Combating Teen Homelessness In NYC With Technology

Combating Teen Homelessness In NYC With Technology
Top IT Experts Team Up to Educate Teens in Foster Care

The statistics are alarming. Eighty percent of homeless people in NYC were formerly in the foster care system.  When a foster-care youth reaches the age of 18 and has not been adopted, they “age out” of the system and are essentially abandoned and completely unprepared to be on their own. Almost universally, they have minimal education, very high dropout rates, absolutely no parental or adult guidance, no life skills, no qualifications, and no living arrangements.

That’s why the Techie Youth Foundation’s Founder and President – Eric David Benari, is on a mission. He’s teamed up with other experts in the field to provide free IT education to any youth of employable age in the foster-care system to help combat homelessness.

” It is never the kids’ fault they are in the foster-care system. Most of them enter the system due to severe parental abuse or extreme neglect. Kids who don’t enter the Techie Youth program and age-out of care are likely to become incarcerated within 18-24 months. Many will become homeless, and nearly half of all females will become pregnant within one year. Any of the students who participate in the program could within a very short time be earning much more than what is required to live adequately,” says Benari.

After five months of classes, the Techie Youth Foundation is proud to announce they recently celebrated their first graduating class at the Microsoft Store on 5th Avenue.

About Eric David Benari:

 David Benari, PMP, is the Founder & President of Techie Youth. He is an IT business expert and master-technologist who has founded and/or built the infrastructure for a large portfolio of ventures, spanning sectors of social networks, e-commerce, B2B, open-source, online advertising (while in a senior-role at Yahoo!) and others. Benari has been invited to speak at numerous conferences and universities, including NYU and MIT, and is a published writer for Forbes and MIT CIO Corner, to name a few. Benari  is also the Chairman/Coordinator/Organizer of the world’s largest community of database-technology professionals.

For more information on the Techie Youth Foundation, visit: www.TechieYouth.org
or www.TechieYouth.org/hope.

To see Class Photos, please visit: www.TechieYouth.org/gallery.

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There are children waiting 
in the US  foster care system

Taylor Swift Most Influential Celebrity for Teens

Ebates.com 2013 Holiday Survey:
Taylor Swift Most Influential Celebrity
for Teens this Holiday

Swift Beats One Direction, Katy Perry, Jennifer Lawrence, and Justin Bieber in influence; while wish lists go virtual

SAN FRANCISCO—December, 2013 —Ebates.com, the pioneer and leader in online cash back shopping, today announced findings from its 2013 Holiday Survey in which teens were asked about their holiday habits and who influences them.  The nationwide survey discovered that almost 4 in 10 (38%) say celebrities do indeed have influence on their holiday wish list. For the second consecutive year, Taylor Swift was named the star that influences their wish list the most (at 13%).  Swift beat out One Direction (11%), Katy Perry (9%), Selena Gomez (7%), Demi Lovato (6%), Jennifer Lawrence (5%), and Justin Bieber (5%). 

The Ebates.com survey also found social media has replaced the traditional letter to Santa.  Young adults ages 12 – 17 say they are more likely to put their wish list online, compared to previous years. While the majority said they will just tell their parents what they want, a little more than one-quarter (26%) said they will take their list online.  Among the top virtual wish list methods are:

• Email—10%
• Facebook—10%
• Twitter—3%
• Tumblr—2%
• Their own blog—1%

7% of teens admitted that they still write a traditional letter to Santa.

“The holidays are all about the kids, but we know the teens are the hardest to shop for,” said Kevin H. Johnson, CEO of Ebates. “With this annual survey, we found out that if all else fails, parents can look to their teen’s favorite celebrity’s fashion for inspiration.  We hope that finding out what teens want and what makes them tick makes the holiday season easier and more enjoyable for parents.”

Ebates.com is offering special promotions throughout December for anyone to save on holiday purchases. Visit Ebates.com for more information. The free Ebates.com app for iPhone is available for download at iTunes for shoppers who prefer to browse and shop on the go.

Survey Methodology

This survey was conducted online within the United States by TNS on behalf of Ebates.com from October 8-14, 2013 among 1,000 adults 18 years and older as well as 500 teens between the ages of 12-17 years old. For complete survey methodology, including raw data and weighting variables, please contact Alessandra Nagy at Grayling atAlessandra.Nagy@Grayling.com.

About Ebates.com

Over 1,600 online stores have joined the roster of retailers that offer cash back, special deals including free shipping, and over 10,000 coupons to members of Ebates.com. Free membership allows consumers to shop online at their favorite retailers while earning a percentage of every purchase they make; paid quarterly in the form of a “Big Fat Check” or through PayPal. From niceties to necessities, members of Ebates benefit from incentives at top-name merchants for everything from furniture to fashion and appliances to airfare. Because shopping with Ebates is hassle-free: no rebate forms to fill out and no points or miles to redeem, the site supports a strong community of savvy shoppers across the country and around the world.