Hey Guys.

Wanted to share a couple interviews with you. It's a privilege when i get the chance to answer questions on behalf of TWLOHA. i love talking about our surprising journey as it's something that's been amazing to be part of over the last few years. We hope you feel some of that as well...

Anyway, two recent interviews we want to share with you...

1. We had a great time at our "Music for Good" CMJ panel in NYC on October 22. After that conversation, i sat down with Andy Stepanian from Sparrow Media. Andy asked a lot of good questions, about everything from the history and growth of TWLOHA to what we value and why to the roles of music, t-shirts and faith... It's part history lesson, part philosophy and part behind-the-scenes, and we hope you find it both interesting and informative. WATCH THE VIDEO INTERVIEW HERE.

2. i grew up reading the Florida Today (newspaper) every morning before school, mostly reading every word i could about the NBA and especially the Orlando Magic. With these memories in mind, i was excited when i found out that Florida Today wanted to do a story on TWLOHA and the Woodie Award nomination. The story ran in yesterday's paper and you can READ IT HERE.

Peace to you.
jamie

Jamie talks Woode Awards, gets a sweet pair of headphones and has a tough time introducing himself...



Click the banner below to vote for Jamie!

When we woke up to get ready for the Out of the Darkness Walk in Cocoa Beach, it was still dark outside.  We loaded up in the van to go to the park. The walk was sponsored by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.  We checked in and met Angela, the woman who organized the walk for our area.  She wore a button on her shirt with a smiling young woman with long auburn hair on it.  It’s her sister Carla—she died by suicide two years ago.  Today, her family walked for her. We did too.

 

Memory boards covered one picnic table.  It was a place for attendees to write special messages to friends and family lost to suicide. This is a message to a father:



The picture you see below is of TWLOHA's contribution to these memory boards. This year we received donations from friends and families in memory of these loved ones. We hold them and their families close to our hearts. We walked in their honor and on behalf of their loved ones.



Before beginning the walk, Angela gathered everyone together.  She shared the story of her sister’s long battle against depression.  She talked about how important it is that we reach out to others, to make it real when we say “you are not alone.”  She stressed the importance of medication and therapy.  She said her family wanted to do this walk in an effort to help people like their sister.  With a group of no more than thirty-five people, together, we set out to walk three miles, half on the sidewalk along the road, half on the beach.  The sun had been rising in the sky, and the light was erasing the darkness.

We walked for the memories.
We walked for the families.
We walked for the names on our banner posted to the memory board. 
We walked for the woman on the beach who lost her brother to suicide.
We walked with the family who lost their father two months ago.
We walked with the woman who lost her father thirteen years ago to suicide, who attempted to take her own life seven years ago. 
We walked so that we don’t forget.
We walked because we are all connected.
We walked to let our stories come together, to tell a greater story of hope.
Yes, we walked for HOPE.



It was an honor to be a part of such an intimate setting, walking with such a freshness of healing.  We are grateful to have been there, to literally walk through this with people in our community. We entered the walk among strangers, and left with friends, left with people who truly cared for one another, left with encouragement that we are doing the right thing. We left in the light.

so much love.
whitney
fall 09 intern

DJ AM's "Gone Too Far" Premieres Tonight at 10pm, 10:50pm and again at 2am on MTV.

This is the first of eight episodes and our hope is that people who don't understand addiction will be exposed to it's painful reality, that they might begin to learn and to engage this conversation. More than anything, we hope that people in need of help will begin to take steps towards healing and sobriety, and that when they do, they would be met with honesty, compassion and support.

Watch the trailer below and find out more at MTV.com:

We think this is an important story and we're honored to be included.  When we say this article is everywhere, we mean everywhere...

New York Times

Washington Post

Boston Globe

Chicago Tribune

San Francisco Chronicle

Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Orlando Sentinel

Star Tribune (Minn / St. Paul)

The Guardian (United Kingdom)

Hey Guys,

Exciting news and quite the surprise: We found out this week that TWLOHA founder Jamie Tworkowski has been nominated for a 2009 mtvU Woodie Award - it's the "Good Woodie" award and he's up against Alicia Keys, John Legend, Wyclef Jean, Kenna and Ra Ra Riot. According to MTV, the Good Woodie "is the award for the artist whose commitment to a social cause has effected the greatest change this year."






- CLICK HERE TO VOTE NOW!

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As Jamie said, we're here because of your voice and your support. It means more than you know - thanks for being incredible.

Hey Guys,

For those active in the field of Mental Health, Fall is the season dedicated to Suicide Prevention. Over the past three years, TWLOHA has been privileged to be part of ongoing conversations on topics such as suicide that often are not talked about. We’ve been on the receiving end of countless stories that demand not only an emotional response, but also a tangible response. We are moved by the fact that suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death for young Americans. We are challenged with knowing that suicide is the most preventable form of death. These facts require attention, action, and conversation.

By being a part in these conversations, we developed a friendship with the National Hopeline, which runs the network many recognize as 1-800-SUICIDE. This free and confidential service has been operating for 11 years now and has answered over three million phone calls. Three million lives that in a moment of courage and confession reached out for help. Three million people reminded that their life matters and their story is important. Three million stories that might have ended too soon.

Last year we launched a campaign to help pay 1-800-SUICIDE’s phone bill and ensure that their legacy of hope would continue. This year we are taking the commitment a step further and helping 1-800-SUICIDE along with PostSecret produce the first ever Suicide Prevention Music Tour featuring Blue October. The month long venture is called the Pick Up The Phone Tour. It is one thing to write checks, but what is closest to our hearts is proactively meeting people where they are. Keeping our vision in mind, proceeds from this tour will be going towards developing a new online chat network called IM Alive (Instant Message Alive) which will work much like 1-800-SUICIDE: free and confidential.

The tour will be starting with a conversation, that you are invited to, on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. on October 21st. Justin Furstenfeld of Blue October along with Reese Butler, founder of 1-800-SUICIDE, will be addressing Congress on these issues. If you want to be a part of this first day and acoustic set, please visit PUTP.org and reply to the RSVP at the bottom of the page (while the event is free, the space is limited). Tickets are on sale now at PUTP.org for all the other dates as well as brand new Pick Up the Phone shirts. We can’t wait to join you for these nights of hope and healing, but even if you cannot join us on the tour, we would encourage you to check out the shirt and start conversations in your own community.

For more information on the tour and what we believe about these issues, please check out our PSA below. We are really excited about this video and we hope that you will help us share it. It’s a combination of Jamie’s words, James Earl Jones' voice, video work by our friend Dustin Miller, and dozens of caring strangers that all came together in about two days… and we could not be more proud of the finished product.



See you on the road.
With hope,
Chad

We were going to post a blog today. Instead, we decided to try something a little different. The image below is an attempt to include you in the process.



We hope you guys can make it. We hope that you might even go as far as to get together with friends and with family and watch together. Ultimately, we hope that when the cameras turn off, you keep talking.

Click here to watch the live webcast on October 5th at 8PM EST. Music by Damion Suomi and Andy Zipf. To join the conversation, send all questions and comments via Twitter by starting your Tweets with @TWLOHA. You can also help promote the webcast by posting the banner below on your page or making it your profile picture.



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