Trojan Shelter is Off to a Great Start!

Dear friends,

Whether you are new to our organization or have been hearing about Trojan Shelter for a while now, I want to welcome you on behalf of our board and invite you into an update on how Trojan Shelter has been progressing this new year!

My name is Matthew and I am the Director of Media here at Trojan Shelter. We are a student organization with a mission to house college students experiencing homelessness and bring awareness to the college homelessness in Los Angeles and throughout the nation. I oversee our media output and have the privilege of keeping our community informed of our progress and involvement!

Trojan Shelter has been moving at great speeds for us to open beginning of the Fall 2019 semester. Just before we left for our winter break last December, our Executive Board met for the very first time with our faculty advisor, Cara Esposito, and mentor, Louis Tse. Over dinner, we discussed everything from funding, volunteer recruitment, fundraising campaigns, social media blast, signage, and potential partnerships, to official headshots, executive board bonding activities and a lot more.

As a start-up organization with a social mission, we had to cover everything an organization needed to operate. As crazy and daunting these tasks seemed to be, it was equally exciting as every single person at that dinner table knew that this meeting was the start of something very special.

Indeed, this semester has truly been special. Through all the craziness, our mission seems to be seen and heard by people all around the Los Angeles community.

Recently, we were graciously welcomed with open arms by the church we plan to operate in. It was truly a blessing to meet the members of the congregation and see their excitement to our partnership. The same day, we gave tours to several current and potential donors and partners who also want to join our mission in creating a safe home for students experiencing homelessness. It is exciting to be developing these mutual relationships of service that will lead to an impact in our community!

Trojan Shelter E-Board visiting the church

With a special thanks to Ez-Up International’s donation, Trojan Shelter received a tall sign to use during recruitment week at USC. Because of its visual publicity, we were able to get over 100 students who were interested in our mission. With an overflow of interest and passion in our mission, we were able to add over 40 volunteers to our team.

As our team of students only grows, we are now able to jumpstart numerous projects in preparation for our opening next semester. Some projects include creating a cookbook for our cooking staff, fundraising campaigns, Homelessness Awareness Week, a blog, and a promotional video. The Trojan Shelter E-Board is deeply grateful for all the support we are getting from our classmates. Without them, many of these projects would be impossible. Together we are able to see Trojan Shelter’s mission come to life.

Click on the link here to view one of our most recent projects: Homelessness Myth Debunker. USC freshman Michael Egan wrote our first blog titled, “Just Work Harder”. The authors are my wonderfully talented Media Committee members. We will be debunking a homelessness myth every two weeks!

Throughout the semester, we will continue to share our progress. Stay tuned for our monthly newsletters to keep up with Trojan Shelter’s growth. I hope that you will join us for this journey and I look forward to engaging with you.

Fight on!
Matthew Lee, Director of Media

For more information about Trojan Shelter, go to our new website: trojanshelter.org
To help support us financially, go to trojanshelter.org/donate. Make sure to specify that your tax-deductible donation will be going to Trojan Shelter!