They say there are a few moments in your life when you see a vision of your past and a glimpse of your future. That moment came for me on September 11th, 2001.

For more than 20 years I was a magazine photojournalist and a Newsweek Magazine contract photographer. On 9/11 I was home on maternity leave with a three week old son when word came in that a plane had hit the World Trade Center. Newsweek Magazine called me to head to the site and I had no choice but to take my boy with me. We headed to Hoboken, NJ, just across the Hudson River to a clear vantage point. I carried him in pack and began shooting as the building began to crumble. Crowds surrounded us. Mikey cried wanting to be fed and the crowds cried and screamed in anquish as they watched history unfold. I knew at that moment in my life, things had to change.

I had traveled the world documenting history and had see more horrible things that I hoped to remember. Susan Smith drowning her children, Columbine school shootings, people dying off the coast of Haiti, Cubans sending their children off in crumbling rafts hoping to send them off to freedom. Floods, hurricane's, fire and family, I had documented it. I decided on that day, I had to make a change in my life. I had enough of misery and though I still loved being a photojournalist, I had to find a new path.

A few years later I read a small artice about a Heart Gallery. Professional photographers donating their time to take pictures of children in foster care. I don't know why but I knew it was something I wanted to do. I contacted the state of New Jersey and offered my services. I though I'd photograph 8 or 10 children, they asked if I could photograph more than 350 of their "hardest to adopt kids". How do you say no?

I contacted my friends who contacted friends who contacted friends and in a matter of weeks we had more than 150 photographers, editors and writers working on the project. Pim Van Hemmen, the assistant managing editor for photography at the Newark Star-Ledger and I formed the Heart Gallery of New Jersey, a unique not-for-profit corporation dedicated to raising awareness about foster children available for adoption. Through the volunteer efforts of some of the country's most prestigious photographers, portraits are taken that help capture the individuality and spirit of each foster child who is eligible to be adopted. These photographs are then shared via the web and through gallery exhibits in the hope that potential families will be moved to inquire about adoption. Three years later more than 150 of those orphans have been adopted.

The HGNJ received more than 22 million hits the first three months the web site went iive. Our story was featured on 20/20, the New York Times, USAToday, The Today Show, CNN, MSNBC, Peter Jenning and ABC named us the "Person of the Week" and the project recieved international attention.

But what happens when these foster children turn 18 without ever having been adopted? Right now 1.3 million youth are homeless in America. Three out of every 10 homeless adults admit to a history in foster care and with 25,000 foster children aging out of care each year, experts suggest the next wave of homeless in America will be former foster children who were never adopted.

The thought that a whole generation of children will be left to roam the streets is unconscionable.

In 2007 I went back to school 25 years after I first graduated from the University of Florida. I had hoped to back back to school for years but with a busy career, the timing was never right. I was accepted into the Communications, Design and Technology program at Parsons, The New School for Design in NYC. For my masters thesis, I wanted to tackle the issue of teenage homelessness. I began a year long documentary project to tell the stories of foster youth living on the streets but it wasn't enough just to tell their stories. I needed to do more.

My thesis evolved into the Do 1 Thing project, a nationwide effort between photographers and journalists that raises awareness of homeless teenagers and encourages individuals to do one thing to assist them. More than 25 pulitzer prize winning photographers and some of the most famous names in photography have come together to put a "face" on teen homelessness while asking the public to put a "face" on activism by doing 1 thing to help.

The issues surrounding homelessness are gigantic, the solutions offered are endless. But what if every did 1 thing on 1 day to help 1 cause? I believe great change would happen.

Do1Thing is proud to partner with Covenant House, the largest privately-funded agency in the Americas providing shelter and other services to homeless, runaway and throwaway youth.  Our second partner is StandUp for Kids. The mission of StandUp for Kids is to help homeless and street kids.

They do this, every day, in cities across America, carrying out their mission through volunteers who go to the streets in order to find, stabilize and otherwise help homeless and street kids improve their lives.

Join us in this nation-wide effort to raise awareness and encourage action to help homeless teens.