Introducing Do1Thing co-founder Pim Van Hemmen

Pim Van Hemmen, a native of the Netherlands, spent 10 years covering sports, features and worldwide news events for The Star-Ledger in Newark, New Jersey.
He then created and ran an all-digital photo department at the newspaper, which won the  Pulitzer Prize for feature photography in 2001, the newspaper’s first Pulitzer.
He is a former New Jersey Press Photographer of the Year, co-editor of three books, and the co-founder of the Heart Gallery of New Jersey, which since 2005 has used photography to find permanent homes for more than 150 unwanted children.
Pim is also co-founder of Do1Thing, a national non-profit group, which uses photography to promote social change.
He is a lifelong sailor, and the parent of two young children, which explains his passion for those two subjects.
He lives in Fair Haven, New Jersey with his wife, son and daughter.

Covenant House + Heart Gallery + Do 1 Thing = A Call to Action

The first image that comes to mind when talking about “homelessness” is a middle aged drunk lying on the side of a street. What you might not know is the history behind the person lying there. While many homeless have emotional and mental illness others have been forced onto the street because of circumstance. The majority of the homeless population is not compromised   “types” of people Covenant House International is the largest privately-funded agency in the Americas providing shelter and other services to homeless, runaway and throwaway youth servicing more than 65,000 youth yearly.

“Aging out” is a nationwide phenomenon.  Every year in the United States, approximately 25,000 children
age out of the foster care system.  Statistics show that more than 25%of them will experience homelessness in the next five years. Already 3 in every 10 homeless adults admit to a history of foster care and unless action is taken to assist these teenagers, the next wave of homeless in America could very well be teens who were never adopted.

Do 1 Thing hopes to stem the tide of “aging out” teens by highlighting their need for adoption by introducing the public to waiting children. View these kids at Heart Gallery of New Jersey

For those kids who never get adopted, Covenant House provides food, shelter, clothing and immediate crisis care to homeless, runaway and throwaway youth including medical care, educational and vocational programs, drug abuse treatment and prevention programs, legal aid services, recreation programs, mother/child programs, transitional living programs, life-skills training and street outreach.

It all comes full circle when the public joins us on February 14th, 2009, Valentine’s Day to raise awareness for homeless youth and does 1 Thing to make their lives a little easier.