At the Bamboozle Roadshow, I was lucky enough to sit down with Chloe from To Write Love On Her Arms and ask her a few questions. Check out the interview below and then head to the bottom of the page for ways to find To Write Love On Her Arms around the web.
What is To Write Love on Her Arms and how did it start?
TWLOHA-Chloe: It started when Jamie met a girl named Renee and wrote a story about the five days he spent with her. She was struggling with the issues that To Write Love is about and the first day they tried to take her to a detox center, she was denied treatment. So, those five days he spent with her, he wrote about the whole experience and now it’s turned into this. He never planned to start a non-profit. He just put the story up online and all of the sudden people started writing in saying, “That’s my story” or “I know someone going through that”. And he had some friends that wore the shirts they made that helped pay for her treatment. After that, people wanted to get more and more involved. So, Jamie quit his job at Hurley and started doing this full time. Now, we’re a 501-C3 non-profit, as recognized by the federal government. We raise awareness for: Depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide. We present hope and find help for people struggling with those issues and then we invest directly into treatment and recovery.
How is Renee now?
TWLOHA-Chloe: Renee’s good. She’s in Florida. She wrote a book that’s out now and it’s literally photocopies of her journals. She’s really an amazing writer. I know she was working on her memoirs but she’s down in Florida in Daytona and she’s doing really well.
Going back to you being a non-profit, I know many people are wondering where the money goes to. Do you donate a certain portion of your proceeds, and to who do they go to?
TWLOHA-Chloe: All of the T-shirt sales and donations go right to To Write Love and then from there we donate out four times a year. So, in the four years that we’ve existed, we’ve donated $700,000.
You’ve always been music oriented and have been on tours such as this and Warped Tour. Is that how you originally planned it to be?
TWLOHA-Chloe: There wasn’t really a plan because it wasn’t ever meant to really be this. But, we’ve been really blessed to be invited to things like this (Bamboozle Roadshow). Music connects people. I mean, you can go to a concert and be in a room with a thousand people and you hear a song… And everyone in that room is feeling the exact same thing. It’s a community and it’s a really important part in music. Music speaks in a lot of places where you can’t. So, we’ve just been blessed to have artists that work with us and have them support what we’re doing.
Has your relationship with music changed since TWLOHA was started?
TWLOHA-Chloe: I’ve always been a music lover. Some of my absolute favorites like Jimmy Eat World, Something Corporate and The Spill Canvas, I’ve always loved them. It’s interesting to see how it speaks to you in a different way. I realize maybe that sometimes I took it for granted what music meant to me. Now, it just means so much more.
Have you heard any new stories recently that really touched you?
TWLOHA-Chloe: There was a guy in a Juvenile Detention Center. He actually wrote in a letter and just kind of shared his story. He was a really young kid and he was talking about how he just wanted to get out and do well, be sober and be healthy. He wanted a copy of Renee’s book. So, I mailed him a copy and he wrote back. This was just a little bit before I left, but it was just a super sweet letter. It was really appreciative. He was so excited to go back and live life. That book and a little handwritten note, it blew him away. That’s the stuff that I love.
What has been the most rewarding experience since you started working with TWLOHA? The most challenging?
TWLOHA-Chloe: The most challenging is when you hear of someone struggling and hurting and they’re in such a dark place. You want to be able to reach through your computer and hug them and tell them: “It’s going to be ok, It’s going to get better, This is going to change.” and wanting to give them enough. Sometimes you can’t always do that and we all do our best to. The most rewarding thing is getting to bring my heart to work every day, meeting kids and telling them about To Write Love and their faces light up. Or them coming up and saying “I’m on the street team” or “I was at Warped Tour last year. I love you guys”. It’s so great to see how it changes their lives.
RTS-Chris: That’s awesome. Not many people can say that.
TWLOHA-Chloe: Exactly!
What can people do to help or get involved?
TWLOHA-Chloe:: On the website, there’s a “Move” section and it lists all of the things you can do. We’ve got a street team. Which there’s a ton of stuff on there for people to get involved in. Wearing the shirts, telling people about the organization, everything helps.
Any Last Words or do you have a message for those who may be going through a rough time?
TWLOHA-Chloe: Just talk to somebody. Find someone that you trust. Somebody that you can share your story with. We’re not meant to live alone and we say that all the time but you’ve got to believe it for yourself. So, just knowing that hope is real and that if you’re struggling… It’s going to get better. Just find somebody to talk to
RTS-Chris: Thanks for doing this.
TWLOHA: No, Thank you.
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