lifestyle

TWLOHA's founder Jamie Tworkowski

To Write Love On Her Arms first began in February 2006 as an attempt to save one girl. It started as a written story, the true story of five days spent with a friend who was denied entry into a drug treatment center. The story was a look at these five days, and then t-shirts were printed and sold initially as a way to pay for Renee's treatment. Once the story found a "home" on Myspace the initial response was huge. Over time, we became a non-profit organization retroactive August 2007. TWLOHA was founded by a local, Jamie Tworkowski, and a few friends, that felt the need to let one girl know she is loved and she could make it through the tough times with support and encouragement. Although recovery never ends, they hope her story can be used to lead and inspire others in pain and guide them to treatment and happiness.

TWLOHA is not a one man operation, it has grown into a worldwide non-profit. (It now spans from the USA, the United Kingdom, Australia, and India, and they are still getting messages from hundreds of other countries.) TWLOHA selects 5-7 interns every term to help answer emails, respond to facebook messages and MySpace messages, and to keep the operation running smoothly. TWLOHA also has a very supportive staff that has helped a non-profit organization that they truly believe in prosper and save lives. Some of the support comes from: Damion Suomi, Chad Moses, Chloe Grabanski, Lindsay Dick, James Likeness, Katie Nakken, Denny Kolsch, Chris Youngblood, Rich Sullivan, in addition to his mom Janet Tworkoski and his sister Jessica Haley. His sister Emily also tries to travel as much as possible to help sell merchandise at shows like Warped Tour.

Let’s get to know who helped TWLOHA get started. Renee was the young lady that was in need of love, and you can find her story inside the TWLOHA t-shirts. I asked Jessica (Jamie’s sister) why Jamie decided to help Renee, her response, “She was in need. There was no intention of starting a charity. One girl needed help. It was as simple as that.” Renee is healthy, and just recently celebrated her 23rd birthday and is a resident of central Florida. She recently published a book called “Purpose for the Pain” which is available on the TWLOHA site. Her recovery is something she'll always continue to walk through. She is inspiring & will continue to change lives. Last year at the “Heavy and Light” benefit at the house of blues, Renee made a guest appearance, she was amazing and inspiring. Even for people that are not going through depression nor have suicidal thoughts, she encourages you to get informed on the issues so you can help a friend or family member in need.

Heavy and Light is a show put on by TWLOHA and it is happening again this coming January on Saturday the 9th at the House of Blues. Heavy and Light is an evening of songs, hope, conversations, and love. The trip over to be a part of this amazing evening is definitely worth it. If you head over you will get the chance to see Mat Kearney, Aaron Gillespie, Bryce Avery, Stephen Christian, Aaron Marsh, Zach Williams, Damion Suomi, & Anis Mojgani. (Tickets for sale on ticketmaster.com) This is not the only event that TWLOHA has a part in, they also travel with the Van’s Warped Tour each summer which is a huge tour across the US & Canada featuring bands from all over, so many of which support them by wearing their shirts on stage, and speaking up about TWLOHA. TWLOHA has support from so many artists and bands, just to name a few, Switchfoot, Paramore, Boys Like Girls, Blue October, Forever the Sickest Kids, and Amy Lee from Evanescence. Also, all of the musicians involved in Heavy & Light are really passionate about TWLOHA, many of them are lead singers of well known bands.

Jamie was just awarded the “Good Woodie” from MTVu, which aired on December 4th. This award is for the artists whose commitment to a social cause has affected the greatest change this year, check out www.mtv.com or floridatoday.com for more information about the award and see what Jamie had to say. TWLOHA has an article in the latest issue of Rolling Stone magazine, the one with Taylor Lautner on the cover. This non-profit has 350,000 friends on MySpace and over 267,500 fans on facebook. Most of all TWLOHA has heard millions of stories through emails, at events, through facebook, MySpace, twitter, Tumblr, etc that have said TWLOHA saved their life or saved their friend/loved one’s life. “Each story is unique, each story is important, each story tells about a life that has been changed because of the conversations sparked from the issues we talk about,” says Jessica.

TWLOHA just updated their TWLOHA.com and would love for you to take a look at the MOVE page for ways kids/people can get involved. They have a calendar that updates you on all the events they are involved with. The 5-7 interns are selected through an application and interview process. They are always looking for more donors to support their cause! For more information please visit TWLOHA.com. Check out their amazing staff members, their online store, their story and ways to find help. They are getting ready to launch IM ALIVE, which will be the first every peer-to-peer online support network for suicide prevention.

Below are comments from David Horvitz one of the TWLOHA interns:

“The first thing that went through my head when I found out I got to be an intern at TWLOHA was the biggest rush of excitement. Once I had come down from all that excitement, all I could do was to feel honored that I was selected to be a part of this organization that I have come to love. There is no one word that comes to mind, TWLOHA is about more than just one thing, it’s about hope, help, community, love, and so much more; to describe what they do is nearly indescribable.”

“What TWLOHA means to me, is the idea of unconditional love, a community of people who will listen to what you have to say, and that if you need help someone will be there who cares to help you along the way; even the supporters are willing to help, people who know nothing about you, and don't judge you for your problems, but rather sympathize with you.”

Special thanks to all the current TWLOHA interns: Erica Gustafson, Danielle Cantarella, Cory Chiasson, Holly Hallum, Whitney Wilson, and David Horvitz.