Holmdel, NJ – 2NDFLOOR® Youth Helpline, a program of 180 Turning Lives Around, is partnering with the New Jersey Department of Children and Families (DCF) to support the Raise Me Up campaign, a national initiative by Casey Family Programs that advocates for children in foster care. Raise Me Up invites people anywhere in America to get involved in helping foster children by visiting the website www.RaiseMeUp.org and clicking on their state, where they will find a variety of ways to help foster children and prevent child abuse and neglect in their own communities.
“We are so grateful that Casey Family Programs wanted to bring this inspiring campaign to our state,” New Jersey DCF Commissioner Kimberly Ricketts said. “By partnering with community organizations like 180 Turning Lives Around and 2NDFLOOR Youth Helpline, we truly believe there is something for everyone on the Raise Me Up website – no matter how much time you have or where you are. You can make a difference.”
Cari DeSantis, Executive Vice President of Casey Family Programs, said, “All of us have a role to play in raising up nearly 500,000 children in foster care across the nation. Raise Me Up is more than an awareness campaign, it is a call to action on behalf of children right here in New Jersey who just need the helping hands of caring adults and a committed community to reach their full potential.”
In September of 2008, 180 Turning Lives Around, a Monmouth County nonprofit organization dedicated to ending domestic and sexual violence, expanded its 2NDFLOOR® Youth Helpline with backing from DCF to offer its help line to more than one million children ages 10 through 24 throughout the state. The toll-free, confidential service connects callers to adults trained to help them with anything on their minds, any time of the day or night, every day of the year.
“We are glad to be part of this effort to reach out to foster children and all children throughout the state,” said 180 Turning Lives Around Executive Director Anna Diaz-White. “There are many ways community members can help 2NDFLOOR help children. People over the age of 18 within commuting distance of Holmdel here in Monmouth County can volunteer to become phone counselors. Adults anywhere in the state can help by becoming Parent Partners, who spread the word about 2NDFLOOR to youth in civic, sports and religious groups. They can also help as 2NDFLOOR Hosts, who raise money in a variety of ways. We invite everyone to consider what they can do to help New Jersey’s children.”
To volunteer, visit http://www.2ndfloor.org, click on the “Get Involved” button, then click on the photo above the heading “Volunteer for 2NDFLOOR.” The toll-free 2NDFLOOR phone number is: 888-222-2228.
