Awesome Foundation - Projects

Paris (Inactive) – Studio Carnaval

2015-05-31T00:00:00Z

Le Studio Itinérant de l'association Clichés Urbains propose aux habitants des quartiers urbains populaires de se faire tirer le portrait sur un fond représentant un autre endroit du monde. Cette animation ludique et gratuite s’inscrit dans une démarche de documentation des quartiers et de leurs habitants entreprise par Clichés Urbains depuis son origine en 2008. Le "Studio Carnaval” proposera cet été aux parisiens, de se faire tirer le portrait "au carnaval de Rio”. A l'occasion de Paris Plages (canal de l'Ourcq), les participants seront invités à poser devant un lieu symbolique de Rio, avec les accessoires de leur choix. Les photos sont imprimées sur le champ et mises à disposition par internet. Se jouant des clichés, les portraits gais et originaux ainsi réalisés donnent à réfléchir à l'universalité des êtres humains, quelques soient leurs origines géographiques, culturelles ou religieuses. Ils témoignent de l’incroyable diversité du peuple français. The Travelling Studio of the organisation Clichés Urbains offers the inhabitants of urban popular nieghborhoods to be photographed in front of a backdrop representing another area of the world. This fun and free event is part of a project to document neighborhoods and their inhabitants, that was started by Clichés Urbains in 2008. This summer, « Studio Carnaval » will offer to the Parisian the opportunity to be photographed « at the Rio carnival ». During Paris Plages (on the Ourcq canal), the participants will be invited to pose in front of a symbolic Rio location, with the accessories of their choice. The photos will be printed on the spot and will be available on internet. Defying clichés, the happy and original portaits invites us to think about the universality of human beings, no matter what are their geographic, cultural or religious origins. They give us to see the amazing diversity of the French people.

Lethbridge, AB (Inactive) – Courtyard Outdoor Learning

2015-05-30T00:00:00Z

Our school, Children of St. Martha, currently has a non-functioning outdoor space. We would like to see this area become an outdoor community learning space. We will use the money to create a sustainable outdoor space that will function for the life of the school. We envision three stages to this project: clean-up, furnishing and staging, and utilization. Clean up will consist of hardworking staff cleaning this area and removing storage and garbage that has built up. Furnishing and staging will include purchasing outdoor furniture (cushions, chairs, planters, etc.) that will allow and entire classroom to participate in learning activities. The final phase of utilization will include inviting community partners to create intergenerational connections with our student body. This would include people such as residents of Columbia Assisted Living, elders from our Blackfoot community, members of St. Martha's Parish, along with others. Once this space is fully functional we envision using it as an outdoor classroom space. We are excited about the potential for science, literacy, and numeracy projects to occur in an outdoor setting. Research has shown that spending time outdoors increases ones happiness and productivity. We believe that an outdoor space will improve the wellness of both students and staff of Children of St. Martha. We are excited about the project and look forward to the hard work we plan on in investing in this classroom area.

Oklahoma City, OK (Inactive) – The Elaborate Collaborate

2015-05-29T00:00:00Z

The Elaborate Collaborate is a large-scale collaboration between Oklahoma visual artists. The exhibition embraces the exquisite corpse, as method of collaboration. 42 artists will create a series of multi media works on paper that will evolve over the five weeks (Jul-Aug 2015) it is installed at IAO Gallery in Oklahoma City. Ten video artists and one sound artist are creating a 10 minute video collaboration that will be screened during the exhibition. The public opening is during Premier on Film Row on July 17 from 6-10pm. An Exquisite Corpse Poetry Game Event will be held on Thursday, Jul30, led by poet and visual artist Kerri Shadid. There will be a closing reception on August 14 from 6-8pm. Through this exhibition, the public will be invited to observe artists at work in the gallery, while watching a large-scale collaborative artwork take shape. Nothing of this kind has been done in Oklahoma. Kelsey Karper and romy owens are independent curators leading this experimental exhibition. PARTICIPATING ARTISTS Works on Paper: Jennifer Allen-Barron Lisa Jean Allswede Alyson Atchison Ginnie Baer rs barnes Nick Bayer Jerry Bennett Bombs Away Amanda Bradway Dylan Bradway Erin Cooper Jason Cytacki Adrienne Day Denise Duong Tim Hearne Michelle Himes-McCrory David Holland Kalee Jones W adam Lanman JP Morrison Lans Trent Lawson Mike Litzau Tiffany McKnight Lauren Miller George Oswalt Jason Pawley Angie Piehl Haley Prestifilippo Marissa Raglin Tessa Raven Kelly Rogers Amanda Sawyer Erin Shaw Gloria Shows Rick Sinnett Clint Stone Cassie Stover William R Struby AK Westerman Libby Williams John Wolfe BJ Zorn Sneed Video: Eli Casiano Glenn Herbert Davis Samantha Dillehay Cathleen Faubert Pete Froslie Sarah Hearn Geoffrey Hicks Mark Kuykendall Beau Leland Stefanie Leland K Edward Van Osdol p.s. the submitted drawings are by Tim Hearne and Trent Lawson.

Santa Fe, NM (Inactive) – CAMP ADOBE 101

2015-05-29T00:00:00Z

How do internationally acclaimed architects and builders brainstorm with Santa Fe barrio dropouts to rebuild a historic adobe? It’s CAMP ADOBE 101! In 2015, Santa Fe hosts adobe architects and builders from around the world at the EARTH USA Conference. Yet the kids whose ancestors built our unique city have no idea how to work with this “dirt-cheap” material. By interfacing workers from Santa Fe Youthworks, a GED based work training non-profit, with conference participants at a historic adobe site on the Vallecitos River, we begin a hands-on camp workshop teaching disenfranchised city youth and adobe theorists how to get “down and dirty,” while beginning reconstruction on the original village plaza and zaguan of a historic locale close to Santa Fe. In early June, a Youthworks crew will study with adobe master and founder of EARTH USA, Quentin Wilson, on site at an old adobe ruin of his choosing to teach the history and fundamentals of adobe construction. Students will camp in tipis on the bank of the Vallecitos, learn to make adobe forms and bricks, draw architectural renderings with artist, Shelley Horton-Trippe, and begin reconstructing a wall with builder, Scott Ardis. Then on October 2-4, 2015, Youthworks members will be given scholarships to the EARTH USA 2015 conference at the Museum of Art in downtown Santa Fe. There they will study with world renowned adobe leaders and present a demo on adobe brick making. Youthworks will also demonstrate adobe making on the Plaza for the public during the conference in what might be called a “performance piece.” On October 5, Youthworks crew will host a tour of the old adobe ruin in Vallecitos for the international visitors from the conference and end with a campfire on the river’s edge. The 2015 CAMP ADOBE 101 is just the beginning of a series of ongoing hands-on adobe workshops that will be open to the public to create a positive “down and dirty” adobe making experience for the novice or city dwellers around the world. Youthworks is a Santa Fe 501c3 supplying GED tutoring and work training to disadvantaged youth. Quentin Wilson is a master adobe builder and educator, who began the prestigious adobe construction program at NNMCC in El Rito and is founder of EARTH USA. Scott Ardis is a master builder, musician and talented songwriter. Shelley Horton-Trippe is the Project Director and a painter, exhibiting with LewAllen Galleries. As an art activist, she has worked with disenfranchised youth, women and girls.

Portland, OR – Forest For The Trees

2015-05-28T00:00:00Z

Forest For The Trees is an independent project that brings together local and international artists in a collaborative setting, providing them with the creative freedom and resources to create lasting works in environments that are freely accessible in the Portland community. We aim to improve the visual landscape of the city through quality artwork, and to provide opportunities to the creative community to participate in establishing Portland’s visual identity. Not only does this project create a local identity through the work of Portland’s art community, but also connects us to a larger global community. Artists come from Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Japan, Kazakhstan, Mexico, the Netherlands, NZ, Puerto Rico, Russia, S Africa and the UK, as well as various US cities and Native Reservations. The mixing of local and visiting artists allows for greater diversity of work and sharing of ideas that enrich the Portland culture. It also broadens exposure and opportunities before a global audience, thus contributing to Portland’s stature as an international creative hub. With the money from the Awesome Foundation, I would be able to fund 2 new murals, covering 10,000 sq ft. The first mural would be by New Zealand duo BMD, and would wrap around the entirety of the building. This one would be on SE Division Pl, directly on the new MAX Line and very visible from lower Division St. The work of BMD is about as fun as mural work can get, with colorful patterns, goofy characters with creepy undertones, and a desire to play with architecture, making this building the perfect canvas for them. The second mural would be by Tokyo artist Nigamushi. This mural would be overlooking Old Town Chinatown from the 2nd & 3rd stories of the Goldsmith Block. Nigamushi's work is bright, bold and graphic, at times mixing traditional Japanese influences with more contemporary consumerist perversions. These pieces will no doubt bring smiles and likely puzzled stares to the neighborhood

Gloucester, MA – Bicycle Generator

2015-05-28T00:00:00Z

Gloucester, MA – O'maley Butterfly garden

2015-05-28T00:00:00Z

O'Maley is a wonderful school with awesome teachers and great kids. We have a vegetable garden and tons of after school programs. What more could we possibly want? More nature! A butterfly garden is a beautiful and simple way to introduce life into our concrete jungle! The kids at O’maley should have access to the beautiful world around them and it would be a great tool for teachers teaching about metamorphosis and food chains. Students would be able to get their hands dirty and see how their hard work supports other living things. A butterfly garden would do not only this, but it would also help endangered species of butterflies thrive in Gloucester! Species such as Monarch, Spicebush Swallowtail, Pipevine Swallowtail, Checkered White butterfly, Black Swallowtail, and Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, would all visit our garden. These butterflies would increase biodiversity in the ecosystem that surrounds our school. We would be observing and conserving nature! To make it happen we would definitely need some help. Harbor house teachers Ms. McGrath and Ms. Hand have already gotten us started by helping students remove dead grass and garbage from our preferred garden spot in the front of the school. Teachers will definitely continue to be involved by getting students interested and willing to help. The organization Backyard Growers (Backyard Growers leads our school garden program) has already volunteered to provide technical assistance. The DPW is helping us to repair our garden bed. Some possible supporters are the Generous Gardeners and Kim Smith, a local butterfly expert. No matter how many people are involved, the students at O’maley will play a huge part in making it awesome!

Orlando, FL – Art Attack

2015-05-27T00:00:00Z

An Art Attack could happen at any time, any place, to anyone willing to participate. Trained artists supplied with easels, acrylic, brushes, and canvas will convene in a public space (park, etc.) where there is plenty of foot traffic (possibly during farmer's markets, festivals, weekends, etc) to engage the public in canvas painting activities. The artists will be on hand to offer one-on-one guidance and suggestions and answer questions of the person having the Art Attack. The purpose of this activity is to actively engage the "viewing" public so that they become the "creating" public and ignite their interest and appreciation of original art making. The town of Wintergarden is building its community through the arts and is most likely to be receptive to Art Attack happenings. I plan on enlisting the local artists and members of the Winter Garden Art Association as the trained artists. Also, East Winter Garden, a lower socio-economic area of the town, is participating in a community redevelopment partnership that seeks to bring art opportunities to the area to identify community leaders in the arts who can continue and lead their community population. Art Attack happenings can align with organized community events to build art experience exposure to the area. Where people gather, art will be part of the conversation. Art Attack Artists will wear Tshirts to identify themselves. Canvas sizes will vary to offer choices but no larger than 16x20. 11x14 will probably be most available. This grant activity hopes to engage adults of all ages and children with their parent's interaction.

Awesome Without Borders (Inactive) – The untold story of the Somali basketball players

2015-05-27T00:00:00Z

I'm producing and directing a Feature documentary film 'Nation's Hope' It's story about hope, incarnating the strong will and devotion of the Somali Women National Basketball Team, amid an ongoing conflict. The idea for the film came to me when a colleague mentioned that the Somali Women's National Basketball Team had come fourth at the 'Arab Games' in Qatar in 2011. I am not used to good news coming out of a country in the grips of poverty and civil war, so I was surprised and proud, and when I began to research the individual stories of the girls on the team I was inspired. I decided to try to emulate these girls and do something good for my country. I set a plan in motion and traveled with a skeleton film crew back to Somalia to meet the girls and film their stories. This is what we found: https://vimeo.com/122189773 password: 1somalia I hope you enjoy the promo and I look forward to hearing from you.

Philadelphia, PA – Blossoming Berks Garden

2015-05-26T00:00:00Z

Our project is to build a greenhouse at an already existing small community garden at 22nd and Berks St. The greenhouse will allow production through 4 season and will aid in preparing for spring planting as well. While the garden produces enough to freeze a small amount of vegetables for winter meals, greens and small fruiting vegetable plants are sorely missed. The garden provides produce in a very underserved community, as well as 2 safe havens. One "safe haven" is for women and is located in Center City. The other is for men and is located in West Philly. Both locations provide 3 meals a day for residents and fresh produce is a rarity due to the extremely limited food budget at these sites. Community residents, as well as the safe haven residents, help care for the gardens and are able to attend nutrition education connecting their experience in the garden with at-home cooking and grocery shopping.

London, ON (Inactive) – StopGap London

2015-05-26T00:00:00Z

StopGap was founded in Toronto by Luke Anderson as a way to create accessible communities, as well as get people talking about accessibility issues in a fun and engaging new way. Our group of volunteers is bringing StopGap to London with a Community Ramp Project that supplies free, colourful, portable access ramps to businesses with single step entrances. These ramps will allow wheelchair & other mobility device users, people pushing wheelchairs, friends & family and many others new access to businesses. We're asking for community participation in identifying businesses with one step entrances with the call to action, "See The Gap. Stop The Gap." Often businesses want to be accessible, but renting & other factors prohibit a permanent ramp. This is a simple, yet complex project as every step is like a snowflake - unique in its design. Once businesses have been identified & indicate they'd like to participate, our volunteers carefully measure their step. These measurements are sent to Luke, an Engineer, who creates custom templates for each ramp. The ramps will all be built on the weekend of June 13-14, 2015 at Duo Building Inc., who has volunteered their workshop & time. Our volunteers will paint the ramps & delivery to participating businesses is scheduled for June 15. Our main goal is to eliminate single step barriers & create an inclusive city for everyone to live, work, play in & visit. StopGap London Lead Team members are: Luke Anderson, Martha Miller, Dan Harvey, Jason Graça, Dave Rino & myself, Lisa Bondy. Here's a clip of us in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQzwNqT_-W0 From all of our StopGap Londoners, thank you for Awesome London's consideration!

Stockholm (Inactive) – Step-by-step guide - start a business in Sweden

2015-05-26T00:00:00Z

After Work Academy provide free evening classes to immigrants (or anyone who can speak English) and cover the practical steps new entrepreneurs need to take to start a company in Sweden. Here are some of the reviews participants have left so far: "I attended my first course at After Work Academy last friday and it was such a great experience. The course "how to start a business in Sweden" was really interesting and useful. I'd never imagined that it could be like this. The concepts were perfectly explained and the method during the lesson couldn't be better. I'd recommend this course and the school without doubts" Aranxta from Spain "The course was very informative, the lecturer in style was definitely to my liking. A very relaxed and welcoming environment and I got to meet some of the most interesting individuals there. I will definitely be going to a few more extra courses in order to improve my skills and I would highly recommend them. Exactly what I was looking for.." Denny from South Africa

Amsterdam (Inactive) – Amsterdam at night... From space!

2015-05-25T00:00:00Z

I'd like to send a balloon into space, launching it from a location in Amsterdam. I've done this once before, during daytime, launching it from a field in a small town. The differences/challenges will be that I'd like to take a video instead of photos, the fact that I'd like to launch it at night (with a clear sky) and launching it in Amsterdam (which is legal). Those are the two major differences, I have some smaller differences I'd like to make as well. My previous project reached over 1.000.000 people, I unfortunately didn't made it to two major television-shows, because of Dutch rules (I wasn't old enough for the late night show...). www.FL1200.nl is the website of my previous project. (I'm not yet sure about the project title)

Washington, DC – RightRides DC

2015-05-25T00:00:00Z

RightRides DC (RRDC) is a program of Collective Action For Safe Spaces (CASS), a non-profit organization that empowers people in the DC metropolitan area to build a community free of public sexual harassment and assault, more commonly known as street harassment. This program offers free, safe, late-night rides home to women, LGBTQ and gender non-conforming (GNC) individuals. Our motto is, “Getting home safe shouldn’t be a luxury.” The program is supported by one part-time, paid staff; the program is possible because of our incredible volunteers and a partnership with Zipcar. Our next service date is July 4. The need for RRDC was demonstrated in a 2013 survey of nearly 300 potential RRDC users (women and LGBTQGNC-identifying people living in DC). 84% of respondents had experienced public sexual harassment while walking, biking, taking public transit, or taxi cabs, ranging from threatening comments to sexual assault. 85% of respondents use public transportation because it is cheaper than taxis or car services; however, the majority of respondents don’t feel safe while using DC public transit late at night by themselves. Access and affordability problems are magnified in traditionally underserved areas east of the Anacostia River. RightRides DC strives to provide safe rides to the people who need it most, while training volunteers to take their public safety into their own hands and become community leaders. To meet these goals, we are upping outreach in Wards 7 and 8 for riders and volunteers. On our most recent service date, 20% of our riders resided in Wards 7 and 8, and for our next service date, we want to do even better. With the Awesome Foundation’s support, we will be able to continue our important service and expand our outreach in the following ways: 1) our Programs Fellow will meet with three new community partners in Wards 7 and 8; 2) we will table at one community event in Ward 7 or 8; and 3) we will speak at four ANC meetings in Wards 7 and 8.

Ottawa – Quilts for Roger's House

2015-05-24T00:00:00Z

The second of May's two Awesome Ottawa awards goes to Sarah Heath, to support the sewing of new quilts for Roger’s House. Sarah runs a small sewing group, the Hintonburg Sewcial Club, that makes things for local charities while trying to grow the local sewing community. The award will help the club make 10 custom quilts for Roger’s House, a pediatric hospice. “Each treatment bed in their facility is covered with a hand-made quilt,” explains Sarah. “Their current quilts are becoming a little worn out, and we plan to make new ones to replace them. Small things like having a fun quilt on a child’s bed can make a huge difference — maybe making the hospice less clinical or less scary, and possibly a little more like a home away from home.” Sarah is a public servant, and a mom to two young girls.

Ottawa – Rehabilitative and Assistive Exoskeleton

2015-05-24T00:00:00Z

The first of May's two Awesome Ottawa awards goes to Sean Horn, to support initial development of a wearable robot for use in rehabilitation. Sean, who has recently co-founded Active Bionics Inc., explains that the rehabilitative exoskeleton, designed to assist those with difficulty walking, will be called Modo, “because of how we have designed the platform to be modular and customizable to the user’s needs.” It is also being designed to use readily available components and materials. Currently, he says, similar products are priced very high — $70,000 or more — and are usually not owned by the user. Sean and his colleagues would like to bring Modo to market for much less, and will use the award to support continued development and testing. Sean is a recent graduate of Algonquin College’s Mechanical Engineering Technology program, and works as a project manager for an engineering and fabrication firm.

Miami, FL – Let's Talk It Out Conflict Resolution Workshop

2015-05-23T00:00:00Z

Let’s Talk it OUT is a conflict resolution program geared towards the adolescent population to help youth monitor, understand, and manage their stress, anger, and other difficult emotions. The objective is to teach them proactive strategies to navigate and resolve disputes, to circumvent verbal and/or physical aggression and to support pro-social skills. Program Objectives - Learn to identify and label challenging emotions such as frustration, anger, and distress - Discover ways to effectively communicate anger and other negative feelings - Gain skills in constructive problem solving (using ‘rationale’ rather than ‘emotion’ mind) In conflict, each person needs to feel that his/her needs are a priority and that they are, in fact, heard and valued by others. In most situations, it is only natural that perspectives differ and that individuals will choose varied solutions to problems, whether constructive or maladaptive. The modules included in Let’s Talk it OUT promote understanding of conflict resolution systems and problem solving process skills by offering participants varied opportunities to separate one another from controversial issues that serve to divide and antagonize each other. Concepts supporting each module are further reinforced utilizing interactive learning tools such as teamwork and role-play. Specifically, Let’s Talk It OUT offers youth the opportunity to witness the effect of their behavior on others through a real-life peer group setting. Participants are also guided by experienced, sensitive leaders, who encourage learning through step-by-step self-examination, by providing alternative viewpoints, and by facilitating insight and change through experiential learning. Ultimately, Let’s Talk It OUT strives to break the chain of violence too often resorted to by youth by recognizing that education and constructive action are among the best vaccines for violence.

Miami, FL – Bringing Tech to Liberty City

2015-05-23T00:00:00Z

Bringing Tech to Liberty City is a workshop/class for individuals 45+ looking to learn the basics of the computer and more.In this workshop/class basic computer literacy will be taught first (i.e functions of a key board, functions of the mouse etc.) Then I will begin to teach every day tasks completed using a computer and/or the internet. Some of the tasks will include how to read,check, forward and send an email, how to conduct a search on Google, how to save a file on your computer etc. This workshop will happen every Saturday from 2 pm-5 pm for 6 weeks. Lunch will be provided. At the end of the 6 weeks participants will get a certificate for completing the course and also present a presentation on what they learned from the class.

Miami, FL – MDC Wolfson Shark Pantry

2015-05-23T00:00:00Z

As a homeless student i struggled with being able to attend college, work and be able to to afford simple necessities such as toilet paper, toothbrush, socks, and food. I realized there were many resources off campus but non on campus and as a homeless student I did not have transportation to the off site locations to receive help. I became the President of Acts of Kindness, an organization at MDC Wolfson Campus I brought the idea of a shark pantry to my team. We found out there were 42 students on campus who were homeless and many more who were low income. MDC is our second home so it did not make sense that a program like this did not exist for those students. Our Shark Pantry would provied all necessities a student would need.They would visit Single Stop and fill out an application to receive free government benefits and from there be able to go to the pantry and receive any necessities they needed free of charge. Our pantry would include food, all types of clothes especially for interviews,toiletries and bus passes.

Orlando, FL – Mobile Art Truck

2015-05-22T00:00:00Z

Hello there! ArtReach Orlando has been providing arts programming opportunities to children in high-need, under-served areas for the past three years. We have created a number of public art pieces including murals at schools, a found object mosaic in Apopka, anti-bullying programs and more. We have recently launched a mobile art classroom based in a refurbished bus in order to host free art programming in public spaces around Orange County. Each month will feature a different artist and a unique set of lessons and activities. For the month of February we have partnered with teaching artist Jenn Benner of Misty Forest to teach indigo dip-dyeing.

Austin, TX – The Quality or Condition

2015-05-22T00:00:00Z

"The Quality or Condition" is an interactive multimedia installation that will blend music, visual art/sculpture, and storytelling into a cohesive and immersive multi-sensory experience. It is the collaborative brainchild of Backstop Collective, an Austin, Texas-based art group that leverages the talents of three respected multidisciplinary artists, Lauren Gurgiolo, Hannah Baker, and Wendy Mitchell. During the installation, participants will travel through a passageway whose walls are filled with hundreds of ceramic masks. Each mask will be identical in form but unique on the surface, due to raku firing. Light and motion sensors will be placed in and around the masks, and visitors will engage with them to trigger recorded music, ambient sounds, and short stories that will play from speakers behind the masks. Each visitor must choose where to focus attention, carving out his or her own unique reality of the experience: lingering to listen to a story’s climax, stepping into a silent corner, drifting off to an ambient combination of sounds, singing along to a nursery rhyme, or leaning in close to hear a secret. Inspired by Sartre’s idea of bad faith and the constellation model of relationship therapy, the project explores themes of self-identity, social interaction, and group relationships. As the visitor travels through the passage, she is responsible not only for curating her own experience, but also for contributing to the experience of the group as a whole. This marks the second piece from Backstop Art. In 2013, the team produced 'Calculated Carelessness' (Museum of Human Achievement), a multimedia installation which received Project II Cultural Arts Funding from the city of Austin. It culminated in four nights of sold out shows.

Oahu, HI – Word on the Street

2015-05-21T00:00:00Z

Word on the Street (WOTS) is a social entrepreneurship designed to empower the houseless in Honolulu by giving them a voice, skills and the financial means to escape the difficulties tied to being houseless. Houseless vendors buy the WOTS magazine for $.50 and sell it for a suggested donation of $2.95, which all goes to them. The houseless vendors have the opportunity to build their own future via their magazine sales and a related training course, which has the positive effects of giving them much needed income, entrepreneurial skills, motivation to stay clean from drinking and drugs, discipline and a boost in morale. The WOTS magazine is created by a core team of 6 volunteers with extensive experience in journalism, marketing, psychology and working with the houseless in Honolulu. We have already designed the magazine, mapped out vending districts and have over 60 people who have pledged to buy the first issue. WOTS is based upon a successful model that has been implemented in many other cities and serves as an effective tool to mitigate houselessness. "The Contributor" in Nashville (www.thecontributor.org) had to cap its number of vendors at 400, while the UK based Big Issue (www.bigissue.com) sells 120,000 copies a week. Word on the Street has the potential to create hundreds of jobs for the Honolulu houseless, invigorate the disadvantaged and strengthen our community’s health.

Kingston – Barbara Avenue Canada Day Street Party

2015-05-21T00:00:00Z

The Barbara Avenue Neighbours want to shut down our street to public access on Canada Day to have a family focused street party. We will have carnival games, Bouncy Castles, BBQs, cotton candy, fireworks, sack races and other fun activities. It will be all about building community right on our street.

London (Inactive) – Making holograms from iPhone footage

2015-05-20T00:00:00Z

I studied holography at the Royal College of Art and was an Artist in Residence at the Museum of Holography on Mercer St, New York. I then became a professional photographer for many years working in London. Recently, I decided to get back into holography because I found myself in a position where I could make them again and I feel they are due for a revival. There is a great renaissance for all things analogue and I really want to make tangible art again. Returning to holography after a break of 15 years or so, the world has changed a little and photography and holography have changed a lot. I have spent the last year building a studio in Wales, and now want to develop my ideas in the form of iPhone originated stereograms. A stereogram is a kind of synthesised hologram that originates in film or video footage. It can display time and motion as well as 3D. I like them because they can be spontaneous, unlike regular types of hologram, and can display emotion and have a kind of nickelodeon type nostalgia about them. It used to take a lot of time to create these, but now with an iPhone I can use various apps that get rid of the camera shake and smooth out the animation, which speeds up the process considerably. Now I have built my studio, I need to take it up to the next level to make my stereograms. I am going focus on research and development to work out how to use an LCD screen in a holographic set up. I also need to automate the whole stereogram making process with the help of a moving slit (to make the separate exposures) and a Raspberry Pi or two.

Detroit, MI – Black WOMEN Rock! Camp of Girls

2015-05-20T00:00:00Z

The Black WOMEN Rock! organization is an 11 year old empowering concert and educational event that supports women of color who make rock and roll music. We are excited and honored to be producing our first music camp for girls at the amazing Detroit Institute for Music Education. (DIME) in July! We want the camp to be free and only limited to space, not who can afford to come. The intensive 3 week schedule of master classes would put young girls directly in contact with super star, international artists for one one one instruction. Classes would include, Electric Guitar with Kat Dyson, Songwriting with Dionne Farris and jessica Care moore, Bass Guitar with Divinity Roxx and DJ'ing with Stacey Hotwaxx Hale, Drums with Lauren Johnson and Aisha Ellis and more. The camp would end with an outdoor culminating performance at Capitol Park in August.

Tallahassee, FL (Inactive) – Awesome Fruit

2015-05-19T00:00:00Z

Going Places Street Outreach is teaming up with PACE Center for Girls to plant and maintain fruit trees that will be placed throughout the town where folks experiencing homelessness can reach up and grab a healthy snack or (for most) the only healthy meal they will see all day. Going Places knows and frequents places that are in desperate need of a contact food source. Many youth are surrounded with highly processed, sugary filler foods that are cost effective for their situation. We believe that healthy choices shouldn't be a luxury but a right! PACE Center for Girls has a constant team of young women who plant and maintain a community garden. They have the passion and know how to start something from the beginning and with hard work and dedication they are able to see the fruit of their labor. :)

Gloucester, MA – Beneficial Art Program

2015-05-19T00:00:00Z

Our Awesome Proposal: Beneficial Art Program The Grace Center, Inc., a 501 (3 ) c Non-Profit Organization submits our 4th request for an Awesome Gloucester Grant to fund our Beneficial Art Program. The opportunity to be creative affords our guests respite from their problems, self-reflection, pride and accomplishment. Most importantly, these are productive tools to deal with depression and dependencies in ways that are creative, non-threatening, and enjoyable. Photography, beading, painting bowls for the Open Door, collage and other mediums advance the healing process. This program costs money. The goal is for our art program to be self-sustaining as the guests sell their art work at the Farmers’ Market and at art exhibits. We request an Awesome Grant for seed money for our Beneficial Art Program.

Moscow (Inactive) – Олдушка

2015-05-18T00:00:00Z

"Олдушка" - социально-культурный проект о российских пенсионерах. Проект исследует образ современного пожилого человека, его самобытность, особенности национального колорита, даёт возможность людям старшего поколения высказаться на различные темы. «Олдушка» существует в виде блога (http://www.oldushka.com/), где собраны портреты и цитаты людей, сфотографированных на улицах различных городов. Критерием отбора героев является возраст (60+) и фактурная внешность - яркий образ, выразительное лицо, интересный костюм. Тема возраста в проекте подаётся через концепцию уличной моды, предлагая по-новому взглянуть на образ пожилого человека, репрезентует понятие старости, расширяет представление о красоте и возрасте. Блог «Олдушка» появился 4 года назад в Омске, на сегодняшний день его география охватывает 6 городов: Омск, Москва, Санкт-Петербург, Ижевск, Ульяновск, Пермь. Число людей, сфотографированных для проекта, приближается к 1000, самому старшему участнику 97 лет. Задачи проекта: - привлечение внимание общества к старшему поколению - преодоление стереотипов по отношению к пожилым людям - популяризация образа интересного пожилого человека - поддержка межпоколенческих связей

Pittsburgh, PA – Keep ARTisan Alive

2015-05-18T00:00:00Z

My husband and I own Artisan, a tattoo shop and art gallery in the Garfield neighborhood of Pittsburgh. I am writing you because we are one of the businesses struggling through the penn ave construction project and now we have run into serious building code issues and may be forced to close our doors. We have started an indiegogo campaign, KeepArtisanAlive.com. We have been doing really well so far, but its hard to keep momentum going. I'm not sure if this is anything you can help with at all. I thought I would write and see if you might take the time to watch our video, possibly share our story, or even any advice at all on idea of things to do would be helpful. We opened in 2011 in an empty store front on Penn Avenue, Artisan has grown into a community of artists with sophisticated style and renowned abilities. We have plans for a café, a hostel to bring in more global artists, and continuing to use the renovated, vintage-inspired first floor as a space to showcase local and global artists. But turning these dreams into a reality has hit a roadblock in the form of city code: The building requires ADA-compliant emergency exits in order to comply with city code. We're hosting a six-week crowdfunding campaign through Indigogo to continue rehabbing our building. The shop, once an abandoned storefront, is now a bold stylish addition to the Penn Avenue streetscape recently saddled with heavy construction. This is a story of passion, and its pursuit in the face of obstacles. Artisan’s community is dedicated to creating beauty – on the body, in the building and the city of Pittsburgh.

Awesome Without Borders (Inactive) – Hands of Honour Up-cycling Centre

2015-05-18T00:00:00Z

Hands of Honour Up-cycling Centre will employs the ‘unemployable’ in South Africa - those who have experienced homelessness, crime and / or substance abuse - to up-cycle obsolete stock and recyclable items. Much of this waste is provided through partnerships with the corporate sector and would otherwise end up in landfills. Workers process the waste, either rehabilitating material or stripping goods for sale of parts.Corporations are our main partners.''donating '' their corporate waste rather than send on to landfill. Proceeds from this has two benefits: (1)Provide salaries for workers who otherwise have no work options available to them; (2)Profits are invested in derelict community spaces, focusing on public spaces which have become havens for anti-social behaviour. Hands of Honour brings together three best-practices: (1)While ‘up-cycling’ or reusing waste materials has been done informally by waste pickers scouring the dumps, the organisation works directly with the waste generators to formalise this process, representing something new in South Africa. Corporations are the main ‘donors’ of waste to the organisation, donating rather than disposing of their waste; (2)Hands of Honour’s Job Training Programme provides skills and confidence to those members of society who have ‘checked out’. This both increases employment and rehabilitates the workers; (3)This process funds urban renewal initiatives, focusing on those areas that are identified by the community as being flash points for crime. Taken together, these elements result in a programme that can sustain itself and contribute to a greener city, job creation and reclaiming derelict urban spaces

Boulder, CO (Inactive) – The Fountain of Memory

2015-05-18T00:00:00Z

The Fountain of Memory is a 360-degree installation featuring pulsing color and water for the Interdimensional Town Square. The semi-translucent acrylic and plastic base animates artistically with colorful 3D-mapped LED pixels. The elevated central pool holds dynamic fountainheads, blasting glowing water upwards. Microphones hidden in nearby viewing benches capture conversation, wobble-loop-and-remix, and amplify the back through a sound system hidden in the structure. Utilizing AudioPixel’s custom software, the lighting and fountains will pulse directionally -- light patterns ripple across the sections of the installation, merge, and accelerate. The Fountain of Memory is built on top of a (hidden) trailer, and will be able to be set up almost anywhere. The overall installation, when peaking with interactivity, will be approximately 15’ x 15’ with the water reaching over 15’ from the ground. The Fountain's voice is a custom-built Reaktor machine that will provide the environment with a wildly surreal echo. When viewers take a seat on the nearby benches, conversation is recorded, looped, warped, bounced, and amplified through the structure. The incomplete audio deja vu is mind-bending, and the participants won’t be entirely sure if they are hearing echoes of themselves or not. Their conversation also triggers animated effects to trickle up their side of The Fountain, as patterns and colors are traded around the base. We are also currently accepting audio donations from musicians and other audio artists, and have a file donation form available here: http://audiopixel.com/upload We are adding the donated samples and songs into The Fountain's dynamic audio library, to be warped and played randomly alongside the live audio through The Fountain's hidden speakers. The Fountain of Memory will be having its official launch in June! Celebrating light, water, audio, and reactivity - this AudioPixel installation is unlike any fountain you’ve ever seen!

Moscow (Inactive) – Проект Golova

2015-05-18T00:00:00Z

Мы - это интернет-магазин особенных головных уборов Golova. Первый и уникальный в своем роде российский Проект, который производит и реализует особенные головные уборы для людей, столкнувшихся с потерей волос, проходящих химиотерапию, и с другими тяжелыми заболеваниями. Наши головные уборы: - качественные - ткани дышат и не вызывают аллергию; - удобные - продуманный покрой для сна и движения, зимы и лета; - красивые - модные цвета и фасоны на любой вкус. Нашему проекту едва исполнился год, а у нас уже есть два розничных партнера в Москве и много потенциальных в регионах. Мы также занимаемся благотворительностью: часть прибыли уходит в различные фонды по борьбе с раком, а также мы организуем детские праздники и дарим подарки.

Seattle, WA – Now You See It! A History of Art about Slime Molds

2015-05-16T00:00:00Z

I’m designing an exhibit for the Library at Seattle’s Center for Urban Horticulture, about the history of art about slime molds: micro-organisms given much recent attention by scientific and artistic communities worldwide. (To clarify, slime molds are not actually mold, but are colorful, bacteria-eating, spore-bearing, diverse, globally-abundant organisms.) For the past 2 years, I've been working with leading researcher Dr. Steven Stephenson to complete an illustrated field guide to slime molds. This exhibit celebrates the culmination of that project. It also tells the stories of international artists and scientists who, over the last 4 centuries, have shed light on these beautiful --but often hidden-- living things. As with most soil organisms, slime molds are often overlooked as subjects deserving of research funding. Artists help people understand and appreciate them through illustration, prints, film, and manipulation of slime molds themselves. Now You See It! tells their stories through compelling visuals and simply-written text. Indeed, striking imagery is integral to this exhibit. Upon entering, visitors are attracted to a “diorama” showcasing myriad real and sculpted specimens, as well as introductory text and graphics explaining what slime molds are. A handheld book corresponds with an expansive wall-graphic interpreting the extraordinary slime mold life cycle and its importance to healthy soil systems. After observing and drawing real specimens while looking through microscopes, and engaging with the work and stories of dedicated artists, visitors will leave more aware of the incredible microcosms underfoot. Now You See It! is made using best practices in sustainable design, and is targeted toward families with kids aged 6 and older and University of Washington faculty and students.

Berlin (Inactive) – 3D models for little avid fingers

2015-05-14T00:00:00Z

What does an elephant look like? And a digger? And a volcano? For blind children, things that are too big, too far away or too dangerous to be touched, are not so easily understandable. While sighted children usually develop an understanding of basic concepts through incidental learning, children with a visual impairment need to learn these concepts in an intentional manner. Touching original objects or models or getting things described are different methods on how to get a better idea of the environment. At the German Federation for Blind and Partially Sighted People, we believe that books are a great tool for blind and partially sighted children to discover the world. As for every other child, books are a door to fantasy, a way of travelling to far places without moving from the chair. Unfortunately, there are too few appropiate books for visually impaired children, with quality and attractive tactile pictures. Our aim is to change this situation by creating tactile books where children can enjoy touching different materials and interact with the book while moving the tactile elements from page to page. The creation procedure is all handwork and therefore very laborious. Some of the elements have to be handmade in order to achieve the desirable diversity of materials. However, many parts of the book could be perfectly machine-made. The new 3D-technologies offer a wide range of possibilities of producing these tactile elements. The optimal solution for us would be a combination of handwork with the use of a 3D-printer. This way we would accelerate the production proccess, which would allow us to increase the amount of books, thus reaching a wider range of blind and partially sighted children.

New York City, NY – Brooklyn Plans: Financial pop-up spaces in BK

2015-05-14T00:00:00Z

Brooklyn Plans is starting a financial empowerment revolution right here in Brooklyn. We take underused or vacant real estate and convert it into a recreation center/cool lounge/public library for your finances. Every month we visit a different neighborhood and create a space for community in financial matters. In April we partnered with Shoestring Press in Crown Heights where we were open to the community 2 days/week. In May we are partnering with Realty Collective in Red Hook, a financially underserved neighborhood that does not host either a financial empowerment center or a Single Stop site, two financial empowerment resources commonly found in underserved neighborhoods. We're excited to offer events to the community 4 days/week. Our focus are financially underserved millennials or 20 and 30-somethings. Financial planners generally ignore us because we don't have any assets and financial education nonprofit programming isn't relevant. We are saddled with student loans debt and many of us entered the labor force when job prospects were the worse they had been in decades. Our generation needs help! We offer relevant workshops and classes that are open to the whole community on topics like finding the perfect rental, how to talk about money with your partner, student loan counseling, credit card hacking and even a finance yoga class (balance more than your checkbook). The grant will help us convert our Red Hook pop-up into a financial community space. Since we'll be offering a mix of workshop style classes with unique events like a "finance jams party*" & financial balance yoga, we'll have to purchase a variety of supplies such as a printer, ink, paper, projector, yoga mats and "bling" for our party. The grant will also help us cover the cost of insurance and electricity to run the space. *Finance Jams Party has 2 rules 1. Songs about $ 2. Dancing

Liverpool (Inactive) – Liverpool Zombie Walk 2015

2015-05-13T00:00:00Z

In 2014 I launched the first official Liverpool Zombie Walk. We managed to raise £512 in just 3 hours with our team of 16 volunteer zombies and I donated all of the money raised to the Help For Heroes charity organisation. I organised all of the event criteria, arranged a venue to meet up and prepare (Envi Nightclub), met with the Liverpool City Council, heads of Fire, Police, Ambulance and Highways services. On the day itself I provided costumes, completed all of the make up, registration, monitored the collections and stewarded the entire event while also acting as photographer. A very fun day out was had by all and even Radio City's very own Pete Price posed with us for some photos. This year I would like to improve on the number of zombie volunteers and also boost the funds collected for charity.

San Antonio, TX – Dignowity Hill Farmer's Market

2015-05-13T00:00:00Z

The Dignowity Hill Farmer's Market was established as a grassroots effort by my husband and I in our neighborhood because we found our community was undeserved in healthy food options and health programs. Dignowity Hill lies in a food desert, a community filled with fast food which is also stricken with high percentages of health issues like obesity and diabetes. Our community is also highly represented in minority groups and poverty. All these factors contribute to a low quality of life and we wanted to make a change. The farmer's market was the answer to getting our community to eat healthier, make better food choices and have access to those positive decisions. We are the only farmer's market in San Antonio who is organic food based and offers health and wellness education and fitness classes through community resources. The community would not have otherwise had access to these food choices or programs if the market was not established. Our vision is to offer fresh, local and affordable food choices to the entire community. We are officially certified by the Texas Department of Agriculture and by doing so we are able to accept SNAP as payment for the produce at the market. We only offer Texas grown products so we can support local businesses and farmers.By utilizing a public park, we are utilizing public resources and bringing the community together at a centralized location. We have had 3 successful markets so far and plan to stay in the community for a lifetime. Our efforts will one day show a decrease in disease, health risks and obesity. Please help us make our community aware of the awesome project we have!

Sydney – Biri Biri (Aboriginal Cafe)

2015-05-13T00:00:00Z

I have partnered with an awesome chef and an aboriginal elder to create an aboriginal cafe in Redfern (Sydney). We plan to create affordable meals for the aboriginal and wider community with indigenous flavours, whilst employing aboriginal staff from the local aboriginal hospitality training college. The aim of the project is to provide a warm and welcoming space for aboriginal people to call their own, to enjoy an affordable meal and to help promote and celebrate aboriginal culture by adoring the walls with artwork and sculptures that patrons can buy to help support aboriginal artists, The cafe is going to be run as a social enterprise with 50% of any profits being donated to a foundation set up to help aboriginal health and education casues

Adelaide – The Road Trip Sessions

2015-05-11T00:00:00Z

The Road Trip Sessions is an online video series, where we pack up the van and take artists on the road and into the wild, capturing them in their most stripped back acoustic format. We will hunt down South Australia's best kept secret locations and take this cohort of creative minds to rolling hillsides and rocky cliff faces, we'll build campfires in the sand and teepees in the trees. We'll hike to hidden beaches, navigate to unknown forests, with guitars on our backs and picnic baskets in hand. As the sun slides down the sky, and light fades to glow, we'll capture this string of marvellous moments to bring to the online world the most beautiful collision of quality music in the most idyllic setting. It was the discussion of four friends over a pot of tea, all sharing ideas on how we could showcase some of the greatest things about our state - the quality of music that exists within it, the serene and untouched nature of our landscapes and the collection of brands, products and ideas that make Adelaide and South Australia us unique and as brilliant as it is. We wanted to encapsulate these ideals and showcase it to the rest of the globe as a little insight into our humble world.

Lusaka (Inactive) – Improving Bauleni's Social Center environment

2015-05-11T00:00:00Z

We are a small social center in Bauleni compound, on the outskirts of Lusaka. The main aim of our project is to develop the community through youth empowerment. We work to build the capacity of the young girls and boys in the compound and we know that there active participation will strengthen the community. We want to transform the small room we have just built in a beautiful community center in the heart of the compound. We have already fundraised to provide English lessons, a nursery school and we have just opened the "Draw me a Lion" art center. Our philosophy is "Beauty will save the world". Unfortunately, the environment around the center is full of waste, plastic bags, plastic bottles and all kinds of trash that stays the soil. Most of the waste is burnt and its smoke goes directly into the lungs of all the people living in the compound. We have tried to find solutions. We have organised groups to pick up the trash, but it goes back to how it was after a few days. We have tried to pay someone to collect the waste and drive them to the dumpsite, but it does not work consistently, and at the same time, waste is still burning everywhere in our streets. We believe this can change, first in and around our social center and then, if it is a success, it will be the right example for the rest of Bauleni compound! We have noticed that no NGO or aid projects are yet supporting communities with the environment from a holistic perspective. Some focuses on women, other on children and other on water and sanitation. In Bauleni, no one focuses on the environment, on how we could improve specifically the place where we live. We want to deal with the waste on the floor, we want to deal with the air we inhale, with the water we use to wash ourselves and with the electricity we use to power the center. We want to be proud of the place where we live and the place where our kids play.

Awesome Without Borders (Inactive) – Little Lotus: the smart swaddle & blanket

2015-05-11T00:00:00Z

Little Lotus is a line of baby swaddles and blankets that keeps first world babies at the perfect temperature and helps babies in the developing world at the same time. The Little Lotus products are special because they: - Use a proprietary fabric first developed for NASA space suits that absorb or release heat to keep your baby at the perfect temperature. You will no longer need to worry if your baby is too hot or cold. - Have a unique design for swaddles and sleeping bags that make them extremely easy to put on and take off while your baby is sleeping, with a bottom zipper that allows for a diaper change with the baby still inside. - Feature artwork inspired by 'Touch our Future' which includes the hand tracings of mothers and babies from around the world. - Help babies in need! For every product purchased, a baby will be helped in a developing country by the Embrace infant warmer. The origins of Little Lotus go back to the Embrace infant warmer. Embrace was started in 2008 by a team of graduate students at Stanford, including co-founders Rahul Panicker and Jane Chen. We were challenged to develop a baby incubator that costs less than 1% the cost of a traditional incubator. Ultimately, we created a product that uses a phase change material, similar to what's used in the Little Lotus products, to keep give vulnerable babies the critical warmth they need. Embrace has been recognized internationally. We won the Economist Innovation Award, the Fast Company Design for Social Good Award, and have been featured in media around the world. Last year, Beyonce gave a donation to get the Embrace infant warmers to 9 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, through our partnership with the Millennium Promise. We also presented our work to President Obama at the White House's first ever Maker-Faire. To date, Embrace has helped 150,000 babies. But our goal was always to reach 1 million babies. We're hoping Little Lotus will enable us to do that.

Chicago, IL – "I Looked Up To The Screen Above"

2015-05-11T00:00:00Z

I have an opportunity to put up a huge photograph on the rooftop of the Lillstreet art center. This would be visible from the CTA train station and from the street in the surrounding neighborhood. The image is a photograph of the sky that I rephotographed on a smartphone screen through a microscope. It's part of a series of photographs that I've been making as a response to the ways that our smartphones and the ubiquity of screens change the ways that we engage with the world. I've made prints of this work before at increasing scale, but it's been increasingly clear this work needs to be big and able to be viewed at a distance. I've been given a one month residency on the Lillstreet rooftop, so this is my chance to go big. Lillstreet has had this rooftop residency for a few years, and in the past people have put up flags from the flagpoles, generally around 3' x 4'. My plan is a bit more ambitious: I want to put up a single continuous banner that is 50' x 8'. We're all excited to try something big and bold that will be impossible to miss from the neighborhood. The banner will be up for a month. One of the interesting things about these photograph is that they are legible image from a distance, but an abstract assortment of pixels up close. Counterintuitively, the photograph changes when viewed through a cameraphone - the pixels disappear, the information is compressed, and the low-res image becomes legible once again. I can say all sorts of art theory type things about this project too, about how photography lives on the screen, about how recorded images are more important than things we experience first-hand, about the work's relation to Hito Steyerl and the "poor image," about how simulations replace our experience of reality, and so on, but really the reason I want to do this is that this is going to be a big beautiful piece of public art that is going to grab thousands of commuters and lift their eyes to the sky. What could be more awesome?

Sarnia (Inactive) – Southwestern International Film Festival

2015-05-09T00:00:00Z

The South Western International Film Festival is an International, new media cultural event that will establish Sarnia-Lambton as a cultural hub for South Western Ontario. By focusing on artist engagement, youth participation, community enrichment and our evolving diversity, SWIFF will create a unique and exciting, cinematic experience for the community of Sarnia-Lambton while opening its doors to visitors far and wide. Our mandate is to bring culturally diverse, socially conscious, entertaining films that not only open doors to the world but also open up the dialogue on global and domestic issues. Our aim is to have several films spotlighting First Nations, Female voices, LGBT themes and films from the diaspora (Asia, Africa, Middle East). The idea is to use my position at the Toronto International Film Festival, to acquire films and bring directors, screenwriters and actors to Sarnia to engage our community and enrich our own artists through talk backs, workshops and panel engagements.

Awesome Without Borders (Inactive) – Publicizing, analyzing data where it's needed most

2015-05-06T00:00:00Z

Update: We applied a few months for this grant, but we were at a less developed stage than we are at now: - Our paper has been accepted for publication at Atmospheric Environment, here's the accepted article: http://tinyurl.com/nlqkwk8 - In Feb 2015, Dept. of State Sec. Kerry and Admin. McCarthy from EPA signed an agreement to expand air quality monitoring at embassies around the world. - Our co-author has published a related article in Wired Magazine: http://tinyurl.com/kj22wpz If we receive funding to make our paper open access, we will credit AWB in all subsequent related articles intended for a general audience. ** According to a report released by the WHO in 2014, 1 in 8 deaths world-wide is due to air pollution, yet the intersection of air quality and health is a field that lacks data in the most polluted places in the world. The U.S. Embassy in Beijing started measuring and tweeting air pollution data in 2008 from a rooftop monitor, and the impact of this real-time, transparent data has been documented in news media. Since the success of the air quality monitor in Beijing, the U.S. has begun measuring and tweeting data from four posts in other cities in China. To capture the power of air quality data and inform scientists of the existence of this new a source of info in these understudied areas, we have done the *first-ever* analysis of the historical record in all five cities. *For the first time, our study highlights the novel existence and potential uses of air quality data that is currently systematically being collected and made publicly accessible by U.S. embassies in polluted but under-studied locations. This work is a very valuable resource to those working on air quality issues in developing countries, where access to such research is often limited. It should be freely available to air pollution researchers in developing country communities.*

Awesome Without Borders (Inactive) – Step By Step Haiti

2015-05-06T00:00:00Z

The Step By Step Haiti project (established in 2009 by Dr. Patrick DeHeer, DPM) seeks to aid diabetic Haitian citizens by establishing a wound care clinic for those who suffer from diabetic ulcerative wounds. Currently, the project uses the space given by a local hospital— Bernard Mevs Project Medishare in Haiti. Longer-term, a separate larger wound care clinic could serve a larger number of patients. Over time, this would vastly reduce the country’s mortality rate related to limb amputation and diabetes. Our goal with the Step By Step Haiti Project is to prevent diabetic amputations in Haiti. Studies show that when a diabetic patient has an amputation their five-year survival rate is less than 50 percent. The good news is studies also show that a comprehensive, formal diabetic foot program can reduce amputation rates by up to 80 percent. This rate equates to saving real lives in Haiti daily. Prevention is much more cost effective than post-incident care. The second mission of this program is to instruct the Haitian medical school teachers, who will then grow the program by teaching young physicians coming through the training system. Dr. DeHeer has been on over 25 medical mission trips throughout the last several years. He has gone from doing "helicopter medicine"—where he flies in and does multiple surgeries and then flies back home. Yes, he has helped a defined few people, but his impact is limited. Dr. DeHeer no longer does surgery unless a local physician is there assisting so he can share his knowledge and experience with them. The root of this program is knowledge-sharing to help Haiti establish diabetic amputation prevention programs that compare to those in first world nations. Then they will be able to share their knowledge and experience with young physicians coming through the system. This is why diabetic wound care prevention and education is critical to the patient’s overall survival.

Boston, MA – Arduino Lending Library at Parts and Crafts

2015-05-05T00:00:00Z

Parts and Crafts, the family hackerspace in Somerville Ave. would like to build a small collection of Ardunio hardware to loan out to families and teachers. The re-usable Arduino pieces would be loaned out through our Somerville Tool Library project, where borrowers will also be able to borrow wire strippers, meters and soldering irons to use on their projects. We will also put together small, reasonably priced component kits and instruction sheets for Arduino borrowers to buy when they borrow their Arduino and related tools & safety equipment.

San Francisco, CA – Grow'n & Chef'n Proper in Lower W. Oakland!

2015-05-05T00:00:00Z

An initiative to turn a community garden into a full-spectrum, urban food oasis that empowers the community to become more food secure, stoked about food, and engage in experiential learning. . Check it. We've got tons of veg and fruits in our garden. A garden that was built with scrap materials from construction sites, 'free' sections on craigslist, goods set outside for bulk pickup, and whatever other means necessary to turn this abandoned lot into an urban oasis. While we're pumping' out some significant lbs. of food and giving it away to community members who offer some time in the garden, we're seeking to launch the: Grow'n & Chef'n Proper Project in Lower W. Oakland. The Grow'n & Chef'n Proper Project is meant to further deepen the roots of our garden. We are seeking to construct an aquaponic system, renovate the site with micro-drip irrigation, and set up a PROPER outdoor kitchen set up for chef'n it up with the community. Let's break down the rational: 1. Aquaponics produces both fish and vegetables in a dynamic ecosystem. Thanks to the fish poo, we'll be able to have nutrient rich water for growing veg! Plus, having an aquaponic system will allow us to teach the community about the symbiotic relationships between water and food. We've got a 240-gal. fish tank waiting 2. Micro-drip irrigation! Considering that we're in a drought of epic proportions, it's only right that we retrofit our garden from hand watering by hose, to a micro drip irrigation system, on a timer, that waters the roots at night. This will ensure that over 90% of the water used is absorbed by the plants, rather than being evaporated… this will be inherently raise awareness on the drought! 3. PROPER outdoor kitchen, this is where it gets out of control. We've got veg on veg on veg in the garden but chef'n it up on site isn't easy. Considering that dozens upon dozens of folks come by the garden each week, we're missing out on the opportunity to chef up a proper meal on site. It's one thing to grow the food, share it and plant some more; but having the ability to harvest and then eat, that's major! Experiential learning is key developing to a food secure environment. . Bottoms Up Community Garden is a community-based organization, growing food, experimenting with urban agriculture and inspiring the local community to engage in food security. Bottoms Up Community Garden is a proud member of the IDEAS Movement. http://www.facebook.com/ideasforus On the corner of 8th and Peralta St., smack dab in the middle of a food desert in Oakland, California, is the Bottoms Up Community Garden. We're a bunch of passionate and resourceful folks trying to spread a positive stoke on food! We have a 5 year lease at this site at $1 per month, the lease begin in mid-2014. There isn't a single place to buy nor eat fresh food within .75 mile of our locale! Being in a neighborhood with a large number of low-income community members, including ourselves, we gotta be food resilient. That means learning to grow our own and cook our own! What an awesome glue this garden is for the community… this project will catalyze and empower folks to be more resilient, and thus awesome! . Feel free to come by any Sunday after 12:00 PM if you want to get your hands in the dirt.

San Francisco, CA – Villainette: Bangs

2015-05-05T00:00:00Z

A puppet-encrusted mechanical drum machine for making transgender-genderqueer pop music. . Accordions have a lot of buttons that make quite a lot of noise, but they’re not quite a full band, so I’m making a robotic drum machine to make my feminist/genderqueer rock & roll performances more awesome. For those who are already jaded about robots hitting drums, I am going to go further by carving whimsical wooden puppets over the mechanisms. Our ears naturally melt for the sonic qualities of unamplified chamber and folk music while our hearts are moved by thunderously loud enveloping sound. Robots have a physical strength that will allow me to combine these oft-estranged qualities without having to hire a symphony. This drum machine is specifically for making loud sounds that should require no electric amplification: in addition to traditional drums I am making gongs from salvaged metal (a truck’s suspension spring, a water heater, a gas tank), shakers from D&D dice and carpentry nails, and tonal drones using tuned power-tool motors. These aren’t just random loud things, though, as I am carefully curating the sounds to acoustically affect a 60s electric-guitar wall-of-sound which is coming back into style in SF. Video of drum test: https://youtu.be/34BwZ9H35g8 . These comically aggressive robots have a natural personality, which I would like to accentuate with puppetry. Instead of raw robotics, it will appear as if lawn-gnome-sized puppets are hitting the drums with various implements. To compliment my original repertoire of feminist pop/rock ballads, these carved wooden characters will include: a lady knight beating on the teeth of a patriarchal dragon, a riotgrrl shaking a fistfull of nails, a princess banging her head against a gas tank, etc. I have built a few percussion pieces, am satisfied with the mechanisms and motors that I’ve prototyped, so I am ready to go into production of the full set and associated puppets. I am setting myself a reasonable production schedule: the percussion in 2 months, the puppets in another 4 months, and a polished stage performance within a year. I need parts to expand the prototyped percussion pieces into a performance-ready drum kit: relays, power supplies, solenoids, motor speed controls and other hardware, a few more drums and musical power tools, and some chunks of basswood to make the decorative puppets. Any funds left over will go to prototyping a tunable air raid siren, experiment with custom large solenoids, and integrate PWM control for varied strike strength. Video of prototype test: https://youtu.be/iJe-okTY3o4 . Honestly there are more and more mechanical instruments being built by genius roboticists every year, and they’re all so much more awesome than what I’m proposing, but they’re also intimidating and the music they’re being used for isn’t so accessible. My dream is for mechanized music to become so common place that every college band uses them like they were any other guitar or synth, and I’d like to push that along by demonstrating practical, simplified machines in an accessible musical style (pop/folk). As with all my builds, I will be documenting all my successes and failures for youtube, on which I already have almost a thousand subscribers. I am a transgender-genderqueer full-time artist. My queer-themed graphic novel, Failing Sky, has been nominated for an Eisner Award two years running. I was apprentice to renowned Chicago puppeteer Blair Thomas while earning an MFA in Performance. For the last ten years I performed in bay area avant-folk band Corpus Callosum, writing, singing & playing accordion. I dropped out of music to start Failing Sky, but have been tinkering with mechanical music, which is now coming into fruition. You can see my last project, which was totally un-mechanical folk music, here: https://youtu.be/3_7UD23KsME And video of past puppetry projects can be seen here: https://youtu.be/k2E3DZ9PvIo

Yerevan – Գույնզգույն խցաններից պատրաստված մոզայկա

2015-05-04T00:00:00Z

Քանզի Գյումրիում աղբի վերամշակման գործարան չկա, եւ ամեն տեղ կարելի է հանդիպել աղբ կամ թափոն հիշեցնող ինչ-որ բանի, մենք երկու տարի է, ինչ ընկերներիս հետ հավաքում ենք տարբեր ձեւի, չափի, գույնի ու որակի խցաններ, որ դրանցից պատրաստենք գեղեցիկ մոզայկա: Մոտ 20.000 խցան արդեն ունենք: Ուզում ենք քաղաքը տեսնել առանց աղբ հիշեցնող խցանների եւ այդ խցաններից պատրաստված գեղեցիկ պատկեր ունենալ քաղաքում եւ այն տեղադրել քաղաքի բանուկ փողոցներից մեկում՝ նախապես համաձայնություն գալով Գյումրու քաղաքապետարանի հետ կամ բիզնես սեկտորի ներկայացուցիչների հետ:

Atlanta, GA (Inactive) – Robotics Team for Sophia Academy Project

2015-05-04T00:00:00Z

To enhance the Curriculum 21 skills, we would like to add a Lego Robotics team to work toward the state’s regional competition. A robotics program is basic to all STEM programs, and an example of multisensory instruction which is a hallmark of our curriculum. Students will develop a sense of community while working collaboratively to solve a complex technology-based problem through this proven national program. A group of 8-10 students 5th-8th grades will construct and program a LEGO ‘robot’ and will publish the written and video learning reflections and the history of their project. The first funding will purchase the materials and fees, and with sufficient funding, we will add an experienced Robotics Coach to assist our staff with this project.

New Orleans, LA (Inactive) – Dynamic Mindfulness in New Orleans Schools

2015-05-04T00:00:00Z

New Orleans public school students and teachers suffer daily from chronic stress and direct/vicarious trauma. Niroga has developed an evidence-based trauma-informed dynamic mindfulness program called Transformative Life Skills (TLS) that is designed for classroom instruction. TLS combines movement, breathing, and centering into a 5-20 min practice that is calming, healing, and fun for students. TLS has been field tested with thousands of students and we train hundreds of teachers annually to apply these practices in their classrooms. The latest research in neuroscience, developmental science, and trauma research supports that TLS: -Increases learning readiness -Helps student regulate their emotions -Enhances resilience to stress and trauma -Increases prosocial behavior TLS practices have also been shown to help students heal from trauma and symptoms of PTSD. A beautiful aspect of TLS is that it is not only transformative for students, but the practice is also healing for educators that suffer from daily stress and secondary trauma. 99% of teachers trained in TLS report that the practice has helped their own professional practice and sustainability. TLS is completely secular in language and messaging. There is no use of words like "meditation", "yoga" or anything that could be considered religious within our program. We focus on terms like breathing, movement, centering, stress-resilience, learning readiness, emotional regulation, and prosocial behavior when talking with parents and staff. For Elementary schools, we have mapped different sequences of poses that teachers can use depending on the time of the day or the effect they want the practice to have, ei: Morning Wake Up, Focus Time, After Recess Cool Down etc. Those sequences can be as short as 2 min or as long as 10mins and used at the discretion of the classroom teacher throughout the day.

Rio de Janeiro (Inactive) – Uma Bela Visita

2015-05-04T00:00:00Z

Uma Bela Visita é um projeto do grupo Teatro do Sopro, que trabalha com idosos em Instituições de Cuidados. Um casal de palhaços profissionais visita idosos com perda de autonomia, especialmente com demência. As intervenções são construídas com os pacientes de acordo como eles são e estão, com uma abordagem artística e relacional adaptadas aos gostos culturais dos idosos. Buscamos a individualização dos pacientes, encorajando suas capacidades afetivas e sociais. O projeto original foi desenvolvido pelos participantes do grupo no Canadá, e é resultado de 12 anos de pesquisa. Para viabilizarmos o projeto no Brasil de maneira regular, precisamos criar um vídeo promocional registrando a experiência das intervenções que começamos a fazer em alguns centros de cuidados. O prêmio da Awesome Foundation vai permitir sensibilizar o grande público sobre possibilidades de comunicação de qualidade com portadores de demência, Alzheimer e outras, particularmente familiares e profissionais envolvidos. ---- Uma Bela Visita (A Beautiful Visit) is a Teatro do Sopro project working with seniors in health care institutions. A professional clown duo visits seniors, particularly those with dementia, depression and autonomy losses. The interventions are set up around the patients, in accordance with their needs, the artistic and relational approaches adapted to their culture and tastes. We seek patient individualization, encouraging the development of their affective and social abilities. The original project, the result of twelve years of research, was developed by the initiators through their group in Canada. In order to implement the project in Brazil, a promotional video is needed, recording experiences in the interventions we have begun to carry out in some care centers. The award from the Awesome Foundation will help bring home to a wider public, including relatives and caregivers, the potential for quality communication with dementia, Alzheimer and other patients.