.
About our current kindred cause:
Janus Youth
So many factors can lead a young person to end up homeless: escaping physical, mental, or sexual abuse abuse or neglect; drug abuse; family conflict; alienation from the school system; financial hardship; disability of their parents, the list goes on.
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When kids end up on the street, they are subject to exposure to abuse, sexual exploitation, the elements, and addictive drugs. Not to mention that being self-reliant at a young age can be terribly scary and difficult. Any number of factors can combine to put children in this vulnerable positions. Helping them find their way back off the street is equally complicated. Janus Youth has a many-pronged approach to serving homeless youth. Counseling for individuals and families; a warm, judgement-free place to sleep for the night; opportunity for permanent housing; direct outreach to youth on the street; referrals to services; and basic supplies such as warm clothes and toothpaste are some of the key components to meeting young people where they and keeping them safe and moving toward long term success.
Why this cause?
Our society will try to tell you that there are good kids and bad kids. But what we know from quantitative and anecdotal evidence is that kids are created by adults, life events, and by their environment. Adolescents are still children, and if their environment and life events happen to combine in a way that lands them outside in the cold, them it's up to all of us adults to pitch in and help tilt things in a way that give them the best chance at safety, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Let's make landing on the street one short stop on the path of fulfilling young people's potential.
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We learned about the important work of Janus Youth from our friend Chris Beach-Rehner, who worked at Janus Youth and tragically passed away in 2015. We trust in their work and we honor the memory and the friendship of CBR with this Kindred Cause.
One thing we know from that friendship is that when you give to a non-profit, you support their clients AND you show support for the difficult and underpaid work of the people working in that organization. It's a vote of confidence and a way to say "We see you! Keep it up!" We hope you'll join us by reading more about Janus Youth, donating, sharing a drink with us, or talking to a friend about homelessness.
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Who We Support
Kindred Causes supports organizations that share our beliefs and values, including the belief that all children have the right to:
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Life, survival and development
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Protection from violence, abuse or neglect
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An education that enables them to fulfill their potential
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Be raised by, or have a relationship with, their parents
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Express their opinions and be listened to.
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We support and work to ensure these rights for our kin, such as our nieces and nephews, as well as for the children of others. We invite you to extend your family and to join us in supporting our current "kindred cause."
