To Write Love on Her Arms

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To Write Love on Her Arms, also known as TWLOHA, is an American non-profit organization which aims to present hope and find help for young people struggling with problems such as depression, drug addiction, self-injury, and suicide. Based in central Florida, TWLOHA seeks to connect young people to treatment centers, websites, books, support groups, and other resources. TWLOHA also encourages young people to have honest conversations about these issues, to live in community, and to seek help for these treatable conditions.

25% of all TWLOHA proceeds go directly to therapy and recovery through National Hopeline Network, Mercy Ministries, Teen Challenge and Kids Help Line in Australia. TWLOHA committed to supporting these organizations each month for the rest of 2007, with a fundraising goal of US$100,000.

The group's main exposure comes from musicians and bands who wear the organization's distinctive T-shirts in photographs and performances. TWLOHA had a booth at every stop on the 2007 Vans Warped Tour.

History

TWLOHA was founded by Jamie Tworkowski in March 2006. Prior to that, the seeds of the group were sown through the story of 19-year-old Renee Yohe, who struggled with addiction, depression, and self-injury.^[1] Written by Tworkowski in February 2006, the story chronicles Yohe's life five days before she entered treatment. In addition to the story, T-shirts were printed and sold in Orlando to fund Yohe's drug treatment, and a MySpace page was created to serve as home base for the project. Bands such as Anberlin and Switchfoot showed their support and began wearing the TWLOHA T-shirts right away, and TWLOHA's MySpace page began to receive messages and comments from young people struggling with the same issues that Yohe faced. What began as an attempt to help one person in Orlando quickly generated wide interest – to date, TWLOHA has heard from young people in all 50 states as well as many from Canada, Mexico, Australia and the United Kingdom (among others).

TWLOHA began operating as a non-profit organization in October 2006 under the umbrella of Fireproof Ministries. On September 1, 2007, TWLOHA left Fireproof and TWLOHA, Inc. was established in Florida as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. TWLOHA uses a team of part-time help and volunteers to respond to the growing volume of MySpace messages and emails. The group recently leased an office in Cocoa, Florida, which will allow them to expand. In August 2007, TWLOHA was awarded a MySpace Impact Award in the Community Building category.

"Love is the Movement", "Rescue is Possible" and "Stop the Bleeding" are slogans often used by the organization. "Stop the Bleeding" is the slogan TWLOHA uses for live events, which combine music, art and speaking.

Outside Charity

Following the death of Hawthorne Heights guitarist/screamer Casey Calvert, Jamie has announced that TWLOHA will be selling a special kind of t-shirt, both to commemorate Casey and to help fund his funeral. The shirts went on pre-sale on 11/29/2007, and were for sale on 11/30/2007. These Casey Calvert Memorial shirts bear the text:
"Our Hearts are Heavy and Light. We Laugh and Scream and Sing. Our Hearts are Heavy and Light. In Loving Memory: Casey Calvert" [1], [2].

Bands & Artists

Many bands and artists support and campaign for TWLOHA. Known artists include:

- The Aesthetic
- The Almost
- All Time Low
- Anberlin
- Atomic Tangerine
- Amanda Messer
- Backseat Goodbye
- Band Marino
- Bayside
- Better off Dreaming
- Between the Trees
- XBoganX
- Boys Like Girls
- Bradley Hathaway
- Brightwood
- Burning Tree Project
- Camera Can't Lie
- City of Sound
- The Classic Crime
- The Color Turning
- The Constellation Branch
- Copeland
- Cue The Doves
- Declare This An Emergency
- Dustin Kensrue
- Easton Legacy
- The Elation
- Ellison
- Eric James & The New Century
- Evanescence
- Ever So Good
- Every Avenue
- Forever In A Day
- Forever The Sickest Kids
- Four Letter Lie
- Fruit Punch
- The Fragile Campaign
- Gasoline Heart
- Gloria
- Gray Lines of Perfection
- Gym Class Heroes
- Hawthorne Heights
- Her Candane
- House of Heroes
- The Human Flight Committee
- iamairplane
- Jaemin Roe
- Jimmy Eat World
- Jon Foreman
- Kaddisfly
- Lennex
- Llamaslovakia
- Manic Sewing Circle
- Mayday Parade
- Messengers
- My Chemical Romance
- The Militia Group
- The Morning Of
- Nevea Tears
- Never Heard Of It
- Now and Forever
- Only a Hero
- Panic! at the Disco
- Paramore
- Plain White T's
- The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
- The Rocket Summer
- Rebecca Niezen
- Searching For Skylines
- Sick Puppies
- Sleeping At Last
- The Spill Canvas
- Sunday Driver
- Switchfoot
- Telephone Bruises
- Thieves and Villains
- This is an Empire
- Thrice
- Throw The Fight
- Tim Wildsmith
- To The Rescue
- Tony Teague
- Typecast
- UnderOath
- Vedera
- A Violent Desire
- Windsor
- Write This Down

External links

• To Write Love On Her Arms official website
• To Write Love On Her Arms at MySpace
• Bandnation Interview with Founder Jamie Tworkowski
• To Write Love On Her Arms Cause at Facebook
• To Write Love On Her Arms Page at Facebook

Source: Wikipedia

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