Join us in Providing Your Time and Effort to Faces without Places

Steve Fuller, a professor at the University of Cincinnati, has a message he'd like to share with the Cincinnati Community:

The average age of a homeless person in the United States is nine years old.

Nine...years...old.

I was shocked to hear that statistic recently. I work at, and live near, the University of Cincinnati. I am used to seeing the stereotypical homeless person wandering around my neighborhood - male, older, mentally unstable, drunk, dirty, lazy, manipulative, and so on. I have seen the same homeless population around here for years. Heck, I know most of them by name.

It's easy to look the other way when one of them asks for spare change. I know they want to use it for alcohol, so a legitimate response is to say no and keep walking. It's harder to look the other way when this is the face of homelessness:

There are thousands of homeless children in Cincinnati. Thousands. They have no choice and no voice, but they desperately want a chance at life.

In my Persuasion class, I have students raise money for a social cause. In the Fall, we always raise money for Toys-4-Tots. The past couple of years, we raised money for Taft Elementary School during Winter and Spring Quarters. Thanks to my students and the generous readers of this blog, we even had a pretty sweet skating party a couple of years ago. Because of significant personnel changes at Taft Elementary in 2008, I had no idea what group we would raise money for last quarter, so I took suggestions from my students.

Someone suggested Faces Without Places, an organization that helps Cincinnati's homeless children survive and thrive in the public school system. It sounded good, so I agreed, and we raised $850. This quarter, I got a little more organized and invited Trish and Karen - the two women who lead Faces Without Places - to my classes to explain their organization. I was especially moved when Trish played a video of homeless children telling their stories. I teared up when dozens of boys and girls talked about their dreams of growing older and going to college, then becoming doctors, teachers, cops, lawyers, etc. I worry about money, but I haven't spent one minute of my life concerned about where my next meal would come from. Not one second worried about a warm bed to sleep in or clean water to drink. Every day, I see students taking their opportunity to attend college for granted. I know teachers (including me), doctors, and lawyers who complain about their jobs on a consistent basis.

And here are these kids who would do anything for the opportunity to pursue their dreams and escape poverty.

All they need are people who care.






My students are raising money again this quarter. Trish, Karen, and I just met Tuesday evening to figure out how to best use the funds. Today, I am thrilled to announce our plan: This June and July, Faces Without Places will host a summer program which includes many fun and educational activities for the kids (reading programs, movies, Reds games, Kings Island, pool days, etc.).


My classes have committed to supplying bathing suits, beach towels, and flip flops so each child can enjoy their time in the sun.






So why am I sharing all of this with you? Because I would feel terrible if I didn't give you guys the opportunity to get involved. If you would like to donate brand new flip flops, beach towels, or bathing suits, just contact me at fullersj@uc.edu and I will let you know the next steps. If you would like to find other ways to get involved with Faces Without Places, or if you would like to make a one-time monetary donation, simply go here for more information. I feel honored to have the opportunity to be a part of this experience, and I hope many of you will consider getting involved.

Even a small sacrifice can change a child's life.









To learn more about Steve's efforts visit his site or contact:

cincycommcorner@gmail.com