8 Half's or 105 miles to Fight Homelessness
Tax deductible
SINCE MOVING FUNDRAISER TO COALITION FOR THE HOMELESS LINK, I HAVE SINCE RAISED OVER $10,000!!! Thank you to everyone that donated!!
DUE TO ISSUES WITH GOFUNDME THIS FUNDRAISER HAS BEEN RELOCATED TO THE COALITION FOR THE HOMELESS'S WEBSITE AT THIS LINK
My name is Dylan Alphenaar, I am a senior at Regis High School in New York City, and I am going to be running 8 half marathons (104.8 mi/168.7 km) from April-October 2023 to raise money for the Coalition of the Homeless. Please help me help the less fortunate among us! Donate whatever you can!
The Races:
My Story:
I ran my first half marathon with my dad in 7th grade and since then I have fallen in love with running. I am currently the captain for Regis High School's Cross Country and Track and Field teams. Last year I started volunteering at Xavier Mission’s Sunday welcome table soup kitchen on 15th Street, and I was able to serve a small population of homeless New Yorkers. This service was great but I would like to do more. So, I decided that I could use my love of running to do more to help the homeless. That is why I created this GoFundMe page and I would really appreciate your support. Any donation goes a long way!
Why You Should Donate:
- Homelessness is at its highest rate in New York since the Great Depression
- There are over 70,000 homeless living in shelters as of January 2023, including 23,000 children (Edit: over 86,000 as of July 2023, including 28,540 kids)
- These numbers do not account for thousands more living outside of the shelter system
- Additionally, more than 114,000 school-kids experienced homelessness at some point last year
- The homeless, especially homeless women, are much more likely to experience sexual violence (the National Sexual Violence Resource Center found that 55.9% of homeless women had been raped and 72.2% had been physically assaulted)
- These vulnerable members of society deserve our help, no matter what their circumstances may be
What the Coalition for the Homeless does:
The Coalition for the Homeless:
- provides between 800-1,200 meals to the homeless 365 days a year
- prevents over 800 families a year from being evicted through their Eviction Prevention Program
- "helps 11,000 homeless individuals and families per year, connecting them to shelter, housing, public benefits, substance abuse treatment, mental health programs, domestic violence counseling, and job training.
- provides "emergency grants for food, baby formula, work uniforms, school supplies, medication, and transportation."
- advocates for policy reform in New York to aid vulnerable populations
- also provides mail services, summer camp, day camp, and after-school programs for homeless children, and job training for homeless adults.
Further Info on Homelessness in New York:
- Myths and Facts about the Homeless
- The 12 Biggest Myths about Homelessness in America
- America’s Homelessness Crisis Is Getting Worse
- Coalition for the Homeless's Basic Facts
- Why Are So Many People Homeless
- Other Organizations that Help the Homeless
- Other Ways to Help the Homeless
- New York Homelessness Statistics
- About Coalition for the Homeless
- Xavier Mission
Organizer
Dylan Alphenaar
Organizer
New York, NY
Coalition for the Homeless, Inc.
Beneficiary