RE*Generation

The RE*Generation

Mission Statement

A GENERATION HELPING ITS OWN


Right now, there are over two million young people who face bouts of homelessness each year in the U.S. Most have been forced from their homes because of circumstances beyond their control. Some manage to make it through school but others are less fortunate, resorting to begging or prostitution just to survive. And homeless kids have different needs than homeless adults - they haven't even had a chance to live their lives yet.

Virgin Mobile, with the help of Virgin Unite, wants to change that. The RE*Generation is our effort to empower a generation to help its own. We're bringing together organizations that care about homeless youth and connecting them with young people who want to help.

And we're making it easy for our customers to take an active role and get involved -- through donating, volunteering, and even text messaging and downloading. With The RE*Generation, one person really can make a difference.

Please Join Us And Take Action Now
See Lady Gaga's pledge to help homeless youth

Accomplishments

Here's just some of what we've accomplished since June 2006, when The RE*Generation began:

  • In April 2010, Virgin Mobile USA received the 2010 Private Sector Award in recognition of its work on behalf of homeless youth. To learn more about this award and read an interview with Dan Schulman, President of Virgin Mobile and Sprint Prepaid Brands, click here.
  • Given the outpour of support for 2009's Virgin Mobile FreeFest:
    • 30k hours of community service have been donated to homeless youth.
    • Roughly $80k raised for homeless youth charities.
    • 7000 hygiene kits created for kids on the street.
    • 1000 pairs of shoes were donated by Converse to youth homelessness.
    • All Virgin Mobile Lounge furniture onsite was donated to the Sasha Bruce House, a shelter for unaccompanied homeless youth in DC.
  • Through your donations and help from our partners, over $3 million has been invested in building The RE*Generation so far.
  • In 2007, Congress officially designated November as "National Homeless Youth Awareness Month" here in the U.S.
  • Over 200,000 items of clothing have been donated through our Txt2Clothe and Blank2Clothe programs.
  • Over $180,000 has been donated to The RE*Generation's charitable partners through contributions from Virgin Mobile Festival ticket sales from previous years.
  • Over $35,000 has been raised for The RE*Generation's charitable partners through our Txt2Donate program.
  • StandUp For Kids, one of our charitable partners, has been able to add 5 new chapters thanks to increased funding and awareness.
  • Over 55,000 people have signed the "Declaration to End Youth Homelessness" at homelessyouthamongus.org.

Thanks everyone who's contributed. Please keep those donations coming!

Homeless youth are more at risk for socially unacceptable behavior, inadequate social skills, psychological devastation, and delayed mental or physical development.