Rise Up was created to help the growing homeless population in our home city, Seattle. Our first ever goal was to make and deliver a total of 400 care packages to local homeless shelters. But before we started on the fun stuff, we had a lot of work to get done.

Fundraising was the first and one of the most important steps of this whole process. You can't buy supplies if you don't have the money can you? After loads of advertising we successfully raised 2,000 dollars (thank you all who donated!!!) ,we reached out to shelters in the Puget Sound area who needed supplies. Communicating with shelters near us was quite the struggle. With the COVID-19 situation and multiple protests happening in the city we weren't even sure if we could connect with the shelters, much less make deliveries.

Once we sorted out where our packages were going (shoutout to Noel's House, Sofias's Way, Sacred Heart, Issaquah Food Bank, and Mamas House!), we had to figure out what we wanted to put in a packages, and calculate the supplies we needed to make 400 packages. As of now, each of our packages contain bandaids, floss, chapstick, facial tissues, a razor, shampoo, lotion, toothpaste, deodorant, soap, and a toothbrush. We wanted to make sure that we put quality over quantity, and even though that was more expensive, we wanted to make sure that what we were give out was actually making a difference.

When we finally bulk ordered all of our supplies (yay Amazon!) all that was left to do was to make the individual care packages. While making the care packages, we made sure that we had taken all necessary precautions (gloves, masks, sanitizer, wipes, lysol spray) to make sure that we were not putting each other or anybody else at risk. It took the five of us around 6ish hours to prep, unpack, sanitize, put together, and box 400 care packages!

It was quite the experience! We definitely could not have done this without impromptu conga lines, oreos, and all of your guy's wonderful donations! Thank you to anyone who has supported us in any way! Weather it be donating, becoming a representative, following our Instagram, providing encouragement, and so much more! Thank you for helping this become a possibility. These care packages will be delivered to to shelters all around the Puget Sound area, and will help so many people. It's a great feeling for the five us to have our first goal completed in only 5 months, and we hope to start our next project soon! For more updates, information, pictures, and live- streams, follow our Instagram at rise.upseattle!

"Small acts when multiplied by millions of people can change the world." -Howard Zinn

Prachi Taunk

Rise Up Team

Homelessness seems like a problem that could never affect you personally, something foreign almost. However, everyday setbacks often leave many people without sufficient income or housing and it's really not something that you can prepare for. In 2016, almost 564,708 people in the United States were homeless on an average night, according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness. About 15 percent of those experiencing homelessness were people who were chronically displaced, and nearly 40,000 were veterans. Let's think more local. About 11,199 individuals were homeless in the Seattle and King County area as of January 25, 2019. 47% percent of that population was unsheltered, on the streets, or in parks, vehicles, tents, or other places that are not meant for human habitation. 11,199 is a big number. 564,708 is even bigger. Think about that for a bit. Is that even a number that you can imagine? Like, really imagine it. When we look at one life, we can imagine what their hopes, ambitions, and pains are. But a huge number like that? You can’t. That’s just an abstraction. In order to be able to contribute to making the lives of many individuals better, we have to understand what people are going through, and what they need. Most of the homeless community just need simple things- socks, rain ponchos, sunscreen, chapstick, food. Things we don't give a second thought before using.

We have to remember that we aren't just fixing a problem, we are making an impact in the lives of others. That's not small feat. Helping doesn't have to mean donating billions of dollars (although that wouldn't hurt). Compassion is a wonderful motivator, and little things can go a long way. That's where Rise Up comes in. Our motto is "No one is ever too young to bring change, and no action is too small." If we work together, simple acts of generosity can make big differences in other people's lives. Our first goal is to raise $500 by the end of June, which will be used to make care packages. It would mean the world to all of us if you help contribute any amount of money to help us reach our goal! Remember, the cost of one care package including packaging and taxes is 5 dollars so donations in multiples of 5 are appreciated, but as always anything helps!

"True compassion means not only feeling another's pain but also being moved to relive it" -Daniel Golman

-Prachi Taunk, Rise Up Team

My mom used to tell me this old story about five princes who were brothers. They figured out that if they worked together, like the five fingers of a hand, they could accomplish anything. Rise up follows that same principle. Working on something alone is a job, but working with others who are dedicated to the same cause? That's not a job. That's a community. Rise Up was born on the run. Literally. Lakshmi and I were running to the buses after school while this wonderful idea hit us, and it planted a seed in our minds. We called each other after we got on our buses (yes, we made it on time if you were wondering) and we talked about our idea a bit more. A few days later, we met at Lakshmi's house to plan. Right away, we figured out that making a non-profit was wayyyy harder that it seemed, though watching Good Luck Charlie while eating Oreos on the couch while did soften the blow a little bit. At this point all the stress of working our way through the forms, regulations, and guidelines was really getting to the both of us, and what better way to relieve stress than venting? We dragged a few of our friends over to a table to vent and the outcome was AHHHMAZINGG! Our ever supportive friends Neha, Ria, and Anagha to the rescue.

After that ordeal, we understood that in order for this idea to become a reality, we needed to work together. We had almost everything set up, except for two things that a non-profit absolutely needs. A name and a logo. You won't believe how long it took us to come up with a name, but working together (and cupcakes, hence "rise up") made everything work out in the end. As for our logo, the rising sun symbolizes hope and positivity, both which are incorporated into our mission statement. Like the brothers in my mom's story, when the five of us work together, like the five fingers of a hand, we can accomplish anything. But for a big cause like this, one hand just won't do. One hand is strong, but linking hands makes us all stronger. If you would like to help in any way (remember, helping doesn't only need to mean donating) sign up to be a student rep! We would love to join hands with you in our Rise Up community!

"Those who are happiest are those who do the most for others" -Brooker T. Washington

-Prachi Taunk, Rise Up Team

"I think that the homeless are a forgotten community" says Shirley Raines, founder of Beauty 2 The Streetz, a nonprofit that provides services to homeless people in Skid Row in Los Angeles. Here's my theory on that. We spend so much time looking up at the city that we forget to look around us. We choose to look at the tall buildings and the dazzling waterfronts as opposed our city's vast homeless population. In the end we are all human, and that alone should be enough to bring us all together in order to help those in need. People who are affected by homelessness are especially vulnerable during the COVID-19 pandemic. When the virus struck we were told to stay at home, but what about those who don't have a home? For those people safety measures are not only out of reach, they aren't even an option. To make things worse, many homeless shelters are currently closed due to safety reasons. That leaves the homeless population with nowhere to go. Many states have taken action by closing down schools and many non-essential business, but only a few are taking steps to protect the homeless from COVID. For many, the biggest problem faced during quarantine is boredom, but Seattle's homeless population has to deal with so much more. It's simply not fair. There is really no other way to put it. It's not fair, and my heart hurts for all the vulnerable people during these unprecedented times. 11,100 people who are currently living in fear because they simply don't know what else they can do.

When the Rise Up team first heard about how drastically the virus had been affecting the homeless population, we knew that we had to do something. The idea for a fundraiser started in March, before schools had to be closed down. When the seriousness of the virus hit us, we understood that in order to help those in need, we would need to get all of the forms, regulations, and guidelines figured out as soon as possible. Now, it's May and Rise Up is almost all set up and ready to start providing care packages for less fortunate individuals. It's been no easy feat putting together, organizing, and keeping track of our organization, but we are proud to say that we have done it, and that we are ready to help our community. So far, we have raised 350 dollars and have contacted shelters (shoutout to Noel House Programs!!!) who are on board with our ideas. Fundraising wasn't easy though. Our first ideas for fundraising were something akin to bake-sales, lemonade stands, and garage sales. Now, that just isn't possible. We had to be really creative with how to fundraise now that we can't physically meet up. One of the best ideas we had were online classes, we have two ongoing classes as of now, and we hope to add more as time goes on. For more information regarding classes, visit the classes tab at the top of the page!

"We rise by lifting others" -Robert Ingersol

Stay Safe!

-Prachi Taunk, Rise Up Team

I think that a really large part of founding a business or organization is the nitty-gritty details like website, domain, legal laws, and the accounting. Getting everyone together, and finding one vision we wanted to pursue, that actually was the easiest part. Throughout these past two months, the saying, "easier said than done", really applied to our ordeals. There are so many factors and steps needed to begin any organization, let alone one like ours. I'm writing this blog post for those who are unsure of where to start, and want to start their own organization. I hope that it helps clear the confusion and ease the stress (though, I imagine there still will be a lot of unknowns).

So the first thing I need to clear up is the fact that taking things slow is okay! It's especially difficult for our generation to be patient and take our time with things, as we were born into a world where innovation and technology surged past what mankind has experienced in past centuries. We're used to things like high speed WiFi and one day deliveries that we've forgotten what it's like to wait. This reality was one that was hard for us to swallow, but after being repeatedly told by our parents to not rush things, in the end it was worth it. Now those two months were quite possibly very quiet, and we were mostly working on trying to get a working website up. And jeez, was that quite the adventure. We scoured through every possible website hosting service, (and I mean every single one), and have probably five unpublished versions of possible websites. That was our first goal we set ourselves, and it was the longest one to achieve. But that brings us to my second point; that setting yourselves goals is a major motivator. And more importantly, set realistic goals, and accept the reality of how long it might take. It took us two months, hundreds of texts in our group chat, and hours of contemplation for us to get a website that we can all say we are proud of. The one tip I would give to those trying to make a website is consider your budget at hand, get multiple hands and eyes on making the website, and take at least a week after completion to look over it and make final edits. There are always ways you can improve!

The second obstacle we had to tackle was research. This is a step that is arguably the most tedious and uninteresting step there is. But, ironically, one of the most important. It's crucial that you research into your cause, state legal laws, and accounting before making the leap into the last couple of steps. I've said it once and I'll say it again, take your time with this one too! Scour deep into the internet and find anything that can help you with what you are trying to achieve! As a team, we did countless hours of research into the homeless rates of Seattle, what a necessities that many shelters don't receive, a shelter nearby that is willing to work with us, and so much more. However, the more we researched, the easier it was for us to narrow our goals.

The final obstacle we had to tackle was accounting and domain. By far, these were the most frustrating to work through. We had countless numbers of texts and concerns flooding our group chat when we were working through these two. The funniest part (not for us then, but now we can laugh about it), was that the solutions for these were the hardest to find, but the most rewarding, and we spent so much time trying to find ways to escape these two problems. The thing is, no matter how many excuses we made for trying to avoid these, (and most of the excuses were made by me), we knew in the back of our heads that we needed to suck it up and face them head on. And that brings me to my last tip for starting your own organization; listen to your gut instinct. Most of the times, it's correct and will point you in the right direction. If we had no domain, no one would find our website, and with no donation link, we would have a harder time achieving our goal. And by keeping our goal in mind, we finally found solutions for these last two problems!

To recap, my tips were take things slow and be patient, set realistic goals, do your research, and listen to your gut. As we reach the end of this tangent, (and an extremely long post), I want to say thank you for reading! I hope that there is some takeaway that you can take from our trials as a team. Luckily, we are all really close friends, and solving problems were difficult, but each of us was ready to step up and help wherever we could. And that brings me to my last point I would like to make (and I promise this is the last one); have a support team nearby, whether they're your friends or family, trust me, it makes everything a lot less overwhelming. I always believe that the fruits of your labor are sweeter when there are people to share it with.

Best of luck on your endeavours!

-Lakshmi Gali, Rise Up Team

"Who are we as human beings if we ignore the suffering of others?" Truer words have never been spoken. Why do we walk past those in need? Why do we look away, avoiding eyes and ignoring faces? It's easier isn't it? It's much much easier to look away. It’s not that these people are bad or that they don't matter, but, if we engage in conversation or make eye contact, then we have to admit that the homeless exist and that they (like all other humans) have basic human needs and wants. But it’s simply so much easier to shield our hearts and turn a blind eye to their existence than to acknowledge that these people need help.

We take so many little things for granted. Toothbrushes, deodorant, soap, heck I don't even think about how lucky I am to have chapstick before I use it. It's these little things that we don't worry about that our homeless community needs the most. It's this realization that pushed the Rise Up team to stand up and attempt to make a difference.

But before we jump straight to helping, we have to figure out what causes homelessness. It's not like one day you wake up and decide that you can't have access to simple things. As of 2019, the top causes of homelessness in the Seattle/King County area are: lack of affordable housing, unemployment, poverty, mental illness, substance abuse and the lack of needed services. Most of these are things that these people can't control. We can't control them either, and Rise Up can't buy houses or offer jobs, but we can help provide the homeless community with common everyday items. We can help in small ways to make big differences in people's lives. Instead of focusing on the things we CAN'T do, we are directing our focus towards things that we CAN do.

But are supplies all that the homeless need? Right now you're probably thinking "Guurl of course not! What kind of question is that?" And you are very right. (*cue the happy bingo buzzer music) The homeless do need a lot of things, some of them being things that 5 teenage girls (and our WONDERFUL reps) can't provide. But you know what we can provide? Kindness. Often times we underestimate how a simple "have a good day!" or "hope you feel better!" can make a huge positive impact on someone's day. So, in addition to care packages, Rise Up is aiming to spread hope and positivity among those who need it most during these unprecedented and trying times.

As of now, Rise Up has raised a little more than 1,500 dollars, and we are so proud! We would like to thank everyone who took the time to donate, and we are so close to our 2,000 dollar goal! We are proud to say that we are ordering all the supplies that go into and are needed to make our care packages, and we hope to start distributing them as soon as possible! Follow us on instagram to keep up with our progress @rise.upseattle.

"Empathy is the medicine the world needs." -Judith Orloff

-Prachi Taunk, Rise Up Team