Awesome Foundation - Проекти

Baltimore, MD – MOMCares

2017-12-12T00:00:00Z

MOMCares is a project of The Rising Mama brand that provides postpartum doula services to single, low income, mothers of Colors in the NICU. MOMCares provides self care workshops, assist mothers with accessing entitlements, provides transportation to and from the hospital, and provides support to mothers in family team meetings. MOMCares also facilitates yoga, meditation, and body adornment workshops to help expand mothers coping skills while going through their experience in the NICU with their babies.

Santa Fe, NM (Неактивен) – Tooling Up at the Railyard Park

2017-12-12T00:00:00Z

Tooling Up at the Railyard Park" is a straightforward project. The Railyard Park Conservancy has provided stewardship for the 13-acre Railyard Park in Santa Fe for almost ten years. This responsibility requires constant, year-round horticultural and gardening expertise and hard labor to maintain the more than 150 different species of plants and a total of over 7,000 plants. Yardmasters, a group of truly dedicated Park volunteers provide approximately 600 hours of labor every year. But they need good tools to continue to do so. The garden tools and equipment currently being used by RPC volunteers are inadequate, broken or non-existent. Railyard Park is a neighborhood treasure, serving both residents and visitors to Santa Fe. Hundreds of people find respite from city life, children play, adults attend free workshops and children learn in the Outdoor Science Classroom and at Sand Day Saturdays and International Mud Day. The Railyard Park is also a city location for art projects, both big and small events, movie nights and more. In short, the Railyard Park and its stewards, The Railyard Park Conservancy, are AWESOME. RPC will use the money to purchase much-needed garden tools and equipment to help maintain the Railyard Park. On the surface, it may appear that the gardens keep themselves beautiful, but RPC is responsible for maintenance and expert horticultural care all of the plants, shrubs and trees in the Park. Much of the labor is generously donated by volunteers but RPC needs to replace old tools and purchase some new ones in order to get the job done.

Vegan (Неактивен) – Food for Freedom

2017-12-11T00:00:00Z

We provide hot vegan meals on a daily basis for refugees stranded on Lesvos. Since the distribution happens regularly every evening, it is also important as a social meeting point for refugees, and a place for refugees and European volunteers to connect with each other. For the last two weeks we have been cooking 70 extra meals daily to support a group of refugees occupying a square in the centre of Mytilene in protest of conditions on the island, which they have now been doing since the 20th October. For now they are determined to stay until their demands are met. The protest is entirely refugee led, and is to a big part moved forward by a group of refugee women and girls. They demand freedom of movement for all refugees trapped on Greek islands and decent living conditions outside of the camp, especially for the women and families. Currently, 5500 refugees on Lesvos are forced to stay in the state run camp called "Moria". In the last two months several thousands of people arrived new, mainly women and children. They are forced to sleep in flimsy summer tents without protection from the cold and without a door to lock to protect themselves from violence and assault. After an outburst of violence in the camp two weeks ago many families left the camp and started this still ongoing protest. We have been supporting them with food and blankets since the beginning. Additionally to the hot food we are providing them boxes of ingredients that allow them to prepare their own lunch autonomously, as well as tea, sugar and non-food items for 9 protesters that are on hungerstrike. This support has enabled them to continue the protest as long as it’s necessary and prevent them from returning to the horrendous conditions in the state-run refugee camp to queue for hours to get food or a cup of tea. Since we started supporting this protest we are spending more money than usual and are currently at our financial limit. To be able to continue we will need additional support.

Chicago, IL – Awesome Weekend

2017-12-11T00:00:00Z

So, we had a great talk about the Awesome Weekend project Andrew proposed at the Awesome Summit. In a nutshell: awesome weekend is a global celebration of awesome when we invite people to give away pink envelopes with $10 (or local equivalent) randomly (or not) along with an invitation for people to use it as they wish but preferably doing something awesome with it! This application is for the Chicago chapter's implementation of it. The idea of doing it together - and globally - is to get as much excitement about it as possible, so that we could get some free press and buzzing about Awesome Foundation, leading to new chapters, better proposals, awesome trustees and enjoying a fun weekend together. Chicago's intention is to take a look at neighborhoods that we've been giving less grants at and try to make sure people in those neighborhoods know about us.

Orlando, FL – Awesome Weekend

2017-12-11T00:00:00Z

Singapore – Tracing Migratory Paths

2017-12-09T00:00:00Z

Tracing the paths of migrants, specifically the paths undertaken by refugees from crises in and around Burma, cataloguing and sharing these experiences and encounters with individuals via the written word and through culinary recipes, shared via social media (Medium/ Web) and on print. Undertaking a more personal and food - centric perspective towards the issues - I hope to flesh out the links between the neighboring countries, highlighting the situations unfolding in our backyards. The grant is targeted to kickstart the beginnings of an ongoing project, since it shouldn't be possible to cover the breadth of the issue(s), and migratory paths within 1 month. Aiming for the project to start March 2018, fieldwork to take 3 - 4 weeks.

Buffalo, NY (Неактивен) – Awesome Weekend

2017-12-09T00:00:00Z

On December 9-10, Awesome Buffalo joined Awesome Foundation chapters from around the world to call on people in our community to do something awesome. Through this project, we hope to create a ripple effect of kindness and creativity. During Awesome Weekend, pink envelopes were handed out to strangers on the street, each containing $10 and a letter encouraging recipients to do something awesome with the cash, no strings attached. Suggestions of what to do with the $10 included:

Buy some dog treats and make some friends in Buffalo.
Hide it in your favorite book at the library.
Give it to the next grumpy person you see.
Pick up stamps and send out some joy-filled letters.
Buy a bouquet of flowers and randomly give them away.

Visit our Facebook page and Instagram, and follow along using the hashtag #beawesomeday to see what Buffalo residents do with the money.

Minas Gerais (Неактивен) – Awesome Weekend Beagá

2017-12-09T00:00:00Z

Desejamos a todos de Belo Horizonte que tenham tido um fim de semana incrível, cheio de generosidade, criatividade, coisas inusitadas e, é claro, envelopes rosas sendo distribuidos pela cidade! #awesomeweekend No fim de semana do dia 9 e 10 de Dezembro, 10 cidades do mundo inteiro comemoraram o AWESOME WEEKEND distribuindo envelopes pela cidade. Dentro do envelope estava uma pequena quantia em dinheiro e uma carta sugerindo que a pessoa utilizasse essa grana para fazer algo de incrivelmente generoso e criativo com ela. Começamos na praça da estação, passando pelo Centro de Referência à Juventude, seguindo para Praça 7 e Rodoviária, onde envelopinhos rosas tomaram o rumo para cidades do interior e até para fora de Minas Gerais. Assim que fomos expulsos pela segurança da rodoviária, seguimos para o Mercado Central. Incrível e Divertido! --- Awesome Foundation Minas Gerais Financiamos idéias incríveis sem pedir nada em troca. minasgerais.awesomefoundation.org

Northern Virginia (NOVA) (Неактивен) – Knocking out Stress through Knitting

2017-12-09T00:00:00Z

We propose to hold knitting classes for nurses and other staff at Virginia Hospital Center and INOVA Children's as a way to help nurses and hospital staff cope with stress. New knitters will learn to make a simple garter stitch chemo cap, and experienced knitters will make "knitted knockers," prosthesis for breast cancer patients. The knockers and caps are in demand at the Cancer Resource Centers, and will be donated to patients at the hospitals. There is a clear benefit to the staff: two oncology nurses at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital whom Project Knitwell taught to knit (pictured in photo labeled "Lyndsay" below) published an article in the Journal of Oncology Nursing showing that knitting can help oncology nurses reduce "burnout" or "compassion fatigue." Nurses at Virginia Hospital Center approached Project Knitwell about having a knitting class for staff. The class will benefit the participants who will receive the wellness benefits of doing something creative, that offers a respite from their immediate situation, and that has a positive effect on reducing stress symptoms. In turn, they will make a practical item that can be used by patients at the hospital. Finally, knowing first hand the benefits that knitting can offer, they will also become advocates for knitting as a wellness tool. They can promote knitting for patients and caregivers as a way to help them cope with stress and pass the time during their hospital stays and beyond. Project Knitwell volunteers, experienced in working in a hospital setting, will conduct the classes and provide all supplies.

Sarnia (Неактивен) – Kindergarten Yard Accessibility Enhancements

2017-12-08T00:00:00Z

The playground for our youngest learners is in desperate need of help! With shade from only one young tree, it becomes unbearably hot in the early summer months. Students have no where to go to escape the sun and heat. In the middle of the playground there is a 27 x 33 foot sand pit, surrounded by a cement sidewalk. Sand escapes from the pit, creating a slippery sidewalk for students to use. The sand also prohibits students with mobility needs from fully enjoying the outdoor space. Unfortunately, it is also very popular with neighborhood cats! For the past three years we have been fundraising internally to accomplish three goals for the playground. The first goal is to provide a "shade sail" that will cover a large area of the playground, providing necessary protection from the sun. We have researched a semi-permanent shade that can be removed during the winter as well as during July and August, prolonging it's lifespan. Our second goal is to re-surface the sand pit with engineered wood fiber, that mats together to provide consistent barrier free access for wheelchairs and walkers. It also exceeds all requirements for children's play areas and equipment, with thickness geared to fall heights. Our final goal for the space, is to include an age appropriate climbing/play structure. The students currently utilize two small structures: a plastic dinosaur, as well as a steel frame truck. With close to forty students using the yard simultaneously, there is only room for approximately six students to use the present equipment at any given time. Active play and investigation of surroundings are large components of the full day kindergarten curriculum, and with the proposed enhancements to their playground, all students regardless of abilities will be able to share in meaningful learning and exploration opportunities.

San Francisco, CA – Food For Thought: A 5-Star Ohlone Banquet

2017-12-08T00:00:00Z

Can we eat our way to wisdom? With our minds overwhelmed by news and images, can we best be reached through our stomachs? Can we pull off an event that’s literally food for thought? Give us a thousand bucks, and let’s find out. I’m requesting this money to assist my friend, Vincent Medina, an Ohlone activist, with a truly awesome project: creating a new way of being Indian in the modern world. Gleefully thumbing his nose at every cultural cliché, Vincent and his partner, Louis Trevino, also Ohlone, will prepare a banquet featuring traditional California Indian ingredients assembled in a modern kitchen using the most refined European culinary techniques. The result is pure delight: acorn bisque served with local wildflower honey and walnut milk; acorn flour tempura sage leaves served with bay oil aioli; venison meatballs with crushed yerba buena; sautéed dandelion greens with savory hazelnut butter; acorn flour brownies with walnuts and sea salt; and yerba buena and bay laurel sorbet. This is a menu that demands to be read aloud. Celebratory and bold, it leaps tall buildings in a single bound. Traditional foods, gathered and stored with reverence and techniques rooted in ancient practices, get dressed in fancy clothes and head out for a wild night on the town. It brings to mind the time when the Indians of the Great Plains seized upon the horse, quickly mastering this introduced animal and using it in ways that revitalized, extended, and transformed ancient cultural practice. Vincent and Louis have quit their day jobs to launch mak-‘amham, offering catering services to Native organizations and others. The funding will be used for a banquet to which I will invite Class-A Bay Area foodies, prominent members of the Native community, foundation heads and educators, museum curators, and the media. Let’s give Vince the chance to play with his food, play with our minds, and expand the sense of what it means to be Indian today.

Sydney – Accessible Abstracts

2017-12-07T00:00:00Z

Accessible Abstracts is a series of abstract art workshops for people with disabilities, by people with disabilities. These workshops offer disability led professional arts and cultural education to people with disabilities to empower artists with these barriers through creative skills, experience, confidence and social inclusion. We aim to inspire interest in pursuing art and creative design as a career path. In Australia, 1 in 5 people have a disability, and over half of those people are unemployed. Through Accessible Abstracts, we will challenge the barriers that people living with disability face accessing conventional education and professional development pathways in the arts. Accessible Abstracts will provide artists with studio space equipped with artistic materials and support staff to teach and assist. It also provides multiple exhibition opportunities throughout the year, linking participants with and introducing them to prestigious art institutions such as the AGNSW and ArtBank. During the workshops participants will go through the process of researching the history of abstract art, experiencing contemporary abstract art, learning different abstract mark making techniques, and creating their own unique abstract artworks in response to what they have learned. This aims to teach participants a pathway to self employment using artistic skills to become a practicing artist. Art For Accessibility Workshops are run by members of the Front Up Emerge 2016 program, at the Front Up Arts Hub in Seven Hills, Sydney Australia. The Emerge program helped us as disabled emerging artists to expand and build our art practices, build on our portfolios of work, and increase our skills. In addition, we were taught how to teach accessible art workshops, putting people first. Now we are moving into becoming part of the Front Up team, heading up our own creative workshops. 4 photos shown below are from an art workshop I helped facilitate.

Ottawa – Awesome Weekend

2017-12-07T00:00:00Z

December’s Awesome Ottawa award goes to random strangers who will be called on to themselves forward the interest of awesome in the universe, $10 at a time. Ottawa is one of ten cities in Canada, the United States, the UK, and Brazil where money will be distributed in the same way the weekend of December 9-10 by Awesome Foundation chapters. In each city, pink envelopes will be handed out containing $10 or the local equivalent and a letter encouraging the recipient to do something awesome with the cash. As with all Awesome Foundation awards, the money is being given with no strings attached. The letter distributed in Ottawa will encourage recipients to tweet about their experience of spreading awesome using the hashtags #awesomeweekend and #ottcity, which you can follow to see what Ottawa residents decide to do. By encouraging recipients to do something awesome with their money, Awesome Ottawa and participating Awesome Foundation chapters hope to create a ripple effect of kindness and creativity throughout local communities.

Oakland, CA (Неактивен) – Music for the Masses

2017-12-07T00:00:00Z

I pair children of incarcerated and deported parents with the amateur musicians among us to explore the children's interests in a particular musical instrument, develop their skills with that instrument, and work as a group to put on awesome musical shows. We just put on our summer performance in Modesto, CA, and are getting ready to begin working with a group of students living in Oakland. Because my colleagues met and developed relationships with these children in the past while working on behalf of their parents (and brothers, sisters, aunts and uncles), I have been uniquely positioned to identify and explore with them the instrument they want to devote their time and attention to and provide them with a consistent and safe learning environment. This project will mirror the last recently completed project out of Modesto, California. Each Saturday, one or two amateur musicians and I pick up a group of up to 5 children. We then travel to the home of an adult they know and trust (1 of the children's former attorneys who lives in Oakland has offered to host), and I will work for 30 minutes with each student individually while the others learn as a group to identify by ear the different musical instruments, different genres of music, and notes on the piano from sheet music. After the lessons are complete, we as a group will prepare an early evening supper together, and then we return the children to their homes. When the students sound and feel prepared, we put on a show, where we will ask audience members to identify instruments as the students play them from behind a curtain, each student will perform a piece, we will perform a group piece, and then we will break for an early evening supper prepared by the musicians. On graduation, students are given a certificate and their own instrument. Students who have been learning voice are given a karaoke machine. Once graduated, if desired, they continue to work with a mentoring amateur musician in their community.

Gloucester, MA – Positivity O'Maley 2.0

2017-12-06T00:00:00Z

Gloucester, MA – OMTV Merchandise

2017-12-06T00:00:00Z

For Awesome Gloucester, we would like to make OMTV merchandise for the Video Journalism Club. Our teacher sponsor is Mr Mulkern. OMTV is a news program from our afterschool club, Video Journalism.Some merchandise will be for the OMTV staff, and some sold to keep funding new equipment for the school.

Gloucester, MA – Technology for art

2017-12-06T00:00:00Z

Annapolis, NS (Неактивен) – "That Garth Guy. Chef at Large."

2017-12-06T00:00:00Z

I love cooking and I love food. I love my community and local ingredients and exploring the area’s traditional and new foodways. Whether they are historical or contemporary, the culinary arts are my passion. And I am bringing that passion home to Annapolis Royal to stay. I’m “That Garth Guy – Chef at Large”. That Garth Guy transforms delicious locally sourced ingredients into great meals for your table. I’m a catering service and a cooking instructor for everything from your in-home dinner party, a historic feast, a picnic lunch to go, or a ready-made meal. That Garth Guy’s warm, inviting approach entertains while teaching a “paint nite” style cooking class, makes your dinner, or presents a unique small group tourism experience. But I’m offering more than that. My community offers great food to the tourism market. I want to bring it all year long to every aspect of our local demographic, whether it be the elderly, a harried family, people hosting out of town guests, a club or a group. Ready-made meals served in your own home that are delicious, nutritious, hearty, and reasonably priced is a service Annapolis Royal isn’t experiencing on a regular basis. That Garth Guy can deliver! I’m not only about taking food out of the box, it’s about not needing the box! Good food is grown by our neighbours, so why not eat it? If I had this service, I’d even eat better! My approach builds upon the desire in this community to support local small scale farmers and experience the best food the valley can offer. I can show people that it’s easy to cook with local ingredients, to make it tasty and appealing, and offer pointers on presentation. What That Garth Guy brings to the table is the final step in the local food system – the meal itself.

Boston, MA – Letters to a Pre-Scientist

2017-12-05T00:00:00Z

Letters to a Pre-Scientist was founded by a teacher in rural North Carolina who realized it was a fundamental problem that her students’ perception of a scientist was a white man who wears a lab coat and pipets things - and therefore, her diverse class didn’t believe they could become scientists. In 2010, 100 sixth grade students piloted our pen pal program under our founder, Macon Lowman’s, direction. They wrote letters back and forth with marine biologists who work on boats, computer scientists who design videogames, and planetary scientists who search for extraterrestrial life, to name a few. Macon connected her students to a diverse group of scientist volunteers, and the scientists encouraged her students to pursue science careers in the future. The mission of Letters to a Pre-Scientist is to inspire and empower students from underserved communities to pursue STEM careers. We believe that every student is a pre-scientist, and we aim to give them the tools they need to continue their education. As we begin our eighth year, over 650 students from high needs schools in nine classrooms throughout the US are paired with a unique scientist. Our program provides a cross-curricular experience where students learn about science careers and college while improving their reading and writing skills and broadening their understanding of world geography and culture. We are proud that our four committed volunteers have built and refined the systems needed to successfully run this pen pal program remotely over the past seven years. For the first time this summer, we had to turn down qualified teachers because we are at maximum capacity as a volunteer organization. In addition, we have hundreds of confirmed scientists on our wait list hoping to be matched with a pen pal. We are ready to take the next step and become a non-profit organization. We will improve our current program and develop a sustainable growth model to reach many more pre-scientists in underserved schools.

Boston, MA – Boston League of Wicked Wrestlers

2017-12-05T00:00:00Z

One of the most interesting American made entertainment institutions - the world of Pro Wrestling - is laden with overt or latent misogyny, racism, homophobia, and transphobia, and body shaming. The Boston League of Wicked Wrestlers is an all inclusive, grassroots Sports Entertainment performance art troupe, that wishes to provide an alternative space for Women and Queer people of all kinds to develop their own unique characters. We use the universe of wrestling to tackle issues of oppression, while we are "fighting" each other. Sometimes, our matches end in us working out our differences! We teach conflict resolution, consent, and the experience of being a woman, all while providing people with a funny, smart, and over the top sketch variety show, informed by the pageantry of Pro Wrestling. This group is one of the only places you can see fat femmes and gender non conforming people as sports entertainment characters. Our goal is to provide a safe space for performers and audience goers alike (we do three big shows a year, and perform for fundraisers and shows that are not ours about once a month), and put on a completely unique show. These shows are for the people who may have never gotten a chance to enjoy sports entertainment, because they didn't fit in with the pre-existing, problematic culture around it. We are making our own culture, our own stories, our own shows, and we aim to always punch up.

Plano, TX (Неактивен) – So You Want to Start a Nonprofit...Now What? Summi

2017-12-05T00:00:00Z

Cause Studio, a fiscally sponsored 501c3 nonprofit initiative of FJC, aims to reduce the number of failing startup nonprofit organizations by providing resources, training and tools that are designed to scale, encourage collaboration and sustain impactful programs and services. This is achieved through a 3-year cohort and curriculum based incubator, community workshops, and networking events. Since January 2015, Cause Studio has incubated 10 organizations to combined income generating activities exceeding $1,000,000. Additionally, more than 25 collaborative workshops have provided training to more than 1000 professionals. North Texas has more than 28,000 nonprofits which collectively have over $178 billion in cash and assets. More than 83 percent have budgets under $100,000 and there is a high probability that many will fail, as will 50 percent of new nonprofits annually. Cause Studio’s workshops and events offer opportunities for new and fledgling nonprofit professionals that are designed to: (1) increase the capacity building initiatives of startup nonprofit organizations; (2) provide opportunities that foster collaborations across multiple organizations; and (3) reduce the financial barrier to training for organizations with limited budgets. The “So You Want to Start a Nonprofit...Now What?” Summit is an extension of our signature half day workshop that has educated hundreds of nonprofit and social impact professionals throughout the country. It is marketed primarily to startup nonprofit founders and board members in organizations that have not been in operation more than five years and/or have not exceeded an operating budget of $100,000. This summit is open to nonprofits in North Texas that are primarily throughout the 5 main county areas that make up the North Texas region (Dallas, Tarrant, Denton, Collin, and Johnson), often known as the Dallas Fort Worth region.

Plano, TX (Неактивен) – Truth in Comedy

2017-12-05T00:00:00Z

I curate a storytelling/stand-up show entitled Truth in Comedy in the Dallas area. The premise of the show is an individual will come up and tell a story from their life where their are very open, honest, and vulnerable. Afterwards, a comedian will come up and perform a set inspired by that story. The result is an extremely powerful and unique experience for all involved. It has been profoundly cathartic for the storytellers more importantly. The show is a beautiful emotional roller coaster and shows that no matter what we go through, we all can find something to smile or laugh about on the other side. Truth in Comedy is a large part of what I feel is my life's work of creating comedy that connects and impacts people. My goal is to take Truth in Comedy beyond just a night time show and into various facilities in the metroplex where people could use a good laugh as well as some post traumatic stress relief. Places such as the Dallas VA, women's shelter's, homeless shelters, and drug abuse center's are a few examples of place I would like to bring Truth in Comedy. Truth in Comedy began in March 2017 and I am extremely proud of the progress it has made thus far. I am even more proud and humbled by the texts, emails, phone conversations, and testimonials I have received from the storytellers, comics, and audience members about how the show impacted them. I truly Truth in Comedy has a place in society and can be the vehicle for healing for so many individuals that may not feel comfortable speaking openly about issues they struggle with silently otherwise. My goal is to help one story at a time starting with the metroplex and beyond.

Gloucester, MA – Clark's Cemetery Supplies

2017-12-04T00:00:00Z

Liverpool (Неактивен) – Coffin Club Liverpool

2017-12-04T00:00:00Z

My awesome project is to offer the community of Liverpool a place to break the taboo around death. It will be a quarterly event with support in between from Make Liverpool. I want to be able to offer people choices around their funerals and de-bunk some of the myths around them. I am passionate about helping people see their final act as a celebration of life, and a reflection of their personality. This isn't just a frivolous pursuit, I feel, and have experienced in my own life, that when we are able to deal with losses in our past, that we can heal a little. Many personal issues that people have come from unresolved losses and I feel that opening up the conversations for people to talk about those losses or potential losses, that it will be incredibly helpful for them. I'm also very interested in engaging an equal number of men and women in this project, and want to do a particular call out for volunteers to help with the 'making coffins' process. Some people are more comfortable with making/doing than talking and therefore the project will aim to do that. There is a growing problem of loneliness in the older generation and I hope to be able to build a community where people can gather, have a cuppa and a conversation and build connections where they might not have any. In New Zealand, where coffin club started, their clubs build coffins for those families who have lost children, this eases the financial burden and gives great satisfaction to the volunteers. Often if people are approaching their end of life, either through age or illness, they feel powerless over it. The coffin club gives them a place to go and a purpose, to take ownership over their final ceremony and ensure it reflects their beliefs, their passions and their life.

Ann Arbor, MI – Rize Two The Top

2017-12-04T00:00:00Z

The Learnt Ones Foundation, will sponsor an all-male auxiliary group named T.H.E C.R.E.A.M; that will operate out of Ypsilanti, Michigan. This auxiliary group will target at-risk males within that community and empower them to make positive life choices that enables them to maximize their personal potential. Through collaborative programming with schools and other community-based organizations, The Learnt Ones Foundation will provide educational, social, and mentoring opportunities to enhance the academic performance, community connections, and career options of young males ages 08 to 17. The Young Men of T.H.E C.R.E.A.M will be encouraged through the objectives of the class to express their findings and understanding if the course through drama and step.

Awesome Without Borders (Неактивен) – Young Black Scholars

2017-12-04T00:00:00Z

am the President of the Young Black Scholars club at Helix Charter High School. We are in a sense a Black and African student union who are committed to bridging cultural, economic, and social differences between all groups of people. Additionally, we serve as a resource for underserved and underrepresented students in the form of providing scholarship opportunities and organizing educational and informative events to help further students academically. Besides the educational component, we aim to implement our social justice policies within our school. Partnering with other student organizations we have launched a campaign for restorative justice within school disciplinary policies. Diversity, another key issue for students is something we as students actively advocate for within staff. Our school does not have a single Black or African teacher and for many students that is concerning. Social Justice and educational work aren't all we do. We aim to provide students with a sense of community by having movie nights, pizza parties, and field trips to social justice conferences and black college expos. All our club initiatives are extremely difficult to perform without funding so we hope to receive this grant and further our objectives and goals.

Twin Cities, MN (Неактивен) – Food Justice Lab

2017-12-01T00:00:00Z

Arts-Us has partnered with the Science Museum of Minnesota for several years in a variety of capacities. Most recently, we partnered to deliver a program called Bits-2-Bites: Youth Applying STEM Content and Computational Thinking to Learn about Nutrition and Advocate for Food Justice that was funded by the National Science Foundation. The project investigated how middle and high school students in an out-of-school-time (OST) environment can learn to apply computational thinking and tools to address STEM related community issues. In so doing, the project tested an innovative model for improving the engagement and capacity of middle and high school students from underrepresented populations to prepare for careers in the STEM workforce. The project operated from May 2013 to August 2017. The project engaged a primary audience of 150-200 youth in grades 7-12 from demographics that are underrepresented in STEM fields, including girls, youth of color and youth from low-income communities. After going through a facilitated process of exploring community needs for the first six months of the project, the youth decided to focus on growing healthy food year-round using hydroponics and aquaponics. They came to this focus after repeatedly hearing the community speak of challenges growing food in the harsh climate and the lack of access to healthy foods in their communities. They decided that they wanted to become experts in growing food indoors and educate their community(particularly youth) about food justice and how to grow food year-round. The youth have held numerous community workshops, sold their produce at the Science Museum of Minnesota, and presented their work across the country. We believe in empowering youth leaders in our program and the Food Justice Lab is the evolution of the youth’s learning and leadership.They now want to create a hands-on lab showing the potential of aquaponics and hydroponics to help solve issues of food deserts and food insecurity.

Rio de Janeiro (Неактивен) – Na onda das pretas

2017-11-30T00:00:00Z

Na onda das prestas é um coletivo formado por quatro mulheres pretas que fazem de suas vozes ferramentas na contribuição do lugar de fala do povo preto sobre seus entendimentos de politica, culturas, sociedade. Quatro mulheres pretas que se complementam, não só em suas experiências profissionais e pessoais, mas também, em suas ideologias e visão de mundo e viram em sua união um potencial para contribuir em discursos que colocam o povo preto em pauta, protagonizando suas falas. O coletivo é composto por Aline Lourena (cineasta), Janine Rodrigues (escritora), Lisiane Niedisberg ( professora) e Sinara Rúbia (contadora de histórias negras). Juntas apresentam quinzenalmente o programa de rádio Na onda das pretas, na Rádio MEC AM. Página - http://www.facebook.com/naondadaspretas Instagram - http://www.instagram/naondadaspretas E-mail - naondadaspretas@gmail.com O projeto : Nessa onda que eu vou O projeto propõe realizar 10 edições do programa em 10 escolas públicas do sudeste. A proposta é que os alunos sejam o público ouvinte e também o convidado a estar mediando os debates que irão trazer, principalmente, o olhar da juventude sobre a politica, o preconceito, a intolerância e as manifestações culturais e artísticas. O projeto terá 6 meses de duração, compreendendo a todas as fases (produção até a pré produção). A divulgação do projeto assim como os convites para as escolas participantes serão realizados via online e reunião presencial. Serão utilizadas ferramentas de marketing digital para a divulgação de todas as etapas do projeto. Estima-se uma participação direta de 1000 jovens (público das escolas) e 3000 pessoas indiretamente ( público que irá ouvir o programa). O programa será gravado e posteriormente apresentado dentro da programação do programa Na onda das pretas, na Rádio MEC.

Disability – Canadian Disability Justice Alliance

2017-11-30T00:00:00Z

We want to increase the attention given to disability rights within Canadian politics, and in particular, to make disability justice a focal point of the 43rd Canadian federal election. We believe that it is important to begin work on this before the major federal parties launch their campaigns. As our first project, we intend to draft a 'disability manifesto' to distribute to the parties, outlining areas of policy reform that are significant to the Canadian disabled community. What our grantee is saying: "This award is going to be incredibly meaningful in terms of helping to establish an inclusive, coherent, national disability activist community in Canada, focused on policy-based approaches to disability justice. In particular, this award guarantees that we can begin to develop policy recommendations with input from intersectional disabled Canadian activists, while ensuring that we can compensate them fairly for their labour - which remains a huge barrier for multiply marginalised activists within mainstream advocacy spaces."

Yerevan – Rock Climbing Around Dilijan

2017-11-30T00:00:00Z

Rock climbing is a slowly growing sport in Armenia, but the construction of new routes is monopolised by two climbing groups who set routes for their difficulty, not considering newcomers to the sport. For now, these areas are generally concentrated around Noravank and Areni (although there are a few other routes elsewhere). After 5 years living in and exploring the country, I have found a number of potential new climbing destinations that offer beginner and experienced climbers a wealth of new options. This project aims to set up sport climbing routes in these areas. The funds from this project will provide the seed (to set up 2 new routes), upon which I will develop it further in the years to come. Having worked on the development of Dilijan for the past four years, I have found and top-rope climbed (used to investigate new routes before they are set) over 20 amazing potential routes. Routes can't be set in the National Park without permission (I have spoken to them about this, and they could allow it if I can set them myself), but there are areas nearby that are outside of the National Park where it is completely legal to set routes, that would still benefit the development of Dilijan and the adjacent settlements. One such example are the amazing cliffs above Hovk that are still mostly unclimbed. The aim of the project (and following years of continued effort) is to increase the number of climbing destinations, both for local beginners and enthusiasts, and to attract foreign professionals to the region. As of now, there are only 5 climbing areas in the country, but if there were more regions, and more locals actively participating in the sport, there would definitely be more international interest. The climbing potential of Armenia is limitless. Beyond the $1000, I will invest at least $500 myself, for gas (to get there), food and other equipment, after which I aim to continue the project, at under $100 a route, and hope to set at least 2 a month.

Portland, OR – Hallway of 1,000 Cranes: An Interactve Display

2017-11-30T00:00:00Z

Through adversity we are tested to find it in ourselves to move forward, what is that ability? How do we get through the obstacles of life? I believe the fundamental energy is hope. In all my art I try to instill a message of hope, positivity, and equality. Over the past couple of years I have been diagnosed and since have worked to manage an autoimmune disease, in doing so I decided to cultivate some hope in my own life by folding 1,000 paper cranes. It took me a casual 6 months of folding cranes on the bus, or during free time at work. Now I’d like to present a project I have started and need funding to finish. I would like to create and present an interactive and immersive art piece with my 1,000 papers cranes. I will create a hallway-like structure that viewers can walk through, triggering motions sensors, that will activate a motor that will move the cranes around the viewer. I would like to present the art piece at various venues and the awesome grant would help me get it off the ground.

Austin, TX – Family Holiday Superbowl

2017-11-30T00:00:00Z

Williamson County Juvenile Services (WCJS) is proud to offer youth not only a safe place for growth, but also a chance to connect with their families and positive influences in their communities. The WCJS Prevention Team works with youth and their families to assist them in repairing family relationships, getting back on track in school, referring to appropriate community supports, helping them identify and explore their passions, and more. Some youth don’t realize what goals they can achieve until they are working with the probation officers and case managers within the program! The program takes a trauma-informed and trust-based relationship approach to empowering youth, rather than focusing solely on what brought them into contact with the juvenile justice system. We focus on strengths instead of mistakes, while holding youth accountable for their decisions. This project cultivates hope and integrity – giving youth a second chance to use their powers for the forces of virtue in their lives and communities. In an effort to enrich these powers, youth need a support system that recognize these qualities, and a sense of confidence and connection with their families. The Prevention Team works with families in the community in a variety of capacities, and one of the common threads we see is that families rarely do any type of fun family activities together. Parents are consumed with work, often working multiple jobs to make ends meet, kids are stressed about school and the drama that comes with, and no one seems to make time together a priority. We want to offer the families one day where they can spend time together just enjoying each other, without worrying about the cost. A $1000 grant from the Austin Awesome Foundation allowed WCJS to host the team's first Family Fun Day in 2017. Families were treated to hours of bowling, a yummy slider buffet, all the cupcakes they could eat, as well as holiday gift cards to take home.

Minas Gerais (Неактивен) – Projeto Liber: Desencadeando Potenciais

2017-11-29T00:00:00Z

A criminalidade está em ascensão. As prisões estão superlotadas. A população carcerária do Brasil cresceu 270% nos últimos 14 anos (Infopen 2014), alcançando o posto de 4a maior do mundo! Mas isso é apensa parte do problema. Nossas prisões são ineficazes e responsáveis por 70% de reincidência! Sim, é isso mesmo, de cada 10 pessoas que são libertadas, 7 voltam para a prisão. Em uma penitenciária no Sul de Minas Gerais, na cidade de Alfenas, são 520 presos vivendo em 192 leitos. Os guardas penitenciários não estão bem alinhados, existem muitos conflitos internos e eles fazem de tudo para manter os internos afastados da sociedade, e estão conseguindo! Com o projeto Liber (de liberdade) nós promovemos workshops para os funcionários de penitenciários sobre construção de equipes e solução de problemas. Isso melhorou o ambiente de trabalho e os processos internos. Nosso desejo é mudar a sua mentalidade de carcereiros para educadores enquanto trabalhando junto aos internos. Nosso objetivo agora é usar o prêmio da Awesome Foundation MG para financiar um curso de empregabilidade e habilidades interpessoais, de modo que os internos aprendam como interagir na sociedade novamente, preparando para quando forem libertos e refinando suas habilidades interpessoais, construção de currículos, comportamento em entrevistas dentre outros. Vamos reduzir o índice de reincidência através de preparação real!

Melbourne (Неактивен) – Teddy Bears Picnic

2017-11-29T00:00:00Z

There will be teddy bears, dinosaurs, little faces and snacks. You’d better be in for a big surprise, for today's the day the teddy bears have their picnic! Safety concerns and limited recreational facilities prevent the children of one of Melbourne’s biggest public housing estate in Ascot Vale from playing outside. We would like to plan a series of ‘Teddy Bear Picnics’ for families of young children who live on and around the Estate. A 2016 Needs Assessment of residents living on Ascot Vale Housing Estate highlighted over 70% of respondents were concerned with safety on the estate, with violent crimes being their main concern. Residents do not use the facilities on the estate, including parks, due to their safety concerns. Financial constraints also affect families on the estate with an estimated 84% of residents experiencing unemployment. Previous public activities such as ‘pop up’ parks and cultural festivals have been well attended by the community, and it is this experience combined with community feedback that informs this idea. We propose holding 4 Picnics, 1 each term, designed to provide families a chance to meet and spend time playing outdoors. The aim of the event is to support locals to safely spend time outside their apartment and to provide a much needed space for young children to socialise and play. The project would be attended by an estimated 70 families; it’s a simple but exciting event that will give so much. These facilitated events will be run by a local community member who would set up and facilitate the event with volunteers. Employing a local resident from a culturally and linguistically diverse background will give an opportunity to build their capacity and to develop new skills. Community Development staff from the Wingate Ave Community Centre (WACC) have committed to mentoring and supporting the staff member. We will also work closely with the Maternal Child Health Centre to engage with the most vulnerable families.

Newmarket – Maple Leaf P.S. & STEM MINDS: Youth in STEM

2017-11-28T00:00:00Z

As part of STEM MIND’s ongoing commitment to increasing access to STEM education, we are hoping to receive funding for STEM-based lunch time and in-class workshops in partnership with Maple Leaf Public School. Maple Leaf P.S. is a YRDSB school for grades K-8 that has been identified as a “Performance Plus” school; indicating that a great number of children and families who attend the school are living in poverty. As is recognized by the leading experts in STEM education, limited financial resources are one of the largest barriers to access quality STEM opportunities. It is the combined mission of Maple Leaf P.S. and STEM MINDS to ensure that all students, regardless of financial income, are able to participate in programs and opportunities that support and encourage their passions and growth. Through the provision of lunch time programs and in-class workshops, STEM MINDS and Maple Leaf P.S. will share their knowledge, skills, and resources to break down the barriers that low-income students face. Some opportunities for participants include: 1. STEAM Discovery: Each week participants will get to be hands-on in the world of STEM as they explore and build a variety of exciting projects that they get to keep! Along the way, participants will learn about design and construction and will explore key STEM concepts like electricity, motors, circuitry, and more! 2. LEGO Robotics & Coding: Participants will get the opportunity to learn another language; the language of programming! Through a variety of hands-on challenge-based activities participants will get to explore the world of coding through the LEGO EV3 robot. 3. 3D Printing: Participants will learn a whole new way of thinking in three dimensions and are sure to enjoy having their digital designs come to life with our 3D Printing program. Participants will explore the fundamental skills and concepts of 3D design as they create their own projects and have fun combining the world of art and STEM!

Tallahassee, FL (Неактивен) – Computer Workshops for Formerly Incarcerated

2017-11-28T00:00:00Z

Formerly incarcerated Tallahasseeans do not have much exposure to new or changing technology. Many don’t know the parts of a computer. Some cannot type on keyboards or access the Internet. More and more services which help formerly incarcerated individuals to get their lives back on track are putting details of who they are and what they do online. This means accessing these services becomes harder and harder. Rescue Me Project Ministries, Inc (RMPM) recognizes their struggle. We are working to offer much-needed computer literacy workshops to Tallahassee’s formerly incarcerated individuals. We run three workshops; Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced levels. Our workshops run three days a week for six weeks per level. Each student’s progress is measured through pre and post-tests at the end of each workshop. Every workshop is an opportunity for students to think about how computer competencies will positively impact their lives. As students progress through workshop challenges, they become more confident to deal with today’s competitive society. Our students’ achievements encourage even more students to sign up, but our space and equipment are limited. With funding from this grant, we will be able to “INSPIRE more lives, one day at a time.”

Awesome Without Borders (Неактивен) – NYC Momentum Training

2017-11-27T00:00:00Z

NYC Momentum is an opportunity to learn from some of the most experienced, innovative organizers in the field who will share their learnings along with a synthesis of best practices from disciplines including social movements and the field of civil resistance, complex systems, decentralized networks, and strategic communications. While it may feel like the odds are stacked against us, social movements have repeatedly changed what was winnable, even in the grimmest of circumstances, from ending apartheid in South Africa to overthrowing dictators in Serbia. Now more than ever we need these tools to seize the moment and win a vision of justice now and for generations to come. In the past year, millions of newly activated and longtime activists alike have taken to the streets, protested at congressional offices, and joined local political organizations to resist the Trump administration. But after 10 months of near daily attacks on our rights and protections, many are growing increasingly disheartened, tired, or confused about what we do next. As the administration continues its relentless assault on our rights and protections, how do we sustain and grow our movements to seize and meet this moment, while not losing sight of our long-term vision? How do we keep engaging our people and calling them into courageous action, especially in discouraging times? What are the strategies we can and should be creating together and how can we learn from successful movements worldwide to support us?

Alaska (Неактивен) – Alaska Dinosaurs Color and Learn Book

2017-11-27T00:00:00Z

Alaska, today, is a recognized hot spot for polar dinosaur research. Dinosaurs in Alaska? Yes! Surprisingly, 13-15 species of dinosaurs plus other strange, fascinating creatures inhabited our northern state during the Cretaceous Period, 66 to 144 million years ago. They stomped, flew, swam and died, from Wrangell Saint Elias National Park to Anvik, and from the Alaska Peninsula to the North Slope. Today, scientists and lay people are discovering abundant evidence of their presence. We believe that a “color and learn” book about “our” dinos has wonderful scientific and educational value and is most timely. The text would be written for young adults or for adults to read to children. The Back Story Kai and Sylas Reising, my sons, had a wonderful coloring book about Texas dinosaurs and they asked me to buy them a coloring book about Alaska dinosaurs. I scoured book stores, museum shops, libraries, and online web sites and found none so thought it would be exciting to create one. To help, I phoned my mother, Janet, who also lives in Alaska. She was equally excited. We studied scientific papers and books, watched quality movies, visited museums and talked with paleontologists, geologists and paleoartists. Research for the “color and learn” book is mostly complete, the draft text is being critiqued by Dr. Patrick Druckenmiller, University of Alaska Museum of the North paleontologist. I am working with a Seward high school student who is drafting sample illustrations to be considered for the book. Although Janet, Dr. Druckenmiller and I have volunteered our time, we cannot ask an artist to do so, thus this request to AWESOME. Currently, we estimate the coloring book at about 30 pages long. Most pages will be for coloring but a bit more information on the 4 endemic, named dinosaurs and background information about the Cretaceous and the three biggest fossil locations, the North Slope, Denali, and Talkeetna Mountains.

Northern Virginia (NOVA) (Неактивен) – The Refugee Doll Project

2017-11-27T00:00:00Z

The Refugee Doll Project consists of dolls, books, lesson plans, and service projects to teach young children awareness and appreciation of refugees and immigrants. Our ultimate goal is to place this curriculum in all NOVA school systems. An immediate goal is to train NOVA parents to use the components of the project to teach empathy. The 18" doll, a repurposed American Girl doll/or knock-off, is symbol and motivation of this project. These dolls that represent countries in the Middle East, Africa, and Central America reflect the newly arrived communities in NOVA. Afterwards, it is our hope to give these dolls to schools and libraries in NOVA to be placed in circulation.

San Francisco, CA – Community Street Painting

2017-11-23T00:00:00Z

I am an artist living and working in the Mission District in San Francisco. As a practicing artist in this neighborhood, I have seen first hand the influx of people within the community shift with little to no interaction between diverse groups that call it home. I am proposing a street art project that will use Treat Street in between 20th and 21st streets in the Mission district as a platform for making a large scale community painting. Treat Street in between 20th and 21st streets, often called the 20th street corridor, is a slice of a larger problem that exists in the city of San Francisco. Inhabitants include families that have been living on it for fifty plus years as well as recent newcomers, students, florists, musicians, business owners, tech startups, restaurants, and artists. This block is capped on one end by John O’Connell high school and a family run grocery on the other. A community recreation center, art/music studios and start-ups lie in between. As a long time resident of this area, I see first hand a large amount of interaction between people within their own groups, but little to no exchanges among individual groups themselves. One of the reasons for this lack of interaction, is the resentment from long time residents towards wealthy newcomers and companies. There is animosity from locals because gentrification has raised rents, the cost of living and caused the eviction of over one thousand long time community members and families because they can not afford to live here anymore. I've been using my body to paint for the last seven years. Confined to my studio using different modes of transportation to move fluid paint that is sandwiched in between sheets of plastic film. The paint picks up the movement of my body as well as the texture of the surfaces below the barrier of the plastic sheets. Expanding my practice as a painter, this project would invite the community in which I am part of to paint together and bridge connection gap.

Rio de Janeiro (Неактивен) – Efeito Urbano e Hip Hop Feito o Efeito

2017-11-23T00:00:00Z

O Grupo Efeito Urbano foi fundado em 2011 por jovens artistas moradores da Providência, é a Primeira Companhia de Dança do Morro da Providência. Com o objetivo de utilizar a arte como uma ferramenta de integração social e motivacional para outros, em 2014 o Efeito Urbano cria o projeto Hip Hop Feito o Efeito onde os próprios dançarinos em formação da companhia seriam instrutores de outros jovens e crianças. As oficinas funcionam 3 vezes por semana com 2 aulas por dia, com 1 hora de duração cada aula.

New York City, NY – Jefferson Gates

2017-11-22T00:00:00Z

Superchief Arts Club will be serving up a nearly a block’s worth of curated murals in the neighborhood of Ridgewood, Queens. This exciting new project involves a collaboration with neighborhood businesses and local artists to create a series of more than 24 garage doors that line the block of Jefferson Avenue where the Superchief Arts Club has been operating a Community Center and Gallery since 2012. The completion of this work will increase pedestrian traffic, drive local commerce and add cultural vibrancy to the community. Superchief has a history of enabling new and avant garde artists to participate in the larger community. Since 2012, the gallery has been a driving force in the art world, and a venue that promotes emerging forms of art such as GIFs, CGI, and 3D printing, all while uplifting a new generation of visual and performative artists. The Queens space now serves as a community center and an incubator for disparate scenes and collectives. Recently, the group has become much more active with day-to-day activities open to the community and have found the borough of Queens to be a welcoming place not only to expand its space, but also the scope of what they do. They host events six nights each week for everything from gallery hours to the beautiful, immersive visuals at Bring Your Own Projector Night. Through all of their ventures, they seek to uphold their mission statement of supporting artists from disparate scenes and collectives, enabling them to participate in the larger community. Through all of their ventures, they seek to uphold their mission statement of **supporting artists from disparate scenes and collectives, enabling them to participate in the larger community**. --- September 2018 update from Rachel Kolarik: "So far, we have completed 5 out of the 7 gates for this year's portion of the project - your contribution has aided us in purchasing supplies for the murals by such notable artists as Kristin Liu Wong, Hugo Girl, Kashink, and Boy Kong!"

San Jose, CA – Renter's Rights Guide

2017-11-21T00:00:00Z

Renter's Rights Guide is an open source web application that informs San Jose renters about the laws and programs in place to protect them. In December 2016, we formed our team at Code for San Jose, a community of technologists and activists dedicated to solving problems through technology. Our team of volunteer developers, designers, and researchers were concerned with the affordable housing crisis in the Bay Area. We began prototyping and researching. We conducted user research and stakeholder interviews and learned that there is a shortage of affordable housing in the Bay Area; that there is a housing and jobs imbalance, that everyone looks for affordable housing -- from retail workers to teachers to administrators to tech workers, and that it is difficult to find information about affordable housing and navigating tenant issues such as evictions or rent increase. Three personas emerged from the interviews -- homeless individuals, individuals living in precarious situations such as getting evicted, and middle-income individuals who also struggled with finding affordable housing. From this research, we began developing the Renter's Rights Guide, an open source web application built with React and Rails. In September 2017, we launched the web application for San Jose renters to learn about tenant rights and resources. It featured 3 features: tenant rights, renter’s rights and resources. On the tenant rights page, users can simulate the tenant eviction process in the State of California through an interactive timeline. On the renter’s rights page, users can learn about the four local ordinances that affect San Jose residents and learn which residents are covered by what ordinances.    Recently we conducted usability testing and continued connecting with stakeholders e.g. the City of San Jose Housing Department, to understand how to improve the application. We will work on improving the UI/UX and translating the application.

Awesome Without Borders (Неактивен) – Blank Noise / I Never Ask For It

2017-11-20T00:00:00Z

Blank Noise is a community of ‘Action Heroes’ / citizens and persons united to eradicate sexual and gender based violence. Blank Noise was initiated in 2003, in response to street harassment, at a time when the sexual violence in public spaces was considered a non issue and being dismissed off as 'teasing'. Blank Noise is built on the lived experiences of its Action Heroes. An Action Hero is anyone who steps into their power and agency to tackle sexual violence. Over the past decade, Blank Noise has designed a range of participatory actions , events, campaigns, committed to ending victim blame, shifting the environment of warnings and fear, by instilling ideas of trust and belonging. Select projects include, I Never Ask For It, Meet To Sleep, Talk To Me. I Never Ask For It invites women to become Action Heroes , by bringing a garment they wore when they experienced harassment or abuse. The garment is memory, witness and voice. Ten thousand garments will stand together in sites of public significance in 2021. We are motivated by what this would do a public memory to both build and experience. Meet To Sleep invites women to sleep in their public parks, and assert the right to trust and be defenceless. The action has taken place across India and Pakistan. Blank Noise is working to do this globally. Talk To Me, brings strangers together over tea and samosas, to talk for an hour, about anything except sexual violence. Conversations lead to possible connection, trust and empathy. The story of fear is replaced with trust. Action Heroes is from across 66 cities and towns, in India and globally, with an age ranging 14- 67 years. Blank Noise has created over 500 actions, taking shape across spaces from the streets, to conference rooms, the internet, classrooms, art venues, the mainstream media and a collective public memory. It is credited with 300 press reports, media mentions including from across 20 countries in ten languages.

Pittsburgh, PA – girlfx presents: Tea Time

2017-11-20T00:00:00Z

Tea Time is an after hours party alternative focused on music, tea, and community, hosted by creative collective girlFx. Tea Time shifts the nightlife emphasis from consuming alcohol to building relationships with one another, celebrating the arts with a glimpse into the technology that creates it. Tea time will take place at Dobra Tea, a bohemian-style tearoom located in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh. This space provides open-format cushioned seating, encouraging conversation and interaction with your neighbors. GirlFx will transform this daytime hangout into an after-hours venue featuring live and DJed ambient, atmospheric, and experimental electronic music in a relaxing environment. GirlFx would like to host this event 4-6 times annually. The price of admission will include different teas in the traditional Gong fu cha style and light fare, such as locally-made hummus and pita. Tea Time is a concept that first developed in Madison, WI in 2012, when a tea shop continued a monthly park party inside its doors. The Madison event coordinators provided a welcoming atmosphere described as, “resonant beats to move your body and heal your soul.” With Tea Time, guests will be able to steep in the music, much like leaves in their tea, becoming revived and engaged in the night. Tea Time is a place to slow down and to reconnect with the self and others; a chance to delight the senses and to open up with fellow Pittsburghers. The goal of Tea Time is to provide a social experience not bound to consuming alcohol, but one that will help to cultivate a sense of welcoming and community. It is also a platform for sonic artists to share their craft and love of music with an audience. This type of event has not been offered in Pittsburgh before, yet people of all walks of life are delighted and interested in this non-traditional after-hours event.

Utrecht – WHATCHAMACALLIT

2017-11-20T00:00:00Z

WHATCHAMACALLIT, een verbastering van What you may call it, is een platform voor cultuur, hedendaagse kunst en ontwerp. In december liet het wier weken lang Utrechters ontdekken en ervaren. Hoe? Door een groot en divers scala van evenementen aan te bieden onder een dak. Variërend van modeshows, tentoonstellingen, diners, filmavonden en veel meer. WHATCHAMACALLIT is een creatieve vrijplaats, die ruimte biedt voor verbindingen en samenwerking tussen vernieuwende ontwerpers, artiesten, makers en liefhebbers. Whatchamacallit is een concept en laat zich niet beperken door muren van een pand. Whatchamacallit kan zich altijd doorontwikkelen op verschillende locaties in Utrecht. Hierdoor is het niet gebonden aan tijd en regels.

Boulder, CO (Неактивен) – Vagina China

2017-11-20T00:00:00Z

Our project is a large scale ceramic exhibition called “Vagina China.” Our mission is to make art that celebrates the vulva by demystifying it, and to bring light, awareness, and conversation about this part of the female body, as it is often objectified but rarely reflected upon and honored. This project embodies a new approach to collective artistic exploration by inviting all people who identify as a women in the community to explore and share their own deep truths through small-group studio ceremonies. In a desire to represent the collective effort of all women involved, we are operating under the name “The Women's Art League” We are creating 13 different collections of handmade ceramic plates, each referencing classical pottery patterns and adorned with cast vulvas. The plates will be both works of art, and also an entry point into a larger cultural conversations, exploring current issues that impact women today. Each set will be configured on the wall in a unique and arrangement relevant to the style and message. We are making 13 sets because it is the number of the divine feminine. We’ve developed a unique and innovative way to engage participants in the art making process that has become integral to our endeavor. We are holding “casting ceremonies,” in which we gather a group of a dozen women at a time for a night of rituals, art making, sharing in circle, and casting vulvas. The ceremonies are community building, free, and empowering. The castings are anonymous and private. Many of the women who are drawn to our project also understand our reference to the landmark installation, “The Dinner Party,” by Judy Chicago, in 1979. Ms. Chicago has invited us to discuss our project at the Brooklyn Museum on January 16, 2018 and how it fits into the continuum her work, and the recent discovery of the "Famous Women Dinner Service” by Bloomsbury artist, Vanessa Bell. Our discussion will be included in a British documentary about this lineage.

Ottawa – Newcomer Reads

2017-11-19T00:00:00Z

November’s Awesome Ottawa award goes to Abdulnour Sakhniya, a Syrian newcomer to Canada, to put on a reading competition for youth from the newcomer community. “Coming from a newcomer and refugee background,” explains Abdulnour, “I have found that many in my community are lacking in literacy. With many of our parents illiterate,” he continues, “there is a huge need for a literacy project. I feel if I start with kids I can slowly build my dream of illiteracy-free within all demographics of the newcomer community.” With the collaboration of the Ottawa Public Library and Capital Welcomes, a list of books will be drawn up that are easy for newcomers to read. Youth who read a certain number of books over the summer will receive prizes, and whoever reads the most books will get a grand prize. Support will also be offered to help with reading and for youth to share their experiences. Abdulnour, who is 19, is going to school to pursue his dream of being a commercial airline pilot. He also works with the Catholic Centre for Immigrants as a youth social worker and sits on the board of Capital Welcomes.

Kingston – Rideau Heights Junior Roller Derby

2017-11-18T00:00:00Z

RHJRD is the passion project of Kingston Derby Girls' co-founders Skate at Home Mom and LaVallee of the Dolls, along with KDG alumni skater Mr. Kristi. Our inaugural project: a 12-week Intro to Roller Derby camp for girls ages 8-12, living in the Rideau Heights area. We will provide a unique, fun, accessible sport experience in Kingston's north end, starting in early 2018. Derby is an incredible world - beyond providing the obvious physical fitness, it teaches sportsmanship, self-esteem, and a sense of community like no other sport. We want to bring all of this to kids in this community, but the cost of playing the sport can be prohibitive, so we want to offer this small-scale pilot project at no cost for participants. There are many expenses associated with playing roller derby - we are already well on our way to accumulating the equipment that we need. Through crowdfunding and donations of gear, we are already able to offer 6-7 skaters the ability to lace up with us. We hope to get 10-15 skaters involved in this camp, and are confident that we will succeed in filling our "locker room" to make this possible. Derby has changed all of our lives in one way or another and we want to bring all of the empowerment, skill and fitness that we got from playing this sport to kids that may not have the resources to participate otherwise. We all have a connection to this community in one way or another and feel strongly about launching Kingston's first junior derby venture in this neighbourhood.

Antigonish, NS (Неактивен) – Prosthetic skin for amputees

2017-11-17T00:00:00Z

The problem for this project to solve is for amputees. Presently most prosthetic limbs have a latex polyfoam covering that breaks down requiring the unit to be replaced every six months to a year. The piece does not look pleasing or even human drawing the attention of people making the amputee feel different and uncomfortable. This makes for a damning case for mental health. The project im proposing is making realistic skins for amputees. This would be a silicone covering that matches the skin color of the user. This would include hair and nails on the piece that would make the user look like they had not lost a limb but was wearing a knee brace. The item is made from medical grade silicone it can be tinted to the users skin tone and even tattooed. With this product im positive that the above mentioned problems will be aleviated allowing the amputee to lead a more normal life.

Philadelphia, PA – The Portable Camera Obscura

2017-11-17T00:00:00Z

The Portable Camera Obscura is a single-day pop-up exhibition that will travel to four different Philadelphia city parks during the spring and summer of 2018. Free and open to the public for exploration, the exhibition will consist of a temporary “room” constructed of PVC and blackout fabric that can be entered by viewers. Completely dark except for a small hole in one of the panels, the room will appear empty until the viewers’ eyes adjust, and then slowly reveal the view of the outside world projected on the wall across from the hole. Through the “magic” of optics, the image will appear upside down, but its reality will be apparent. Once adjusted, the participants can remain in the room and experience life moving outside of them from the perspective of the camera. In this digital age of distraction, we are met with fewer and fewer opportunities to engage with the world around us in real time. The goal of The Portable Camera Obscura is simple: to encourage members of Philadelphia communities to be present in their environment, observing their surroundings through the active “seeing” that the camera encourages. To assess the outcome, participants will be encouraged to share their experiences both in real time and using social media. A stack of post-it notes with the question, “What did you see?” will be available for participants to write on and post on an outer wall of the obscura. Viewers will also be encouraged to share their reactions on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram using the hashtag #ObscuraPHL. Through these exchanges, I hope to foster dialog about the experience of seeing as well as a new appreciation of the spaces we inhabit together.

Oahu, HI – Lemonade Stand - Project Based Unit

2017-11-17T00:00:00Z

The 4th and 5th grade students at Kamalani Academy will engage in a Project Based Unit of Study centered around a Lemonade Stand Project; an awesome way to teach Math and Language Arts standards! We would like to kickoff the unit with a field trip tour of Waimea Valley – “Take Care of the Land that Sustains Us.” During this 3 hour tour, our students will learn about the relationship between land and people and learn about Hawaiian plants and fruits. On another day, we will have a representative from Wow Wow Hawaiian Lemonade, a local business in our community of Wahiawa, come talk to our classes about how a business is run, specifically one that sells lemonade. Then we will continue our unit in the classroom, which will include reading The Lemonade War by Jacqueline Davies, math activities involving creating and following a budget, measurement, fractions, graphing, and analyzing data. Then students will use all of this knowledge to actually make lemonade. We would like to incorporate native fruits as options for small groups to experiment with and create flavored lemonade. Each group of students (about 4) will work together to decide on one lemonade flavor and then market it, which will include creating a name for their lemonade recipe, musical jingle, I-movie commercial and creating an advertisement poster. For our culminating activity, every group will have a Lemonade Stand set up on our school campus, and we will invite other students, staff, family and community members to stop by and try the different lemonades. They will be able to purchase 4 tickets for $1, and the tickets will be used to purchase a Dixie cup of lemonade from a stand of their choice. After this activity, we will count the tickets and graph the results. We will also discuss ways people can make a difference in their community and help others. Then as a group we will vote to donate all the proceeds to a local charity/good cause.