Awesome Foundation - Proyectos

Seattle, WA – Puget Sound Puppetry Festival

2019-12-10T00:00:00Z

I am throwing a -as close to free puppetry festival as possible for the central district! things are moving and we sign rental/performer contracts in just a couple of weeks. I would love your help to make this an awesome event. You can help sponsor a block of tickets (50) for the Douglas Truth Library to hand out. The only restriction is that the youth be in the central district or beacon hill. We are having an 8 hour day of multiple puppet shows and the main headliner will be Tarish Pipkins (http://www.jeghetto.com/) who made the marionettes from a missy elliot video. I can also use the revenue to book puppet making activities with seattle Recreative to make it a really special day.

Cleveland, OH – BRSH: B. Riley Sober House.

2019-12-10T00:00:00Z

B. Riley is currently the only sober house in Cuyahoga County serving the target population of LGBTQ+ recovering adults. Since its inception we have served over 100 people and 25% of those that completed the program and were able to be contacted have remained sober. Our mission is to provide a safe environment for those in the LGBTQ+ community for recovery from drug and alcohol addiction. In order to fulfill our mission it is imperative that we make improvements to our existing site.

Seattle, WA – International Mermaid Museum

2019-12-10T00:00:00Z

This is the first museum of its kind in the world and it will be located in beautiful Grays Harbor County. The museum’s mission is to creatively teach ocean ecology from seashore to sea floor by immersing it in mermaid mythology. All oceanic countries have mermaid lore thus providing a thread of connectivity and commonality between and through both community and culture. Because it is the first of its kind, the museum will generate worldwide media attention. The development of this project, with an anticipation of generating several thousand new visitors per year, will result in increased spending in lodging, entertainment, and food purchases. These trickle down to more jobs, more tax revenue, and more indirect or secondary circulation of funds within the community. Most importantly, those visitors who enjoy the International Mermaid Museum in turn become the influencers that recommend to their friends and family to make the trip to the Washington Coast to enjoy not only the natural beauty, but to dive into the mermaid culture and experience the magic of the underwater world as expressed through art, science, literature, music and film.

Ann Arbor, MI – Affirmations LGBTQ Community Center Youth Drop-In

2019-12-09T00:00:00Z

The Carl Rippberger Youth Drop-In Center provides a safe place for youth to engage their peers for networking, fun, and learning. The Center is open Fridays and Saturdays, 4 p.m.- 9 p.m. for youth, between the ages of 13 and 18 (adults are not allowed in the space unless they are trained adult allies (volunteers). This Center is equipped with an XBOX 360 and assorted games, ping pong table, board games, WIFI, Netflix, and much more. The Center also features movie and game nights and youth-led discussion groups. We are looking to upgrade our youth drop-in center to be more engaging for the youth that are coming to access the space. This includes upgrading the game systems, getting new furniture, purchasing new board games, and getting the kitchenette usable again with a new refrigerator. Many of the youth that come to Affirmations come from low-income households or are challenged by homelessness, and almost all the youth identify as LGBTQ. These youth come to Affirmations as a place to call home and to find their families of choice. They deserve to have services offered to them that they may not be able to find outside of our doors. Therefore, it is so important that we fix what is broken within the space, replace what is worn out, and really revitalize everything. We also are looking at moving the drop-in space to a bigger area within the Center over the next year, and because of this, we want to make it a new and exciting experience, and we hope to have it open for more days and more hours within the new drop-in room, because staffing will be more readily available.

Vegan (Inactivo) – Vegan Food Festival Uganda

2019-12-09T00:00:00Z

Annually over 100,000 people lose their lives to non communicable diseases, which is estimated to be 35% of the total annual deaths occurring in the country.Focusing on prevention through creating awareness of the risk factors and advising people to adjust their lifestyle eating habits which has created the need to hold the first of it's kind " Vegan Food Festival" in Uganda. Vegan dietary habits are gaining more and more fans in the world over and a number of similar food festivals have been staged else where; they have attracted thousands of revelers. I believe this is evidence that, globally, more people are appreciating this life style. The aim of this festival is to introduce this Plant based diet to Ugandans, thus avoiding all animal foods such as meat and dairy products, among others. A vegan diet is richly diverse and comprises all kinds of fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains, seeds, been and pulses, all of which can be prepared in endless combinations that ensure no one is ever bored with his or her meals. This festival will continue to provide a large scale event that allows vegans to celebrate in an atmosphere of music, cooking, and unleashing the best vegan products. However, the festival will also recognize and address issues that impact upon animal welfare, human health and the environment. What motivated me to organize this event is that there is limited information about Vegetarianism in Uganda, yet research has linked vegan diets to lower blood pressure and cholesterol, lower rates of heart diseases, type 2 diabetes and some types of cancer which are currently so common among Ugandans. Vegans are humans who avoid exploiting animals for any purpose with compassion being a key driver, "Going Vegan" is a great opportunity to learn more about nutrition and diet. By making smart choices about food stuffs, a vegan diet can be a very healthy way of eating. Vegans also tend to limit their salt intake and they eat plenty of vegetarian food.

Washington, DC – District Impact Skating Club

2019-12-09T00:00:00Z

On October 19 of this year (2019) we signed bylaws and elected officers to start a figure skating club, with Fort Dupont Ice Arena, the only indoor ice rink in Washington, DC, as our home rink. Fort Dupont Ice Arena (FDIA) is in Ward 7 and runs a Kids On Ice (KOI) program with subsidized programming to teach learn to skate classes to any child in DC who wants to learn, regardless of income. If skaters want to continue with figure skating once they complete the KOI program at FDIA their only option is to go to other rinks in the DC suburbs where skating lessons can be very expensive. Our mission is to continue to provide affordable skating opportunities for advanced figure skaters, with scholarships available for lessons, synchronized skating, private coaching, and US Figure Skating tests. District Impact Skating Club(DISC) was born on October 19 when a group of parents of FDIA figure skaters, on the verge of graduating from the FDIA programs, got together to try to keep their young skaters figure skating dreams alive . We still have a long way to go to achieve our mission. FDIA currently runs four synchronized skating teams. Since their mission is to teach the foundations of skating they would like to pass off the most advanced team for DISC to operate next season. Since the program is heavily subsidized, in order to keep the individual costs the same and provide the same level of scholarships we need to raise about $14,000. This is just one of the programs that we will run and need funds to subsidize. In order to be eligible for many grants and donations we need to attain federal 501(c)(3) status and get a DC business license. We are working through the paperwork for this, and thinking about our next steps.

Oahu, HI – Teen Alert Program, or TAP808

2019-12-07T00:00:00Z

The Teen Alert Program (TAP808) offers teen relationship violence outreach and intervention. TAP808’s mission is to promote and celebrate healthy relationships, and to tap out teen relationship violence through outreach, education, advocacy, and social change. Geared towards students aged 12-21, TAP808 focuses on increasing knowledge about healthy relationships and providing education about relationship abuse. TAP808 staff conducts outreach and presentations in schools and youth-serving organizations, and offers advocacy, connection, and support to youth who disclose relationship violence. Since its inception in 2002, TAP808 has educated over 80,000 youth, educators, and service providers on teen relationship violence and healthy relationships at intermediate and high schools, and community programs throughout the state. Making an impact on youth requires more than speeches and dry presentations. TAP808 was created with adolescents in mind – their interests, motivations, and ways of retaining information. To that end, the TAP808 team is relatable and engaging, and presentations are high-energy and dynamic. TAP808 has its own website and a strong presence on multiple social media platforms where opportunities for interacting and engaging with the target audience are plentiful. TAP808 is striving to expand and bolster its current outreach and advocacy services. TAP808’s current outreach materials include a staff-created workbook which breaks down the definition of teen dating violence, its warning signs and effects, and how students can help themselves and their friends. TAP808 is seeking to purchase two evidence-based curriculums (Safe Dates and Expect Respect) focused on teen relationship violence. Safe Dates is a school-based adolescent dating violence prevention curriculum, while the Expect Respect curriculum will help TAP808 develop teen support groups.

Adelaide – PLAYFORD WOMEN'S SHED

2019-12-06T00:00:00Z

The northern suburbs of Adelaide, have the highest concentrations of unemployed, underemployed residents and newly arrived migrant residents in SA. They also have high concentrations of older women living alone; of women who are single parents; of women suffering from a range of debilitating mental health and physical illnesses; women who are carers for loved ones with physical or mental illness; and many migrant women who have suffered torture and trauma, and for whom English is a second language, or who speak little or no English and must rely on interpreters. THE PROBLEM: The one thing all these woman have in common is they are isolated, with little surplus money for cafes, movies, or buying a book. They often can’t afford local op-shopping, because collectors/up-cyclers have stimulated price hikes. They have little or no opportunity to socialise and broaden their networks, form new friendships or find the support they need, and begin to make their lives better. OUR SOLUTION: We are creating a safe space for women of all ages, ethnicities, cultures, income, religion and backgrounds.They are all welcome to meet and participate in a range of activities and workshops. Women can also come to sit and/or work in the garden, in a peaceful, inclusive and friendly 'women only' space.

Washington, DC – The Good Listening Project

2019-12-06T00:00:00Z

The Good Listening Project is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Washington, D.C. Founded in December 2018 (one year ago), our mission is to promote good listening to improve healthcare outcomes. Our programs in hospitals and healthcare environments recognize the healthcare experience as more than just physical, and are designed to improve listening skills among individuals and institutions. We are passionate about supporting patient safety, nursing resilience, and physician wellbeing. One of our primary services is setting up "listener poets" to model good listening and support individuals directly. We also do workshops, trainings, and tutoring on good listening for hospital leaders and other staff. Formerly known as Poets in Residence, we've just changed our name and are relaunching as The Good Listening Project in January 2020. I gave a talk about our work at the Mayo Clinic in October; you can watch the video (8 minutes) here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcpsudHyFFE&t=4s

Marin, CA (Inactivo) – DrawBridge Art Group for Homeless Children

2019-12-06T00:00:00Z

DrawBridge is a Bay Area nonprofit that provides expressive art programs for homeless and underserved children. We present 25 weekly art groups in seven Bay Area counties and serve over 900 kids each year, with a total of 5,800 child visits annually to the groups. DrawBridge offers a safe, supportive environment in which children ages 4-18 can use creative arts to work through the stresses in their lives, and discover their creativity, joy, self-confidence and hope. Kids have the space to have some fun, make some art, and express themselves in a completely safe and accepting environment. Through art, children can release the build-up of potentially destructive emotions. Each group is run by a trained, experienced Facilitator and one or more trained volunteers, who bring inspiration, encouragement and compassion to each session. They focus on creating a positive, supported art experience for the kids, who are given art materials, general ideas, and then are set free to do their own creative exploration. And they love it! We go right into the facilities where the kids live to bring the art groups to them. These sites include homeless shelters, safe houses, transitional and supportive housing, and affordable housing. Our funding comes from individuals, foundations, corporations, and fundraising events. Some of the facilities contribute program funds to us if it is available, but the majority receive our services for free. There is NEVER a fee to parents for a child to attend. We receive positive feedback from kids, parents and site managers that the programs really help kids, improve outlooks and bring relief and joy to participants. The organization is in its 30th year and continues to increase the number of children served. There are currently four groups in Marin, and this request is to help support one of those groups. A new group will be opening soon in either Novato or Marin City.

Glasgow – Radiant and Brighter Sewing Project

2019-12-05T00:00:00Z

Migrant women from Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) communities in Scotland - are highly vulnerable to living in social deprivation, social isolation and material poverty. Radiant and Brighter has been working in Glasgow among migrant BME communities for the last 7 years, and repeatedly come across women with great potential, who are nevertheless isolated, living in poverty and lacking the means to support themselves and their families. Radiant and Brighter would like to run a sewing class for women from BME communities. We currently have 10 sewing machines but unfortunately don’t have the funds to run a sewing class. We would love to run an 8 week sewing class allowing the women that access our services to develop their skills, build social connections and learn a new hobby. We have been asked many times to run a sewing class as the women we work with have expressed their desire to become seamstresses. The women will be making products that depict their culture. They will be making pieces that showcase their skills which they can use to promote their work making it easier for them to go freelance. This would be a great opportunity for them to develop their own skills and start working on becoming self-employed.

Oakland, CA (Inactivo) – Stop Gap Rescue for Black Students

2019-12-05T00:00:00Z

Forty times within the last three months I have engaged in conversations with Bay Area black students struggling to stay connected in their college experience. Students express a disconnect made worse by the challenges of not starting a semester with financial stability. Students miss class over gas money or bus fare. They can't afford books they need the first class as opposed to the second week after financial aid is released. As a result, these students, often the first in their families to attempt college, see their grades fall, become overwhelmed and drop out because it feels like the odds are stacked against them. Last year, I had one student who came to class everyday but was unable to complete his homework because he said, “the lighting is limited in the bushes where I sleep”. Studies show that students who begin college with access to stop-gap financial supports, including for books and transportation, are able to focus on school and progress successfully through semesters. Too often my students are just unable to meet unexpected needs and I do not have access to funds to help them with resources they need, urgently, moment-to-moment. I/we educators reach into our own funds: unfair and never enough. And to add insult to injury, our Umoja Program funding was slashed 50% this year. In an effort to ensure a present, prepared and engaged start for my 32 English 4 Umoja students (almost entirely under-resourced African-American and Latino youth traveling from Oakland to Chabot College) 17-24 years of age, I wish to purchase AC transit cards as well purchase our first Spring 2020 text: Ta-Nehisi Coates’ Between the World and Me. I will additionally, purchase Bart tickets for students to access the first five weeks of school. For the entire semester, I will purchase other necessary supplies including snacks, printing cards, notebooks, staplers and paper. I will purchase two emergency Trac Phones with limited minutes for students in dire circumstances.

Washington, DC – Terra pretta machine

2019-12-05T00:00:00Z

I would like to produce Terra Preta As a demonstration of simple and local ways to work for a lower carbon future. Terra Preta or Amazonian black earth is an amazing type of soil that can hold atmospheric carbon in the form of a stable and rich growing medium. Terra Preta is essentially charcoal combined with compost. This simple combination creates a unique soil type that holds nutrients, microbes and importantly carbon. Scientists now believe that this soil type is an essential component of the lush fertility of the Amazon, and can bind carbon for hundreds if not thousands of years. Building Terra Preta soils is one of the few carbon sequestration strategies that can actually make a significant difference in global atmospheric carbon. To make proper charcoal for Terra Preta requires heating biomass in the absence of oxygen in a biochar kiln. Only when it has been properly processed in the kiln will the carbon attain its highly stable state that makes it an ideal soil medium. These kilns are simple and elegantly illustrate scientific principles. The feedstock is waste from woodshops, yard waste and other organic sources. My awesome project is to build a demonstration kiln to raise awareness of this simple technology that can help us begin to start sequestering atmospheric carbon on a local level.

Fleurieu – Little Big Bush Camps Loo

2019-12-03T00:00:00Z

Little Big Bush Camps run parent & child camps that focus on connection for parents and kids in their 'growing up' years. Currently, I solely fund & provide these camps as a service to the community, and am still in the setting up phase, which involves acquiring equipment and training staff to make the camps sustainable long term. We currently need a portable composting toilet! You can't achieve personal growth or have transformative group camping experiences in pristine natural environments, if you don't have a sustainable toilet solution.Thanks to Awesome Foundation Fleurieu, we will now be able to dispose of our personal waste in a ecologically sound way at our off-the-grid camp locations in the Fleurieu Peninsula, SA

Singapore – AKAR Vol 03

2019-12-03T00:00:00Z

After establishing our foundations in AKAR Vol 01: Foundations, then moving through the ebb and flow of life in AKAR Vol 02: Motion, we have a great idea and theme for our third print issue. This next issue will build on our current issue, as we seek to explore collective action and ways in which people seek to be heard. We plan to reach out to a traditional arts collective based in Malaysia, indigeneous artists from Asia and Polynesia, poets and writers from Cambodia and Myanmar, and of course literary and art activists from Singapore. We want to take our next issue to a whole new level.

Antwerp (Inactivo) – B Present

2019-12-03T00:00:00Z

Ik wil van prestatie naar presentie. Aanwezig zijn bij onszelf en bij elkaar. Zo elkaar en de buurt opwaarderen. Om het bewustzijn wakker te maken rond dit thema heb ik het idee om met de houtoverschotten die massaal aanwezig zijn in de Haven van Antwerpen (Bv. Paletten) Buurtbanken te laten maken die mensen dan gratis kunnen aanvragen om aan hun huis- of appartementgevel te bevestigen. Zo komen we samen meer op straat en zijn we samen meer aanwezig in de buurt en kunnen we vanuit onze aanwezigheid de buurt samen brengen. Samen meer aanwezig zijn, aanwezig zijn bij elkaar en nieuwsgierig. Van prestatie naar presentie, van eenzaamheid naar meer connectie. Dat wil jij toch ook?

Homelessness (Inactivo) – Word on the Street Newspaper

2019-12-02T00:00:00Z

I am Jacob, and currently a resident at Interfaith Sanctuary, the only homeless shelter in Boise, Idaho that welcomes all people regardless of differences like faith or sexuality. With the support of a program called Project Well-Being and my Case Manager, Nicki Vogel, we started a newspaper called “Word on the Street.” It's purpose is to bring awareness and be a voice for the homeless community. It is designed to break the stigma against homelessness and inform people about resources, and the lack thereof, for mental health and other concerns that affect people experiencing homelessness. We have published two issues so far. The paper offers a collection of narratives, informational articles, artwork and poetry by members of our community. It also has an up-to-date listing of resources designed to help those in need. The paper is managed and edited by members of Project Well-Being. From the beginning it was tough to design and layout the paper due to lack of resources, knowledge and funding. From the start we only had a Chromebook and Google Docs to work with. What we needed was a PC with better storage and programs like Publisher and/or Indesign. It was an ambitious project, but once we published the first issue it received positive feedback. In under 2 weeks, we ran out of copies at most of our locations in newsstands around Boise. The paper helps me develop my skills. Further, it gives me an opportunity to teach. I am teaching others how to design the paper so that it becomes sustainable. The project is helping a about ten of us in Project Well-Being work collaboratively as a team. After we published our second issue, one of the two main newspapers in Idaho, the Idaho Press, who has been printing the paper for us, announced that they will now include our future issues of “Word on the Street” as an insert in their newspaper. Thus it will become part of the media infrastructure of the state. https://youtu.be/3eFNo2CWsow

Awesome Without Borders (Inactivo) – Vanishing Soundscapes

2019-12-02T00:00:00Z

Vanishing Soundscapes was first conceived as a performance, which took place at Harvard Graduate School of Design. I have obtained the sound data from Cornell Lab of Ornithology of the 48 different bird species in the vicinities of Harvard Yard. In addition, I have composed a soundscape for each bird and designed a set of playing cards. Vanishing soundscapes is an acoustic performance, where people are asked to select a card, scan it through an app on their cell phones and play the audio file. By using John Cage’s chance operations a random soundscape is generated. This project enables the urbanites to enter into dialogue with their environment by creating a meditative site, where one can pause, immerse, reflect and become more conscious. The second iteration of Vanishing Soundscapes was a public art sound installation at Harvard Yard, part of Harvard Arts First Festival. The installation was comprised of four channels mounted on the branches of a pine tree, speakers that were made ‘invisible’. Each channel was programmed to play bird samples in a random order (using raspberry pi). In addition the space was activated via banana fiber stools placed on the grass, inviting people to immerse themselves in the environment. Three acrylic bird feeders were attached on the surrounding trees. The feeders housed sets of playing cards, alluring the passerby to execute a sound performance by themselves, by downloading an app and playing the bird sound compositions, hence themselves becoming a bird. In its third iteration Vanishing Soundscapes would like to go to the digital realm. Inspired by posthumanist and feminist thinkers as Rosi Braidotti, Karen Barad, Donna Haraway, among others, I would like to write an essay contextualizing and theorizing the project within this framework of thought.

Alaska (Inactivo) – An Intimate Evening with Your Data

2019-12-01T00:00:00Z

"An Intimate Evening with Your Data" brings together members of the Fairbanks community to create art and reflect on their relationship to their data. Interactive, social activities will include activity stations for attendees to create data paintings, write data poetry, post data classifieds (wanted, lost, missing data), and other creative endeavors. Stations will be manned by area artists, writers, educators, and communicators who can guide participants in their self-reflection and creative endeavors. Art created as part of the "Intimate Evening with Your Data" will be published on a website and as a paper and electronic 'zine. All participants will be asked to license their artwork under a Creative Commons license.

State College, PA – Thinking like a Watershed

2019-12-01T00:00:00Z

Thinking Like a Watershed brings together educators, scientists, and youth to understand the Chesapeake Bay watershed. We are developing and piloting a three-season curriculum to be used by the upper elementary teachers at the State College Friends School (SCFS), and integrated into the ClearWater Conservancy’s Connections program. This curriculum combines learning about natural and human watershed systems with building the skills needed to be a citizen scientist. The goal is for children to understand how they fit into our watershed system and develop a sense of agency around the issues of watershed health and resiliency. Our learning starts at home in Centre County as we explore the lakes, wetlands, and streams in the area, as well as learn foundational concepts about hydrology, ecology, and democracy in the classroom. In the early spring, SCFS teachers and students will work with the ClearWater to collect data at ongoing test sites. In collaboration with a Clearwater biologist we will analyze and interpret our data. In the late spring, we’ll visit the Chesapeake Bay and work with the National Aquarium and the Living Classrooms Foundation to learn about the Bay’s ecology. ClearWater is using Thinking like a Watershed to prototype and buildout more in-depth programs for their partner school districts. ClearWater currently institutes the Connections program, reaching over 30 different schools across 7 school districts in the local area. The overall goal is to make connections between students, communities, and our streams. This understanding forms the backbone of how students relate to water resources. Our students are our future; the protection of our water resources ultimately depends on the actions they will take. The more knowledgeable students are about our local water resources, the more likely they will be to take actions that lead to better protection, enhanced restoration, and continued stewardship of our watershed into the future.

Raleigh, NC (Inactivo) – Love Pamphlets

2019-12-01T00:00:00Z

For the past couple years I've been collecting religious pamphlets - from people in the NYC subway, from extremely southern gas stations in the middle of nowhere, etc. They intrigued me with their intense language, their fairly nondescript design. Recently, I've been creating erasure poems out of my religious pamphlet collection. In case you're not familiar, the following is the Wikipedia definition of an erasure poem: "a form of found poetry...created by erasing words from an existing text in prose or verse and framing the result on the page as a poem." My goal is to turn the alarmist and inflammatory writing found in these religious pamphlets ("you will burn in the fiery depths of hell, heathen!") into love poetry. These new love pamphlets would then ideally be distributed throughout Durham in public spaces in the following ways: - where pamphlets and flyers are commonly found - grocery stores, corner shops, etc. Poetry camouflaged in with the real estate listings, if you will. - "guerilla" public art installation via command strips in random locations where the pamphlets will look odd and out of place - alleys, parking lots, etc.

Disability – The Partnership for Inclusive Disaster Strategies

2019-11-30T00:00:00Z

The Partnership for Inclusive Disaster Strategies (The Partnership) is a coalition of people with disabilities and disability organizations from across the country providing inclusive emergency response. Our coalition focuses on the access and functional needs of countless people with disabilities who are disproportionately impacted in disasters due to inadequate planning, preparedness, and accessibility. Following Hurricane Harvey, The Partnership started a hotline to assist people with disabilities in the affected areas. We have maintained that hotline for all other disaster impacted areas nationally. To date, the hotline has assisted over 4000 people with disabilities. Soon after Hurricane Maria, The Partnership sent its first deployment team to directly find and assist members of the community who had disabilities and disability-specific needs. After Hurricane Dorian hit the Bahamas, we were able to expand our hotline internationally and sent our co-directors to the Bahamas to work with local disabled people organizations, other volunteer organizations, and the local community. With help from our partners, we were able to provide thousands of dollars’ worth of durable medical equipment to the people of the Bahamas as well as help forge lasting partnerships. Our next projects include a follow-up trip to the Bahamas to continue to work with the Bahamian people in assessing and responding to the needs following Dorian. Additionally, we partnered with relief organizations to hold a benefit concert to provide support to empower our Bahamian partner organization and the Bahamian community. And as always, we must be prepared to continue in our response to disasters whenever they might hit. The Partnership has done this work using all-volunteer teams, donations, partnerships, and grants. We aim to continue to grow our capacity to assist people with disabilities after disasters and would like to make the Awesome Foundation a partner in that goal. What our grantee is saying: "The Partnership for Inclusive Disaster Strategies is honored to have received Awesome Disability's November award. This award will support us in our continued efforts to assist in the Bahamas as they continue their recovery from Hurricane Dorian, as well as providing local support to people with disabilities as we go into the winter season. This is possible, in part, because of community commitment and support from organizations like the Awesome Foundation. Thank you. "

San Antonio, TX – Fantasyland @ Milam Park

2019-11-30T00:00:00Z

Fantasyland @ Milam Park is a day long holiday festival with Santa visits, train rides through the park, live costumed characters for the entertainment of children and all in attendance. A Free to the public, family tradition since the mid 1980s. Fantasyland @ Milam Park is presented by the Friends of Milam Park, and includes the lighting of our 24' Christmas tree which adorns a 15'"Believe" marquee which faces the Children's Hospital. While our event is a gift to the community it is also to ensure the children who my be patients during the holiday season have a beautiful decorated tree and park outside their windows. (We never know when our children will take ill, and they ALL deserve holiday cheer.) Many non-profit organizations come together to help bring the park to life at Fantasyland. Heroes n More dress up in FULL costumed characters and Pushrods Car Club bring in Santa Claus in a convertible 1923 Ford Coupe. (After they cruise him through downtown San Antonio for the delight or all the tourists. (Boys will be boys.))

Alaska (Inactivo) – RISE Program

2019-11-30T00:00:00Z

The RISE Program targets students who are at-risk of dropping out or not graduating. The goal of the program is to help these students’ develop goals for the future, increase their self-advocacy skills, and link them to resources that allow progression towards achieving success. Activities are centered on connection to school and community, post-high school employment or education options, employability skills, life skills, social skills, and knowledge of available supportive resources. Program time with students will occur individually and in small groups during and after the school day; winter break and summer break. RISE stands for: R- Root students to their schools and community by helping identify trusted adults, peers, and community supports. I- Instill self-confidence and self-worth with a desire and skills to succeed. S- Strengthen students’ ability to self-advocate along with building their knowledge of available resources. E- Encourage students to reach their potential by helping them to meet academic and life goals in manageable increments. Funds will be used to provide food, snacks and coffee during the time the facilitator is working with students' individually or as a group. Access to food is an incentive for students’ initial engagement. Our hope is that the food items help build rapport while also creating a sense of safety because some of their basic foods needs can be met.

New York City, NY – Cookies for the Front Desk

2019-11-29T00:00:00Z

Cookies For the Front Desk is on a mission to bring a little bit of joy to the hundreds of people who work at the front desks all around our city. Founder Tamar Rubin says: _Living in New York City I encounter a lot of people who work in security and spend their very long shifts sitting at the front desks of buildings. This is often a thankless job and requires employees to work very long and sometimes oddly timed shifts. Not to mention the shift can be unbelievably boring and uneventful._ _I currently work at a restaurant that throws away a ton of baked goods at the end of every day. I have started taking the leftover cookies and cupcakes and giving them to the front desk security in my apartment building, my school building, and random buildings in the area. I knew I would encounter “thank yous” but I was surprised at how much the treats are appreciated. I am met with replies like “this made my day!” and one man even told me he appreciated the cookie so much because it was his birthday._ _Obviously it is a pleasant surprise to receive a baked good, but I think when you’re working a job that has you watching people pass you all day without necessarily interacting with them, a thank you or acknowledgment of your presence can mean a lot. **Ultimately, my project is about telling the people who often get overlooked within the hustle and bustle of New York City, "I see you, I appreciate you and what you do, enjoy this cookie!"**_

Amsterdam (Inactivo) – Grains for Good

2019-11-28T00:00:00Z

Today, much of the spent grain from the production of beer at craft breweries all over the world goes straight to the landfill. The leftover grains constitutes as much as 85 percent of a brewery's total by-product. In the UK alone, 900 million kilos are produced each year, which generates 2.16 million tonnes of carbon. All of this has a huge negative impact on the climate. My business idea it to collect spent grain from local breweries and upcycle into baked goods. As a homebrewer, I've collected my own spent grains and together with my business partner who is a baker, we have experimented with protein bars, cookies, muffins, pepernoten. The grain is nutritionally balanced and a rich source of fiber, protein, and phenolic compounds. More importantly, the end result is delicious, more nutritious and indistinguishable from baked goods made from flour. Ultimately, my goal is to create a sustainable food brand with deep-rooted social impact.

Ottawa – Period Packs

2019-11-27T00:00:00Z

November’s Awesome Ottawa award goes to Meghan White, to support a new organization she has founded to eliminate period poverty in Ottawa. “Our primary mission at Period Packs is to eliminate the socioeconomic and geographical barriers that keep menstruating people from accessing menstrual products,” explains Meghan. “We gather and distribute period products to organizations that engage with and support underserved communities. We also run public and private workshops where community members can donate products, learn and chat about periods, and create period packages for donation.” “Aside from our commitment to providing products to the community,” Meghan continues, “we want to use our platform as a soapbox for people to share their stories and chip away at the harmful stigma surrounding menstruation.” “Behind the scenes,” says Meghan, “Period Packs is organizing ourselves to put pressure on the provincial government and see legislative changes which would mandate that menstrual products be available in all schools across the province.” Meghan is a business administration student and social equality advocate.

Leiden – Vogelhuisjes #11

2019-11-27T00:00:00Z

Mijn awesome idee is dat we vogelhuisjes gaan ophangen in Leiden voor de vogels en leuke sfeer.

Rotterdam – Awareness Tegel

2019-11-27T00:00:00Z

The Awareness Tile is a tile made of 100% recyclable plastic. With this special tile we want to get more awareness among companies for being circulair.

Sofia (Inactivo) – Before i die...

2019-11-27T00:00:00Z

Chapter ONE Преди осем години в една студена зимна сутрин, уютно споделена със скъп за мен човек, научих за проекта Before i die... Тогава дори не подозирах колко голямо значение ще придобие за мен тази идея, родила се през 2011 година в Ню Орлиънс. To be continued... * * * Chapter TWO През 2014 година, забравила за уютнта зимна сутрин, разхождайки се из любимия Лондон докато гостувах на моята братовчедка, се озовах пред стена! Before i die...стена! Имам щастието да изпитвам прилив на неописуема радост от малки моменти като този. Споменът за уютната сутрин се върна, нахлуха красиви мисли в главата ми и аз застанах пред изпълнената с желания стена, за да напиша своето. Усещането е странно...искаме толкова много неща в днешно време, но какво НАИСТИНА ИСКАМЕ ДА НАПРАВИМ преди да напуснем този свят? To be continuned... * * * Chapter THREE Пет години по-късно на 3 април вечерта се прибрах с полет от Лондон за София след поредно гостуване при моята братовчедка Валя. С нея израстнахме заедно и за мен тя е сестра. На 4 април по обяд телефонът иззвъня и научих за внезапната и абсолютно неочаквана смърт на моята леля Весела. Майката на Валя. Бабата на Бела, която двадесет дни по-късно проплака за пръв път в Лондон. Да, Валя беше бременна в деветя месец, когато майка й реши да отлети. Беше огромен шок за семейството ни и моят най-близък досег със смъртта до този момент. To be continued... * * * Chapter FINAL На 8 ноември 2019 година предстои премиерата на филма, създаен по книгата, която леля ми написа. Весла знаеше какво иска да направи преди да умре и го направи. Вярвам, че няма нищо случайно... Моето желание е да превърна една сива Софийска стена в градкса спирка за мечтатели и в символ на любовта към живота, който се случва днес! :)

San Francisco, CA – Solar-powered Internet for People's Park!

2019-11-27T00:00:00Z

I'm part the Sudo Mesh non-profit which runs People's Open Network, a community owned and operated wireless internet infrastructure. We've recently gotten access to some affordable unlimited (yes actually unlimited) 4G LTE data plans via Mobile Citizen which costs us only $15 per month. We've been using these to establish free internet at People's Park, first using an off-the-shelf 4G wifi hotspot in a waterproof pack and later using a router running open source software with a faster 4G modem and better antennas. These solutions were built out of equipment we had on hand and proved to be inadequate in their wifi coverage and bandwidth, as well as having to be taken back and recharged every night (or having their batteries swapped). We now want to build a fully solar-powered node that can be mounted on a pole and run 24/7 with enough 4G bandwidth and wifi range that it can meet the people's needs, providing 50-100 Mbits/s to dozens of devices. We estimate the cost per node to be just under $1000. After an initial testing period at People's Park we plan to mount more of these free internet nodes at homeless encampments around the bay area. We've been talking to the "Here and There" camp at Stanford and Shattuck, which already has solar and batteries and people keeping watch to ensure the gear isn't stolen. For other camps with less infrastructure we hope to mount our nodes high up on light poles. The FCC has recently established federal maximum pricing for pole-mounted equipment (in anticipation of 5G roll-out) which has greatly reduced the cost (from ~3k to closer to $300 per year per pole), so we've begun talking to the city of Oakland about getting permission to mount more of these nodes on city-owned light poles, and plan to do the same for other cities, with Berkeley, Richmond and SF next on our list.

Utrecht – U huismus

2019-11-26T00:00:00Z

-for english scroll down- Hiep, hiep! Edwin Nagelhout is de winnaar van onze 12de pitch night bij De Pomp 🎉 Hij kwam met een plan om op te komen voor de huismus, oftewel de passer domesticus, in Utrecht. Volgens hem is deze vogel redden een mus(t). Vooral rondom het stationsgebied verdwijnt onze gevleugelde vriend. Met het winnen van onze Awesome pitch night komt hier verandering in. Met 1000 euro kan Edwin nestkassen en heggen kopen en deze plaatsen rondom het stationsgebied en zo de mus paaien met een fijne plek! -english- Yes! Edwin Nagelhout wins our 12th pitch night. He has a marvelous plan in order to facilitate the house sparrows in our city. Especially around the central station the amount of house sparrows is diminishing. He will provide nest boxes and hedges in this area so the house sparrows will have a nice place to stay.

Melbourne (Inactivo) – Dishwasher for foodbank volunteers

2019-11-26T00:00:00Z

Craigieburn Education and Community Centre provides opportunities for community members to improve their literacy and numeracy skills, support for disability groups, a place for self help groups to meet, programs that will lead to real job opportunities and the very valuable food bank where food is provided to disadvantaged community members. We have started a breakfast club to provide a safe, welcoming place for vulnerable and socially isolated members of the community to meet, eat and connect. We are providing the food, social connection and place, the only thing that is missing is a dishwasher, and we hope that you can assist with this as we are a not for profit organisation that operates on a shoestring. Thank you.

Kingston – United For All (Kingston United Soccer Club)

2019-11-26T00:00:00Z

United For All is a brand new charity under Kingston United Soccer Club. Every year we have players who are unable to pay for soccer training and associated fees for a variety of reasons. As a club, we attempt to find ways to cover these costs for these players in an unofficial capacity. Due to limited available funds (often from anonymous donors), we are only able to cover some of the fees. Many of these soccer players are from refugee families and are often new to Kingston and to Canada. Making sure these players have a place in sport can have an invaluable impact. It addresses many issues facing underprivileged youth in the City of Kingston. It is generally accepted that there is an obesity epidemic and a lack of fitness level facing youth. Starting and keeping kids in sport is one way to combat this epidemic. Sport often fosters positive life skills as well. Studies have shown that kids who are in sport are more likely to stay in school, maintain higher grades, finish high school and continue on in school. It is our hope that starting kids in sport early and supporting kids to stay in sport will encourage a "Fit for Life" attitude. By reducing as many financial barriers as possible, it is our hope that United For All will be able to assist as many players as we can to stay in soccer.

Cass Clay – Warm Blanket Hugs

2019-11-26T00:00:00Z

In 2009, I was diagnosed with epilepsy. Having epilepsy caused me to be hospitalized. When I was in the hospital I received a blanket. I know how the comfort from a blanket made me feel. So, I want to spread that comfort from a blanket that not all people get to feel. I created Warm Blanket Hugs to help others feel the comfort that I felt. Through Warm Blanket Hugs I show people how easy it is to donate or make a blanket for people in need of comfort. Anybody can make a blanket then donate it. Blankets are donated across the globe. In fact I have even donated across all 50 states in the United States. Since 2014, I have donated over 700 blankets. If you are wondering how to make a blanket, I send packets of information that shows people how to make and where to donate the blankets. The blankets can be donated to: adoption homes, shelters, hospitals, the homeless, kids going through tough times. They are sent to both children and adults. My goal is to donate 1,000 blankets by July and 1,500 by January 2020. Warm Blanket Hugs Providing Love Through Blankets www.WarmBlanketHugs.com Facebook: WarmBlanketHugs Instagram: WarmBlanketHugs I am starting a YouTube channel to post videos on how to make blankets along with other information.

Newmarket – The Future Photographers Club

2019-11-25T00:00:00Z

This past summer I receiving my first co-op student from Sacred Heart which was an amazing/positive experience. It really inspired me to share my knowledge of photography with a younger audience. Photography gave me a voice when I was growing up. Being able to express myself through photography at a young age was very empowering and helped shape me into the person I am today. If I can help one person find their voice and empower them through the art of photography, that would be a wonderful thing. I'm at a stage in my career where I'm able to focus on giving back to this amazing community and paying it forward. With more and more of the arts being cut from our schools I came up with the idea to develop a travelling youth photography mentorship/club within Newmarket (my home town). The goal will be to give students from grades 5-8 hands on exposure to the art of photography. The program will become an official club at the YRDSB public schools that will meet once a month. At the end of each school year, each club will host a gallery presentation in their libraries. This will give the students the opportunity to show off their accomplishments and have it displayed. The curriculum will include: - A history of photography - Understanding shutter speed, ISO, Aperture and how they work together - How to take create photographs without a ton of expensive gear - How to create stronger images with composition - Introduction to digital post production work on the participants digital images - Monthly photography challenges which will be presented and discussed at the following meeting The purpose of the program is to: - Spark the creative spirit within the participants - Give the participants the opportunity to express themselves through the art of photography - Help develop confidence and pride within the individual through the art of photography

Birmingham, AL (Inactivo) – Less Plastic, More Water, Better Health

2019-11-25T00:00:00Z

At Carver High School there is a high consumption of water bottles. Last year, the Alabama Environmental Council ended its school recycling programs due to lack of funds. Now, the water bottles are being added to landfills instead of being recycled. After conducting research in our cafeteria, we found out that around 750 water bottles are bought in the cafeteria weekly. At our school, 100 percent of our students receive free lunch. It does not make sense for our peers to be purchasing water. We want to provide reusable water bottles for our school community so that we can reduce the amount of plastic being thrown away. Furthermore, we want to improve the health of our student body. In surveys we conducted, we learned around sixty percent of our students are barely drinking half of the recommended 8 cups of water a day. Eighty-two percent of students said thy would use a reusable water bottle if they were given the opportunity. We were recently awarded a grant to purchase water bottle refilling stations at our school. Now, all we need are reusable water bottles for our students to make our project complete.

Moscow (Inactivo) – Всё связано

2019-11-23T00:00:00Z

«Всё связано» это команда единомышленников, которые собираются раз в месяц и вяжут теплые вещи своими руками для нуждающихся. Самые простые и быстро выполнимые — шапки, шарфы, варежки, носки. Участвовать может любой желающий, даже если он не умеет вязать. На месте его научат самым простым техникам. Каждый месяц — приглашен мастер по вязанию, который поделится своим опытом и расскажет секреты самых теплых вязаных вещей. Вы поймете, что вязать — проще простого. Это быстро и интересно! Даже, если вы никогда не держали спицы в руках. Спица и пряжи предоставляются. Если есть, можно приносить свои Начиная с холодов (октябрь-ноябрь), вещи начнем отвозить в кризисные центры помощи людям, попавшим в сложную жизненную ситуацию и на пункты выдачи питания бездомным. «Всё связано» - это небольшой вклад в то, чтобы человек, оказавшийся на улице, окончательно не потерял веру в людей, чтобы надев наши вещи, связанные с душой, почувствовал любовь и заботу, чтобы вспомнил домашнее тепло и уют. Да и просто тепло) Учитывая, что на Урале снег на улице даже в конце апреля)) Ввязывайтесь в доброе дело и вы.

Moscow (Inactivo) – TRSHBRDS

2019-11-23T00:00:00Z

Я делаю скейтборды ручной работы из использованных пластиковых крышек, собранных волонтёрами проекта "Добрые крышечки". Все деньги от продажи сырья идут на закупку инвалидных колясок и пр. реабилитационной техники для подопечных фонда "Волонтёры в помощь детям-сиротам" Мой проект заметили в Нидерландах: команда "Драгоценного пластика" запостила мой продукт в своём инстаграме (1800+ лайков) https://www.instagram.com/p/B1bqQHdizJ4/ Драгоценный пластик это мейнстримные ребята в глобальном сообществе дизайнерских переработчиков пластика. Добрые крышечки: https://vk.com/dobrie_krishechki Волонтёры в помощь детям-сиротам: https://otkazniki.ru/events/permanent/kryshechki/

Geelong (Inactivo) – DJ Finny to the Max

2019-11-23T00:00:00Z

I am a 10 year old DJ from Geelong. I have a website (finnytothemax.com) and I sell merch on it through Printful (printful.com). I have sold 4 different products to family & friends. I have switched between many DAWs (digital audio workstation) including Garageband (https://www.apple.com/au/ios/garageband/) on the iPad and Bandlab (https://www.bandlab.com/finnytothemax) on the computer. I got an AKAI MPK mini for Christmas and I use with Bandlab. I also used my Christmas money to buy a Numark Party Mix. I put my songs up on Spotify, iTunes and more platforms with the use of Routenote.com. They put it up for free but take 15% of the royalties. I have only earnt about $2 because spotify pays the artist about 0.4 of a cent for each stream.

Gloucester, MA – "Bling Fling" Free Prom Dress Give-Away

2019-11-22T00:00:00Z

The Bling Fling is an event where we offer free formal dresses to any girl in need. My church, Cape Ann Bible Church in West Gloucester, has hosted the event for three years now, and this year we are hosting it twice; once in the fall and once in the spring. We also reach out the community for dress donations. Not only does it bless the young ladies with a free dress, it provides an opportunity for our community to participate. It also allows us to be more resourceful by reusing dresses that have only been worn once, sometimes never!

Gloucester, MA – Magnolia Community Farmers Market

2019-11-22T00:00:00Z

We are the Magnolia Community Farmers Market. After a successful 1st season we are planning for 2020. Located on Lexington Ave in Magnolia, our market runs from June-Sept on Sunday mornings. We have a diverse market thriving with local farms, food purveyors, artisans and crafters. Our vendors served the communities of Gloucester & Manchester providing locally sourced meat, cheeses, honey, fresh produce, GF/Non-GMO products, seafood, locally roasted coffee & a variety of locally prepared foods. Our goal is to serve as many community members as possible by offering as many vendors as we can, with fresh and local options at affordable prices. We aim to apply for WIC and SNAP/EBT accreditation before next season, and to do so we will need the swipe machine and software to accept the benefits, as well as pay fees to the state for the application process. We project that we will need about a 6 months headstart for planning and paperwork to get the legalities in place before our June opening.

South Bend, IN – 1st Annual Special Needs/Abilities Prom

2019-11-22T00:00:00Z

We recently discovered a need for providing a safe socialization event for our growing teens/young adults. What a better event than their own beautiful prom, as A Place To Be Me by Children's Dispensary as the host. Right now, there is no such event in the South Bend area. We want to bring the experience and beauty of a prom to our special needs community! We will secure a beautiful venue, such as the Brick or Palais Royale to make the night extra special. We will hold gown/tuxedo donation drop off events, along with providing some wonderful professionals to do hair and make up. We will cater in some delicious appetizers, have an awesome DJ/band and a professional photographer to capture the most memorable moments for our special friends. We want this event to expand far beyond our clients. We want to invite the entire teen/young adult special needs community in our area. We want to show everyone how wonderful our friends are, how important these moments are for them, and we want to share the excitement with everyone! Our goal is to get more people, more companies involved with organizations like ours to help support these individuals, help them develop these important communication/socialization skills to be able to live and thrive in our surrounding communities.

South Bend, IN – Permit Pending: Hibberd for the Holidays

2019-11-22T00:00:00Z

Permit Pending is a new project from Jacob Titus, Helen Cramer, Dustin Mix, and Maria Gibbs attempting to present under-utilized spaces as proving grounds for new projects focused on art, business, food, and gathering. In the past two months, we've hosted two gatherings of South Bend Burger Society, a new venture from Kevin Lawler of Baker & Rose, in which members of the society will gather weekly inside the former Dainty Maid Bake Shop to enjoy locally-sourced burgers, beer, and more. These gatherings took place at Vested Interest, the former Ziker dry-cleaning facility and over 500 people registered to attend. Registration is free and we work to offset costs by selling the food and drinks. This month we plan to host Hibberd for the Holidays in collaboration with Abigail Gillan, whose Ragamuffin Bakery will soon be moving into the first-floor retail space at The Hibberd. We will design a tasteful and cozy holiday environment in which Abigail will host a pop-up bakery and we will host a bar. We are exploring an option to collaborate with a well-loved local bar to allow cocktails as well as beer and wine. This event will take place over two nights in mid-December.

Portland, OR – Mississippi Street Farm Stand Market

2019-11-22T00:00:00Z

The Mississippi Street Farm Stand Market is a food, health and economic justice project. Each week throughout spring and summer, we bring fresh produce, organically farmed along with tips for healthy living, plus exercise demonstrations, recipe sampling and so much more. We support local farmers of color who have too long been left out of the business of agriculture. I will use the money to buy 10 x 10 pop up tents, fold up tables and equipment that will allow vendors who are just starting up to participate. Thus far, it has been a labor of love. Although I have encouraged vendors to pay to participate and to bring a tent and table, new farmers often do not have the means to do so. Each week, for the last 6 weeks, I have trucked borrowed equipment over and expended a lot of time and energy.

South Bend, IN – Social Media and Internet Marketing

2019-11-22T00:00:00Z

As local businesses tend to have bad digital marketing plans, such as not having ads, not having a good website, and not having good content on the web. I want to create a service/agency that can help them with this issue. By managing their digital marketing plan, which implies fixing and making better their website, creating good content to create more traffic, making email campaigns to gain and re-target customers. This is different because I would focus and many aspects and not just one like Facebook or Instagram, I will really help them in all possible ways so the businesses can gain more traffic to their business or website, depending on their way of making sales. It's a way so that businesses can catch up with their competitors that are already doing them and really get them out their. This has a big market too, well there are about 30.2 million small businesses in the U.S. and of those 30.2 million, 5.5 million are family owned, which tend to have these ideas of having billboards or newspaper are still a thing. They need to update to grow, and that's when I come In.

Aviano (Inactivo) – Aviano Bicycle Association

2019-11-21T00:00:00Z

Plano, TX (Inactivo) – Down Syndrome Children's Book

2019-11-21T00:00:00Z

I’ve written and illustrated a children’s book titled “Kelly and the Great Pinewood Derby.” It was inspired by my Uncle Kelly who had Down syndrome. My goal is to teach children how to show love and compassion to those who may look or act differently. And this book is doing very well. I’m in the process of writing my second book in the Kelly series “Kelly and the Space Cadets” where Kelly meets an employed man with Down syndrome who works at the local planetarium as a curator. Giving Kelly hope that he can one day have a successful job. At the back of every Kelly book is a free downloadable song that helps kids relate to the topic of Down syndrome. I’m a public speaker and go into elementary schools and schools for those with special needs.

Plano, TX (Inactivo) – To Be Like Me

2019-11-21T00:00:00Z

To Be Like Me is a disability awareness program to break down barriers and foster compassion. Through our program, we want to foster a community of inclusion and demonstrate how the simple act of asking questions allows our participants to move from seeing a disability to seeing a person. Our Leaders are individuals who are living with a disability or difference. Nine different areas are addressed: Autism/Sensory Processing, Anxiety, Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Dietary Differences, Speech/Communication Challenges, Chromosome Differences, Mobility Impairments, Vision Impairments, and Learning Differences. The two hour program involves 4 real life, interactive experiences that will be led by our Leaders: a classroom, an airline, a restaurant, and a bedroom. There is also an area for participants to see and use some of the technology that is currently available to those with a disability or difference. The interactions between participants and Leaders, combined with the experiences in our program will focus on awareness of different abilities. Participants will leave our program with a better understanding and appreciation for the unique abilities of others. For students, To Be Like Me also incorporates disability awareness curriculum before, during, and after the program to increase the impact of our message. We will measure our impact with pre- and post- empathy scores. Our program currently focuses on children aged 9-12 and launches to our local school district in Dallas this year. Plans are to extend our reach and spread our Leaders' voices into multiple school districts, including Plano area schools, for the 2020-21 Academic Calendar Year.

Boston, MA – Faxina Podcast: Stories Swept Under the Rug

2019-11-21T00:00:00Z

FAXINA Podcast, a Portuguese-language audio documentary focusing on the immigrants stories that get swept under the rug. Faxina {fah-shee-na} is a Portuguese word meaning deep cleaning; the kind of cleaning done when one raises the rug to examine what lies underneath. FAXINA will enter the world of Brazilian house cleaners in America; individuals cleaning other people’s houses while trying to create a home of their own. This podcast will bring their ignored stories to a wider world. FAXINA’s episodes will center around themes emerged from the interviews with house cleaners from the greater Boston area. Through personal stories that open our hearts and minds, FAXINA podcast intends to broaden the knowledge and to elevate the voice of this underrepresented Latinx community, and create connections among listeners. We deeply expect FAXINA to open up conversations within the Brazilian and the large Latinx community; bringing us closer together. We, creators of FAXINA, also expect to enhance visibility of Latinx audio producers and podcast creators. From November 2019 to August of 2020, FAXINA Podcast will create and produce eight 30-35 minute episodes within the series “Brazilian Cleaners in America.” Each episode of FAXINA will begin with a brief introduction from the host followed by two story segments by our guests. Stories will be edited and composed from interviews conducted by the producers of FAXINA. Music and audio archival materials selected from our research will be layered in to deepen the listener’s experience and provide transition between segments. Brazilian music, like Brazil’s population, is incredibly diverse, so each individual portrayed in FAXINA will evoke specific music that reflects their persona and journey; the music will be incorporated to create sound as varied as the narratives of our guests. -FAXINA’s interactive website. -Two free public exhibitions to discuss the process of making FAXINA, and the topics presented in season one.

Plano, TX (Inactivo) – The Breakfast Club

2019-11-21T00:00:00Z

I am a teacher at Plano Senior High School. We are the high school that the El Paso shooter attended and graduated from in 2017. As a teacher, I come in contact with many students on a daily basis that are struggling and feel alone. I want to share a story that really hit home to me this past year. There was a girl in my class who was really struggling. She was about to drop out of high school and complete it online at home. This news prompted me to talk to her and find out more of what was going on in her life. She didn’t like attending school at Plano Senior and did not have lunch with her friends. She had not connected with any new relationships and felt alone. As I have gotten to know more and more students at my school, I have learned that those feelings of loneliness and disconnection are shared by many students. My student decided to give it a chance after we spoke. She is now a thriving student at Plano Senior and is happy she chose to stay. I have helped her begin to make those connections that are so vital to a teenager and find commonalities with her classmates. I know that I would have benefited from someone reaching out to me in high school- whether it be another student or a teacher. Plano Senior may have 2,700 students and 7 different buildings, but it only takes one person to change the trajectory of a student This incident with my student prompted me to come up with the idea of a “Breakfast Club” that would meet weekly on Friday mornings before school. I felt that students needed a place to feel safe, share honest struggles and feelings, and meet kids they would not normally meet in a school of 2,700 juniors and seniors. Teenagers need someone to teach them how to connect face to face and have deep conversations. Teenagers need a place to share, be heard, and listen. I feel deep in my soul that had we been doing this in previous years we maybe could have reached the El Paso shooter and who knows how many other kids who are lost and lonely.

San Francisco, CA – Dirty Kid Prom

2019-11-20T00:00:00Z

Homeless Youth Alliance has been working with both runaway youth and youth experiencing homelessness for over a decade in San Francisco. We believe in radical love, harm reduction, and accepting folks as they are! We work in both housing, on the street, and run the Haight Ashbury Exchange. Our youth often experience more hardships and barriers than many can imagine on a daily basis. We want to create an event that provides respite from life on the streets and allows people to let go, get creative,and have fun. We previously created "Project Runaway" with youth in which youth had various materials to create a runway outfit. People were so passionate with what they put into making their outfits and it was super inspiring. We have a video we can share somewhere:) Youth recently requested having a "Dirty Kid Prom" where they could create their outfits from various materials we provided and we would host an even for them with music and food