Awesome Foundation - Projects

Boston, MA (Non-active) – Festival of Street Art

2012-12-04T00:00:00Z

Bartlett Yard is a former MBTA bus storage and repair yard that has been vacant for over a decade. It's the poster child for blight. We're going to un-blight it in the summer of 2013. Bartlett Events is a community-based, non-profit, temporary event series being held at Bartlett Yard. We plan to offer free or low-cost events of all kinds with a special emphasis on the arts to activate the space before its development in 2014. The series will engage the neighboring community in the development process, and reintroduce Dudley Square as a destination for arts and culture in Boston. It will also be a heckuva lot of fun. We have lots of ideas for events. We want to get SoWa open markets to the space, and maybe a farmers market, and a food truck festival, and all kinds of other stuff. But we also want there to be lots of free things that don't involve shopping, and we want a lot of public art on the site. So our big idea is to turn the biggest eyesore on the site, a huge garage building with about 25 giant garage doors, into Boston's biggest piece of street art. We're going to go find the best graffiti artists and muralists in Boston and give each of them a bunch of paint and a door to work on. Then we're going to have a party one weekend to celebrate. At the party, we'll let anyone who wants to paint have at it on the doors we didn't give to graffiti artists. And then the developer is going to tear the building down. Art is fleeting!

Ann Arbor, MI – Information Access is Awesome: Learning About MDOC

2012-12-02T00:00:00Z

Michigan Citizens for Prison Reform is a Lansing-based organization. We have created a resource guide for those inside prison and the people who love them. This document is the first of its kind in Michigan. We cover the essential information that people must know to be able to navigate MDOC. We would like to start a pilot program in Eaton, Ingham, and Jackson Counties. We will get the names of every person going to prison each week and send postcards to them about our organization and about our resource guide. People from these three counties will be distributed throughout the state prisons, which will help us raise the awareness of more than just the people we are mailing the postcards to, because many people will share the information with the people around them.

Pittsburgh, PA – Healcrest Urban Farm Tea Pop Shop

2012-11-30T00:00:00Z

We have had great experiences vending around town with our products, going to markets and events We love connecting with people that way and having something to offer them. Our teas are popular at the markets we attend and depending on your taste they are delicious. We are exploring a frozen treat that incorporates tea and fruit and herbs. We want to take this product to market and to do so we need a push cart or bicycle cart for frozen treats. With this product we can satisfy a variety of palettes and tastes with a healthy, delicious, locally grown and hand crafted treat! I really think folks will line up to sample and enjoy what we have to offer. Our tea is a popular item at markets and people crowd around to try samples of our delicious Coconut Chai, or Goddess Tea with cinnamon. They love to hear the story of the farm and to drink a delicious beverage made from something grown in the middle of the city. We love this land and we love sharing its story and uncovering its secrets. The more we care for and nourish the land the more we harvest healthy delicious fruits, vegetables, and herbs. All the more adding to delicious ingredients we can share with others. The more we can connect with people, the more we have resources to bring back to the land and its sustainable development. We are currently undergoing a tree clearing of one of the lots and hope to open up some spaces for the health of some of the other trees. Last spring we introduced bees with great success and we have several other plans and goals. Just like folks enjoy our hot tea when its cold, Who doesn't like a sweet cold treat when its hot?! This product will grant us access to almost any market. We are currently preparing to build an industrial certified kitchen to be completed for next summer season and by then we want to have a cart that we can bring our product right to the people. Like all good ice cream carts everywhere, you'll recognize us by the big umbrella!

Detroit, MI (Non-active) – Boys 2 Books

2012-11-29T00:00:00Z

Boys 2 Books is a mentorship program that empowers young males through literacy, leadership, and life skills. The illiteracy rate and high school drop out rate is affecting the city of Detroit and surrounding communities. Boys 2 Books is designed to increase proficiency in literacy and help young males graduate from high school. My program is exposed to 150 males and their families. I test the reading levels of our young men and provide strategies to increase verb conjugation, phonemic awareness, and language acquisition. Mentors and speakers are often invited to share their story and push our youth on the path to success. This program is a rights of passage, assisting young men in their transition from boyhood to manhood. Boys 2 Books equips and empowers young males via self-awareness, self-esteem, and self-respect that fosters personal development and community involvement. A plethora of books are used as a bridge to help young men navigate from boyhood to manhood. Students engage in dialogue, keep journals, and are given methods in which to practice life skills (such as professionalism in the work place, job interviews, professional attire, self-respect, personal hygiene, developing positive relationships, academic excellence, etiquette, college readiness, and community responsibility). The young men are exposed to community resources via influential leaders, careers, field trips, and information to empower them on the road to success. This program is transforming the lives of our young males, their parents lives, and our communities.

Winnipeg, MB (Non-active) – Lunches With Love

2012-11-29T00:00:00Z

Lunches With Love is an organization that serves Winnipeg's homeless by assembling brown paper bag lunches which are donated to our city's homeless shelters. Each lunch includes either a tuna or egg salad sandwich, a piece of fruit and a bottle of water. On October 27th, Nathan and I assembled and donated 47 paper bag lunches to the Main Street Project. Once we opened our facebook page we found that people wanted to support our cause so we started taking food donations. We had only planned on doing our lunches once a month but the support was so overwhelming that we are currently donating twice a month! Our last donation was on November 10th. On that day, because of donations and volunteers, we were able to donate 97 paper bag lunches, 33 single sandwiches, 2 cases of water, two dozen pair of mitts and and dozen winter hats! We now have volunteers scheduled to help right up until the end of December and we now have enough food donations to accomplish our goal twice a month until the end of January 2013! Our goal on every second Saturday is to assemble and donate 100-130 paper bag lunches and to deliver as many pieces of warm clothing as we can find through the kind donations of our friends, friend of friends and family.

San Antonio, TX – Sculptural Bicycle Rack

2012-11-28T00:00:00Z

The 2120 Collective is San Anto Cultural Arts' after school program for creative youth who are interested in pursuing a career in the arts. Members of the Collective have the opportunity to develop artistic skills and learn about various aspects of the art world including process, theory and business. Furthermore, they gain real-world experience through participating in San Anto's public art projects, which they can use to develop their own professional art portfolios. Trips to local museums and visits to the personal studios of well-known, local artists are all part of the well-rounded development of these young artists. One aspect of the Collective is that members get to propose their own projects so that they can learn about things they are interested in. It is through that process that we have developed this particular proposal. Many of our participants use bicycles as their primary form of transportation, In the past, San Anto has had issues with bicycle theft. We do not have a safe and secure place for our visitors to lock up their bikes. As a result, when the collective meets we have numerous bikes stacked inside our building which takes up a lot of space. Our participants recognized this issue and instead of asking us purchase a standard bike rack they saw this as a learning opportunity. So that brings us to our proposal. San Anto Cultural Arts and the 2120 Collective would like to build an artistic bicycle rack. This functional art piece would serve to beautify our corner of the community while offering our visitors a safe place to secure their bicycles. Participants will work with a local metal artist to complete this project through a series of workshops. Through designing this bike rack, participants will learn about the fundamentals or 3-dimensional design and public sculpture. They will also learn advanced metal fabrication techniques which will include forging, welding and powder coating.

Ulaanbaatar (Non-active) – Putting recycling bins in Health Science universit

2012-11-27T00:00:00Z

Trash problem in Ulaanbaatar is one of the biggest problem. Each person produces 2 kg trash everyday. And citizens of the capital produces 1 million tons trash per year. The trash get to a landfill. Nowadays it's known that landfill is take too much space and harmful for humans, animals and nature. There's two main garbage dumps in Ulaanbaatar. They didn't built as standard and about to be full. Now we have to seriously think what should we do with trash. We can reduce, re use and recycle to solve trash problem. Recycling saves space, energy and natural resources. 70 percent of the trash can be recycled. In some developed countries recycle 40 percent of their waste. For about Mongolians it's only 5 percent which is done by scavengers. Mongolian government built a "Recycling factory" non-repayable subsidy by Korean government. It can recycle 8 tons of trash everyday. So we need to sort the waste we throw away. We need recycling bins. Also we need to advertise the importance of recycling using posters. In university environment most of the waste is recyclable. We want to sort trash by 3 types. 1st: Paper waste (paper cups, notebooks, magazine, newspapers, printer papers, paper bags etc) 2nd: Plastic, glass, metal, (coke, water containers, bottles, plastic tubes etc) 3rd: The rest (food waste etc) There's no specific recycling bins are sold in Mongolia. So we can use old ones as well as new bins. We should put three bins attached together in one place and put recycling logos and details of what should be thrown in a bin. Where should we put? We will put medium sized attached recycling bins in every floor (4), every floor of extension (4), lecture rooms and cultural center(4) , big sized In entrance hall (2), cafeterias(4), totally in 18 places 54 big and medium trash bins. We can use 18 old trash bins by decorating the same as new ones. Posters which encourage students to throw their waste in recycling bins will be placed in every floor and in entrance hall.

San Francisco, CA – "Walking on the Wall"

2012-11-26T00:00:00Z

Both visually and physically stimulating, “Walking on the Wall” is a project that allows viewers to experience what it is like to walk across the gallery wall. SImply, the viewer is confronted with a staircase that spirals its way up onto the wall. Two rails run parallel to the stairs that have sliding supports mounted to them which the viewer leans on in order to traverse the wall. This work creates an awesome sensory experience for participants, allowing them to interact with a wall in a way they never have before. It inspires viewers to question their relationship with space and with architecture and invigorates their imagination. Walking away from this work inspired viewers will continue to traverse other walls and ceilings in their minds eye. As an object, the stairs and walking support of this sculpture are visually stunning. The fabrication is structurally sound and the design is elegant and effective. Beyond the aesthetics of the sculpture itself lies the visually compelling footprints that will remain on the wall. Then on top of all that is the rich and engaging experience and dialogue that will exist among the viewers. This work when fully realized will be a muti-dimensional project; rich in content, aesthetics, and experiences. It will play a key role in allowing others to fully appreciate and realize the endless amount of awesomeness that there is in this world.

Calgary, AB (Non-active) – MakeFashion

2012-11-22T00:00:00Z

The MakeFashion initiative is a collaboration of great minds who want to demonstrate that the convergence of Technology and Art can result in a form, fashion and community brand new to Calgary. Creativity and innovation are the guiding principles to unit fashion, jewelry and accessories designers with software and hardware engineers. Along with technology enthusiasts, creatives and those that just simply like to engage in cultural experiments – all are invited to participate in the MakeFashion event series. The Make Fashion Gala pairs fashion local designers with tech-savvy "makers" to create innovative artistic pieces that glow, flash, and respond to touch and sound. 100% of the money will go towards buying raw materials and electronics for the designers to make their amazing creations.

Newmarket – Healthy Schools Initiative

2012-11-21T00:00:00Z

We would like to take our PLAY Leaders program & students' recess activities to the next level by providing outdoor recess equipment that students can use to initiate and teach each other active games during recess times. The purpose of this initiative & of our Healthy Schools Action Plan is that students in a Healthy Schools can... Improve their concentration and learning Increase confidence, motivation and self-esteem Be better able to make important health and life choices Build leadership skills Attend school more regularly (and be engaged) Build friendships & social/emotional skills Help to make their school healthier

London (Non-active) – Khama Street Art Collaboration

2012-11-21T00:00:00Z

Khama is starting a collaborative project with local established street artists in Hackney and New Horizon Youth Centre in Central London. New Horizon Youth Centre is a day centre working with young people who are vulnerable, homeless or at risk. New Horizon Youth Centre aims to enable young people to gain skills and knowledge to improve their life chances and to help them move from adolescence into adulthood. NHYC work with some very disadvantaged young people, many of whom have poor self esteem, low confidence, a history of rejection, harm and abuse and often profoundly negative experiences of organisations, structures and the helping professions generally. Based in the Kings Cross, Somers Town area of London, the centre sees up to 3,000 young people a year and is open seven days a week. Khama has designed and made some new tote bags and wants to use the project as a vehicle to train and develop some skills with the NHYC young people. Khama is hosting workshops with NHYC and the street artists to inspire the young people to design the artwork for their very own tote bag. The established street artists are also donating amazing artwork to the project and we are going to get these printed here in London once the bags arrive from Malawi. A local printers have agreed to let the young people get involved in the production process to see their own designs getting screen printed onto the bags. Once the tote bags have been printed - Khama will get the young people involved in marketing and sales.

Chicago, IL – Wake Up! Waltz

2012-11-20T00:00:00Z

Wake Up! Waltz is a month long dance spectacle connecting Chicagoans through interactive rooftop performances of the Waltz. This May-June 2013, Monday – Thursday, 8-10 a.m., an innovative, colorful, and vibrant choreography leaves transit and pedestrian commuters dancing their way to the desk. Voluminous and eye-catching costumes serve as art pieces in and of themselves, the essential tone and concept of the show. Audiences in West Loop, South Loop, Uptown, and Logan Square participate in this visual “wake up call” while driving traffic toward neighborhood business; these “variations on a theme” connect urban residents to the city as a whole. In January 2012, Ms. Davis relocated to Chicago from Buenos Aires. Commuting to the Loop from the suburbs daily, she viewed the outstretch of flat rooftops overlooking the city as an untapped stage. The result was the Waltz: a lively, colorful, installation sparked by the repetition of outrageous costumes and dance. To date, the project has successfully established a production timeline and base team including Jamie Coffey Reynolds, Choreographer, and two student interns; compiled a short list of local business sponsors; identified cultural, city, and university partners including Colombia College Dance Center and SAIC Design (providing students with the opportunity to design and perform in exchange for university credit); designated sites and rooftop venues; outlined a project budget; and launched a website with Lyon Communications. Production add-ons including a student photographer, designer, and dance captain are currently underway. An interactive website invites users to post and share documentation of the Waltz as a collective, second-hand performance. Goals and objectives of the project include public arts education and community partnerships; socio-economic leverage and development; design, documentation, and access to multi-media performances and archives; evaluation and expansion of scalable work.

Portland, OR – Farmworker Struggle Mural

2012-11-16T00:00:00Z

I want to have the first ever outdoor mural in Woodburn, Oregon be a mural that captures the contributions of farmworkers in the community. Woodburn has a long history that captures the history of landowners and in the same light ignores the contributions of farmworkers that built the community. The project would be awesome because it would: 1. Beautify a part of Woodburn''s old industrial section of the town (a stone throw away from downtown). 2. Create a dialogue in the community about farmworker contributions 3. and ultimately unite the community to paint. How will it be Woodburn's FIRST EVER outdoor mural? Woodburn has prohibited outdoor murals since its incorporation. However, this past August the CAPACES Leadership Institute and myself were able to get the Woodburn City Council to approve a mural ordinance. The goal is to have: 1. A mural painted by summer of 2013 2. Bring a master artist who is co-founder of the Royal Chicano Airforce ( ) to help lead the mural project and mentor the next generation of artists (youth artists in Woodburn) 3. Bring together community leaders, farmworker families and youth to come together and paint the mural.

Sydney – Sydney Small Bar Documentary

2012-11-15T00:00:00Z

Three friends and I want to make a documentary on Sydney's small bar scene. People often talk about their favourite bars and cocktails, but it's time to bring the conversation to a broader level. We want to explore the history behind these bars, what the owners' inspiration was and ask people about what they love about their favourite venues and we want to document the whole thing with fresh film techniques. For example, we might write our group's logo on a dudes chest and film it as the opening credits. We might search a place on Foursquare explore, film this and then on the spot visit the bar and document the whole process of asking the staff/people at the bar for an interview. We mentioned the idea to one of the small bar business development managers at City of Sydney and he thinks the idea is a great one. We also tried contacting Vice magazine to get involved but they turned down the idea because it was too similar to some other film projects they are doing...TheyProbablyJustStoleOurIdea..*cough*

Kingston – Kingston City Breakers & Forgotten Styles

2012-11-15T00:00:00Z

My project aims to promote bboying & bgirling, or 'breakdancing', to the people of Kingston. There are two main initiatives to this project: a bboy battle that will bring in dancers from bigger cities where hip hop is far more prevalent, and through my own workshop series and educational materials. The battle is called Forgotten Styles and is Kingston's only annual bboy event. With my own workshops held throughout the year, my vision is to create a community of dancers across Kingston collectively known as the Kingston City Breakers. Historically, crews used to rep their neighbourhoods, but I want to create a community that represents the city of Kingston as a whole, and in a few years perhaps have them travel to other cities to compete. For now though, the emphasis is on promoting the existence and validity of the culture and dance, which is often misrepresented in the popular media. Through Forgotten Styles, audience members will bear witness to impressive manifestations of hip hop culture. This year I plan to elevate the level of the dancing and integrate other aspects of hip hop, including spoken word, graffiti art, and community-building. This way, the public will have a better view of what hip hop stands for and what it has meant to generations of young people in the past 40 years. The Kingston City Breakers collective's main goal will be to grow, gathering as many interested people and bringing them together to learn from each other. To facilitate this learning, I am teaching workshops for the community and planning to start an online web series and develop other educational material. Through these two initiatives, my hope is that Kingston will discover the benefits of this culture that has swept the world.

Tel Aviv - קרן בקטנה (Non-active) – Seeing Hands

2012-11-14T00:00:00Z

Our business is a new social business. our social goals are: 1/ To help the Visually Impaired make the proper living they deserve, by using the advantage they have with touch 2/To promote integration and equal treatment of the visually handicapped in the normative community 'seeing hands' offers short and regular massages in the workplace (Fully clothed and with minimal interruption of work day), That will improve your employee's effectiveness during the day. We employ blind masseurs who were trained at Wingate institiute. Our business's profits will be directed to increase business in order to increase our social impact. There's a lot of parties gain: the state: that fewer people will need financial support. For the blind pepole:to promote competence and self-esteem of the blind people For our clients: your employees will improve their effectiveness through regular and proper maintenance of bodymaintenance of body for our business: we'll be able to promote issues that are important to us and not rely on donations.

Seattle, WA – StudentRND Space Program

2012-11-13T00:00:00Z

Felix Baumgartner's epic jump from the edge of space really inspired us. We're all about spontaneity and a 'just do it' attitude here at StudentRND, so I made the StudentRND Space Program. We want to send a balloon into space with all kinds of unique goodies. The basic balloon is nothing special really; most of it has already been done before. What makes our project unique is the mini-projects that will be sent up with the balloon. These so-called 100g projects include an experimental high altitude thorium reactor, cosmic ray sensors, an ion drive and anything else we can fit on the balloon. Projects from the StudentRND community and maybe even Seattle’s tech community will be featured. We’ll get lots of great pictures too, of course.

Ottawa – Senior Organic Gardeners

2012-11-13T00:00:00Z

November's Awesome Ottawa award goes to Margaret Tourond-Townson to support organic gardening by seniors in retirement homes. Margaret, a senior herself, will work with fellow Canadian Organic Growers volunteers Rob Danforth, David Townson, and Sara Holzman to expand a program that was started as a pilot this summer. "This past year has been so satisfying to see seniors gardening and loving it," says Margaret. "We even had a Harvest Celebration with seniors helping to prepare the food that they grew themselves!" They also hope to connect the seniors in the program with children involved in the successful Growing Up Organic program, which was active in 26 schools in Ottawa this year and will be in more than 50 in 2013. To learn more about the Senior Organic Gardeners program, visit http://cog.ca/ottawa/goo/.

Boulder, CO (Non-active) – NoBoLittleLibraries

2012-11-12T00:00:00Z

We are creating six little free lending libraries across North Boulder as a way to focus on the community's need and desire for a real library/resource center. We raised enough money for three libraries and we need to raise $1000 for each of the next three sculptural little libraries. Our first and to date only installation was at Lucky's Market. It is called the Spaceship Little Lending Library. We are collaborating with NoBo Art District to make this project happen. They put out the call for designs for sculptural little lending libraries. A jury picked four designs. We decided to pay the artists $1000 for each library which was a novel idea because usually artists are asked to do their work for free. We have made presentations to the Boulder Arts Commission, the Library Commission, the Planning Commission, City Council, Boulder Housing Partners and the Boulder Shelter about little lending libraries. In doing so, we learned from Boulder Housing Partners that they were willing to donate a space to us for a store front library as the next step on our way to getting a branch of the library in North Boulder. Now, we will ask for community input and we will survey our community to be sure we fulfill the needs of our fast growing neighborhood. This project is awesome. It is positive and not political. It keeps bringing us closer and closer as a community. The Little Lending Libraries are not only functional but they are works of art so we are able to promote art and community and learning.

Austin, TX – HONK!TX: Festival of Community Street Bands

2012-11-12T00:00:00Z

HONK!TX is a 3-day Community Street Band Festival that features some of the most exciting, original, and talented radical marching bands playing absolutely free in the streets and parks of Austin. After a successful debut and a wonderful sophomore encore, we are returning for our exciting third year March 22-24, 2013. For the past two years HONK!TX brought live music into Austin with unconventional style and flair, transforming everyday spaces into organic stages where the line between performers and the crowd dissolves. The response was magical, and performers and audience eagerly wondered aloud: when will the next HONK!TX be? Well, with your help - it's coming again in March 2013! For the duration of the Festival, more than 200 musicians will be housed by generous neighbors and friends; local restaurants will provide food for performers and volunteers. Scores of community members will donate hundreds of hours of labor to make HONK!TX a brass-tastic success. In return, 20+ bands will transform the city into a joyful sonic carnival and visual spectacle, at no cost to the public. The bands vary greatly in size and costume, each of them bringing a distinct sound and visual theme to the carnivalesque atmosphere This multi-day free and family-friendly event about music, community, and public space is imbued with the playful energy these bands are famous for. Did you know none of the bands will be earning any money for the festival? They travel and play free because to share the love and joy of street music and expression. The modest stipends some bands receive cover only some of their travel expenses. This is where you come in! Photo credit: Mike*Antares

New York City, NY – This is Not a Trash Pile

2012-11-12T00:00:00Z

In the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, communities in the most devastated parts of New York City began the process of rebuilding almost immediately, mostly through the work of volunteers and self-motivated individuals stepping up personally with very little infrastructure or centralized support. In the Rockaways, one of the areas hit hardest, a group of local artists and builders are collaborating on an alternative relief and resilience project called This is Not a Trash Pile. They have teamed up with Culinary Kids, a local organization working with youth to promote nutrition and self-sufficiency through local agriculture and aquaculture projects. Together, they have erected a tent built from salvaged material on NYC Parks Department property under the stewardship of Culinary Kids. With programming from The Whale Project, The Fixers Collective and Time’s Up, among many others, this tent will be a hub for the community and will host combination of youth educational programs, resilient community programs, and mutual aid and distribution programs. We’ve even heard that the tent is going to house a library! The funds from this month’s NYC Awesome Foundation grant will go toward materials and heating units for this tent, and more crucially to helping the community get back on its feet.

Ann Arbor, MI – YEP (young entrepreneurial people)

2012-11-04T00:00:00Z

i am a member of think local first and am a proud michigander...but there was something lacking among the networks in town. so, helen harding from eat catering and take-out and jean henry (formerly of jefferson market, now sustainability chief at zingermans) and i started an organization connecting young entrepreneurial people with one another for a guided monthly meeting tackling the very challenges of being a YEP.

Melbourne (Non-active) – ideservetoo

2012-11-01T00:00:00Z

ideserveto will support street kids and children beggars to get access to other form of training and facilitate football coaching session that will enable them to explore more their potential trough football. Mission: My mission is to create an avenue where street children and children beggars in the street of Burkina Faso will feel appreciate and empowered with life skills through football facilitation and technical training linkage. Vision: I wish to see in the street of my country with no street children and no children beggars on the street of Burkina Faso, but children at school,growing through an education with the basics in life(food, water, shelter). Values: Team spirit, Sport for development, Human right, Learning by doing, Opportunity for all, respect and tolerence and Networking. Goal: Through a football platform, street children a children beggars will be able to paticipate in team sport, learn life skills and have opportunity to find a workplace suitable for their skills and interest. I shall forge new linkage with vocational training center that will refer the youth to get more technical skills like welding, carpentry mechanics etc. Objectives: Create a team for the street children and children beggars where I can coach them and provide them a safe training environment. Participate in football tournaments in the community that will create friendship and new networks. Enrol the street children and children beggars to vocational training center, who are interested in pusuing their studies in other fields. To enhance the reputation of street children and children beggars and motivate others(e.g futur employers and people that can teach the children a trade for exemple and more) to trust them. To sensitize the community about the street children and children beggars with hope that they will help and making a positive.

Oahu, HI – The Joyful Life Library

2012-11-01T00:00:00Z

The Joyful Life Library Project currently sponsors 8 PICUs across the country, Kapiolani Children's Hospital being the most recent. The Library Project provides new books specifically to children in pediatric intensive care units. We believe that reading a favorite story to a child is an act of love that's comforting to the child and the caregiver alike, and is especially important when life has been turned upside down because of a little one's hospitalization. We know the importance of being able to sit and read a book to your child, just like you would do at home, regardless of all the tubes and beeping machines. Individuals are able to purchase books from our Amazon wishlists with the books being shipped directly to the hospital. We include both hard and soft cover books on our wish lists, as a way to cover the needs of all patients/families.Hard cover books are used in waiting areas, play rooms, and shared amongst patients by being brought to individual bedsides for families to enjoy with their child. Soft cover books are used to bring comfort to children that cannot be exposed to germs carried by shared books. These less expensive books are given to those patients to keep as a special bedtime story of their own.

Melbourne (Non-active) – Beerend - It's like a bookend for your beer

2012-11-01T00:00:00Z

I like to always have cold beers in the fridge. It means you can have one after a tough day at the office without planning for it or offer your father-in-law a peace gesture when he comes around for a surprise visit. The problem is storing beer in the fridge takes up a lot of space. You can’t stand bottles up because shelves generally aren’t high enough and as soon as you lie them down they roll all over the place, particularly if you try and stack them on top of each other. So I invented the Beerend. It’s like a bookend for your beer. Attached are two images. The first is a concept drawing and the first prototype cut out of balsa wood. The second is the Beerend in action, as you can see it holds the beer in place meaning you can stack beers on top of each other like a pyramid. Using the side of the fridge as a wall, previously where you could only store 3 beers, you can now stack 8. 4 becomes 11. 5 becomes 14. And it's all thanks to a simple clip that holds your beers in place like a bookend.

Montreal, QC (Non-active) – Montréal Accessible

2012-11-01T00:00:00Z

*project description in French only* Le Regroupement des activistes pour l'inclusion au Québec (RAPLIQ), un organisme œuvrant pour l'inclusion et la participation sociale des personnes handicapées, travaille pour améliorer l'accessibilité architecturale à Montréal pour les personnes handicapées. S’inspirant de certaines initiatives mises de l’avant en Europe et en Amérique du Nord, le comité fondé par le RAPLIQ a décidé de mettre les développements en matière de données ouvertes sur l’accessibilité architecturale au service des personnes handicapées et à mobilité réduite. En janvier 2012, le projet Montréal Accessible a vu le jour. L’objectif du projet est de collaborer à l’information disponible sur l’accessibilité architecturale de l’espace collectif par le biais des données ouvertes et du crowdsourcing. Ainsi, par le biais d’un site interactif, on pourra connaître quels sont les commerces et autres lieux publics accessibles aux personnes à mobilité réduite. On pourra également contribuer directement au projet en ajoutant des données sur l’accessibilité. En plus de favoriser l’autonomie des personnes handicapées, ce projet permettra de répertorier l’état d’utilisation de l’espace urbain qui peut intéresser les travaux publics, la santé et la sécurité publique, le tourisme, etc. Montréal Accessible souhaite tirer parti des données déjà récoltées et étendre la cueillette d’information via les citoyens handicapés et toute autre personne intéressée par l’accessibilité architecturale.

Grand Rapids, MI (Non-active) – chess for the kids

2012-10-31T00:00:00Z

as mentioned i am leading 3 chess groups for 3 different libraries (kentwood,wyoming and byron center.) the purpose is to teach chess and all that is involved in this activity. while play at the libraries is casual i encourage the kids to participate in tournaments held twice a month in grand rapids. one at calvin college and one at aquinas college. these tournaments are attended by some of the best players in michigan. but alas participation requires membership in the United States chess federation and membership in the michigan chess association and nominal tournament fees. because of their personnel economy many of my players would like to go and play at the tournaments , but they cannot. chess has been proven to improve skill levels in school. chess in the schools is a big promotor of chess. chess is also required subject in the schools in new york city. chess teaches the kids many things and promotes friendships and is an outlet for many who do not participate in regular sports. there are currently 8 major colleges that give full ride scholarships to talented players. you cannot become talented without playing and studying the game. you might watch the movies-- searching for bobby fischer and the knights of the south bronx-- for a very factual story of chess and kids. see also the website --holland chess-- in holland michigan. they say it far better than i. i just want the kids to have fun and learn at the same time and have another avenue open up to them to improve their lives. i volunteer at the jail and see many wasted lives because of lack of education and a lack of a way out. chess is another way out.

Pittsburgh, PA – Urban Stitches

2012-10-31T00:00:00Z

Urban Stitches is a youth sewing program for Pittsburgh area children and teens. The idea came about purely by chance when I recently inquired about sewing classes at my alma mater. Since I love teaching and I love working with kids, I thought I would put my bid in when the sewing teacher at my former school decided to retire. To my surprise, I discovered that Pittsburgh Public schools have discontinued sewing as part of their Home Economics program! Unfortunately, students are very limited in their exposure to the arts after grade school, and I have discovered that a genuine opportunity still exists for creative learning in a setting where students feel less intimidated than in a formal classroom. So, I started thinking: “How can I re-introduce sewing as a hip, cool activity for young people in our area?” Not only is sewing SUPER fun, but it brings out your crafty side, incorporates disciplines like math and mechanical skills, patience, independence, and the ability to follow instructions, too. Sewing also gives your self-confidence a boost! Urban Stitches' mission is to satisfy the need for impressionable young people to receive arts training, gain encouragement, and learn life skills, as well as provide a safe environment for them to gather, learn something new, and have fun! The Urban Stitches program will run for two hours per week for eight weeks. There will be no more than eight students in each class. Classes will run consecutively throughout the school year. To keep the program going, once the students complete the class, I plan on having them arrange a fundraiser (i.e. a small fashion or craft show), to present what they have created as well as generate funds to purchase supplies for the next class. Students who have become proficient at sewing once they complete the program may also volunteer to assist incoming students.

Melbourne (Non-active) – Good Cycles

2012-10-30T00:00:00Z

Good Cycles What Good Cycles is a start-up social enterprise that will provide training and jobs in bicycle mechanics to people experiencing long-term unemployment and disadvantage – including Indigenous Australians, refugees and at-risk youth. How Good Cycles will operate mobile bike mechanic teams across Melbourne. Each team will consist of an experienced bike mechanic paired with our trainees. Together they will cycle the city on cargo bikes (with tools on board) offering tune-up/repair services to workplaces and individuals – at office buildings, universities, events and on major cycling entry points into Melbourne’s CBD. Good Cycles will also offer educational courses in emergency bike maintenance. Why Good Cycles is a values-driven organisation, focused on delivering positive outcomes for the community and environment. We are committed to: - Providing jobs - Offering a high quality and hassle-free service to Melbourne’s cyclists - Giving people opportunities to volunteer with a social enterprise - Encouraging cycling as a safe and healthy mode of transport Our detailed market analysis and business modelling indicates a very strong opportunity for Good Cycles to meet both its financial and social objectives. Who Good Cycles has a highly skilled management team and a very strong advisory board. We have firm alliances with industry partners and the support of local government, universities and big business. We are ready to roll...

Chicago, IL – Free Art for the Residents of Englewood

2012-10-30T00:00:00Z

I submitted the following proposal this spring. John Carnwath suggested I re-submit my proposal in the fall. Please note that I have made significant changes. In March 2009 I began an art project to better my drawing and writing skills. I invented a town named Colorido and I set out to draw its eccentric residents and write their biographies. Less than a year after beginning the project I raised $1K via Kickstarter, which allowed me to frame 64 drawings. At two exhibitions in Chicago and Evanston, IL, I sold nearly all of the drawings. In December 2011, one of the drawings was even featured on the cover of the Chicago Reader. I’m still working on this project, though the place where everyone lives is now called the NINTH LODGE, and there are more than 200 residents. Should I have the good fortune to be awarded an Awesome Foundation grant I will frame as many of these drawings as possible and host a day-long exhibition where I give them all away, no strings attached, to the residents of the Englewood neighborhood. Englewood is plagued with a significant amount of gun violence. By hosting a free community event I hope to show that there are positive, communal, healing forces in making (and giving away) artwork. I anticipate partnering with CeaseFire to choose an ideal location and venue for the exhibition. I am confident that if I receive this grant I could use that momentum to raise additional funds on my own to make this a stellar event with art-supply giveaways and live music. Five years ago I lived in Guatemala. For three months I worked one-on-one with the children of the Guatemala City garbage dump community. Throughout that period I saw firsthand the effects that rampant drug and gun violence can have upon a community. It is my hope that this event will bring art, music, and inspiration to a Chicago neighborhood in need of support. An interview about the project: http://tiny.cc/kalpanainterview

Tel Aviv - קרן בקטנה (Non-active) – Life in Society (חיים בקהילה)

2012-10-30T00:00:00Z

Life within the community (חיים בקהילה) provides Be’er Sheva residents with first aid training – specifically CPR for children and adults. The courses are held by 2nd and 3rd year medical students, and are composed of frontal lessons followed by practical training. The students are selected with the help of the department of social services of the municipality of Be’er Sheva. The courses are free of charge, and any group interested may sign up for it. Upon finishing both meetings, the trainees receive an official certificate, signed by the dean of the health faculty. Main goals: Promoting health within the community by teaching first aid – CPR, the Heimlich Maneuver, identification and treatment of MI. Introducing Be’er Sheva to the group of Med students, in order to encourage them to stay in Southern Israel, and specifically in “Soroka” hospital. Secondary goals: Empowerment of the city citizens by their participation in courses within the university, at the end of which they receive official certificates signed by the dean of the health faculty. Preservation of the Med students’ first aid skills. All of our trainees work in facilities where they are in charge of other people – teachers in schools and kindergartens, students working in orphanages etc. A summary of all of the important information from the course is handed out, in order for the trainees to follow along during the course and take home to review. The students instructing in the project enjoy monthly recreational enrichment activities.

Washington, DC – The EarPhone Project

2012-10-26T00:00:00Z

The EarPhone Project is awesome! Simply put, it is a dial-in audio telephone line comprised of adult professional volunteers lending their voices to record stories from the DC Public Library’s reading list. Students dial in and access titles ranging from varying genres of titles allowing them to listen independently or with their families. They are further encouraged to visit their local libraries to check out the books from their selected audio recording. The EarPhone Project is available to 70k students in the District. It promotes volunteerism in the community, activism towards literacy, independence in reading and encourages family recreation. Without audio stimuli, listening skills become under-developed, impacting both language and, ultimately, literacy. Listening to spoken word improves a child’s grammar through vocabulary and elocution, both of which underpin literacy. Audio recordings allow children the opportunity to create images in their mind’s eye. By stimulating a student’s ability to imagine, their ability for lateral thinking is also greatly enhanced. These recordings allow children to hear adults read books on their reading list, articulate words and convey their own imagination towards the story. Children are then encouraged to visit their local library to check these books out. Each child is expected to read independently or be joined by a family member to enjoy the books they have selected. I've been asked numerous times how I came up with this idea, and my third-grade school teacher has explained it. Many years ago, on career day, I decided I wanted an EarPhone Project. Only then, as a child, I elected to have an ice cream truck and a loudspeaker to drive around the community reading stories. Assuming a third grader could drive AND read simultaneously illustrated illustrated the same creativity it took to create the EarPhone Project.

Boston, MA (Non-active) – Hydroponics for Elephants

2012-10-26T00:00:00Z

The Zenith Program is collaborating with Hope Elephants - a unique rehabilitation and educational facility for retired circus elephants in Hope, Maine (www.hopeelephants.org) - to create their educational programming for elementary school children in the district to learn about these incredibly valuable creatures who are now being cared for right in our back yard! Yes, elephants sure can live in Maine! The students will be creating interactive lessons and activities for children to learn about elephant anatomy, evolutionary adaptations, unique social structures, with a focus on the elephants' diet and nutritional needs. The Zenith students have taken a special interest and concern in the dietary needs of the 2 aging and insured elephants housed at the facility - Rosie (42 years old) and Opal (43 years old). The students have researched alternative ways of growing and providing high-quality vegetation to supplement the elephants' diet of Timothy-Grass hay. The students wondered if there was a way to grow fresh, nutrient-rich plants for elephants all year long right here on school property. There is! If we had the financial means, we could build a 16 x 32 foot greenhouse that would house a hydroponic system to grow fresh, green, nutrient-rich plants to supplement the diet of the aging elephants at the Hope Elephants Rehab facility. The hydroponic system would utilize a student-built drip system to administer the nutrient solution to flats of young, succulent plants. There could be a student-designed system of growing an on-going supply of fresh vegetation for the elephants. Once a week, the students would drive the 10 minutes to the Elephant facility to feed the elephants the greens. Awesome! High school students could also connect with elementary students during each phase of the project, which would provide the means for meaningful and memorable relationships between students of different age groups.

San Antonio, TX – Solar on San Antonio's Favorite Food Truck!

2012-10-25T00:00:00Z

To create the First Solar-Powered Gourmet Food Truck in Texas My project is to put solar panels on San Antonio's Favorite Gourmet Food Truck, Say.She.Ate! I have done market research on the food trucks in the San Antonio area, and have chosen one that has the most community support, unique offerings, and an extreme interest in the environment and our project! The solar panels will provide multiple benefits: 1. Eliminate or deter noisy, smelly, and harmful gas or diesel generators. 2. Eliminate or deter idling cars that produce noise and harmful emissions. 3. Eliminate or deter the cost of the generator and idling the vehicle for up to 8 hours a day! (Many have both running non-stop most of the day) 4. Serve as an educational model for all who enjoy the food. (Diagrams explaining solar in a non-technical, easy to understand way) 5. Serve as an example and educational model for other food trucks in the Area. 6. Serve as a promotion for the Awesome Foundation. (Can be taken to events, can be its own event) 7. Goodwill from the customers for not subjecting them to the torture of ordering delicious food next to a dirty power plant! Solar San Antonio is committed to this being an Awesome Project! We have a large (5,000) mailing list that we can promote the Solar Food Truck. I think the timeline is too short, but we have a Solar Fest on October 6th that we usually get around 4-5 thousand attendees (The Mayor makes a stop every year), and this would be a great event to "showcase" the Awesome Foundation and the project. We will most likely, if picked, get our friends at at the media outlets to do a few news stories on the solar truck and the new foundation that made it all possible!

Detroit, MI (Non-active) – Ocelot Print Shop

2012-10-25T00:00:00Z

Ocelot Printshop, a community print shop, is a for-profit printmakers collective and home to a number of Detroit-based artists. Our shop will have four distinct parts that create the whole. We will be focusing on shop rental time, education and community outreach, as well as being a full service printshop, and have a gallery space in the shop. Screen printing will be our main focus when we open, but we have plans to grow the shop to accommodate letterpress printing, etching and lithography in the future. For our shop rentals we will be offering full monthly membership to artists who need a base of operations to print from. Membership packages will also be available for organizations, and will be custom suited to fit their needs, depending on how they would like to be part of the space. There will also be hourly rentals for shop time for people with more limited or occasional usage. All types of membership will have use of a range of industrial printmaking equipment. In addition to our shop usage we will be hosting an open studio drop in day one evening a week, where anyone can come in and print, regardless of skill level and will be a good place for fun, exploration and meeting other artists. Additionally, we wish to work within the community and connect with organizations that are engaging Detroit youth or adults that are interested in making media. We hope to work with those organizations to create youth led (or adult led) projects that result in learning new skills, and the participants printing goods they need or want. We also plan to function as a full service print shop. We plan to connect working print artists with clients in need of handmade screen printed goods as a printers co-operative. The printers co-operative will help to increase the business, networking and sense of community for artists who are participating. Members will have the opportunity to become working members and join the co-operative.

Kingston – Pay-It-Forward Starter Kits

2012-10-25T00:00:00Z

Paying it forward is the tradition of reciprocating a good deed that is done to you by passing it on to someone else through more good deeds. Paying it forward instead of paying it back as it were. This act results in an ongoing cycle of good deeds being passed on from person to person. But how does the initial good deed start? It takes a spark of altruism, a catalyst, or an enabler to get it going. I propose we become that enabler with a "Pay-it-Forward" Starter Kit. The Kit will consist of a "goodie bag" filled with items that will be given away to people in a act of kindness with no expectation of pay-back. The Kit will be given to Kingstonians for free. Items that would be included in the "Pay-it-Forward" Starter Kit would include: A free coffee card, a quarter for a person's expired parking meter, a tulip bulb to secretly place in someones garden, an extra bus ticket for the next time some asks, a greeting card to give to someone who deserves a pick-me-up, a helium filled balloon, and a freecomplimentskingston tear-off sheet. All of these items are in the kit with the intention of kickstarting new streams of "Paying it Forward" A $1000 grant would be used to make up approximately 50-100 Kits.

Calgary, AB (Non-active) – 2nd Annual Log Drivers Waltz Gala: A Plaid Party!

2012-10-25T00:00:00Z

I’m writing on behalf of GIRAF Animation Festival, a super awesome grassroots festival run by Quickdraw Animation Society (a local Artist-Run Center). This is our 8th year as a Festival, and we’re presenting an event that we think is awesome – hopefully you will too! We love retro Canadiana and nostalgic community bonding! In that spirit, GIRAF is pleased to present the return of Calgary’s most fun plaid-themed party of all time: The Log Drivers Waltz Gala! Based on the NFB short from 1979:

The Log Drivers Waltz Gala is a family-friendly event featuring GIANT retro-animations on the side of the Jubilee (5-storeys tall!), fire-pits, hot chocolate, animation workshops, DJs, honky-tonk bands, food trucks, and so much more. Prepare to laugh, learn, and re-discover your love of early NFB films, as played on CBC television in the 1960s. Audiences are invited to wear their plaid and bring their toques – animated fun awaits, snow or shine! The Log Drivers Waltz Gala is all about nostalgia and community. Do you remember “The Sweater”? What about “The Cat Came Back”? Many Canadians don’t realize it, but Canada is celebrated internationally for our amazing animations, and a lot of that has to do with the National Film Board. We want to create an excuse for families and friends to huddle together over a burn barrel, roast marshmallows, and watch nearly-forgotten animations from a Canada-past. The Log Drivers Waltz Gala is the perfect opportunity to create awesomeness for so many people – and $1000 from The Awesome Foundation would help us do just that! One of GIRAF’s primary goals is to make our festival accessible to audiences in all income brackets. The Log Drivers Waltz Gala is probably the cheapest event you will ever attend at the Jubilee Auditorium (outdoor events are FREE, indoor events cost $5). That being said, we don’t think inexpensive events should be cheap – not to toot our own horn, but we throw a hell of a party for the price of admission! $1,000 from the Awesome Foundation would help us pay for the huge projector we’re renting in order to show giant animations on the side of the Jubilee. This projector is approximately the size of a smart car, and requires its own box-truck and generator to power. I’m not going to tell you how much it costs to rent, but you can imagine… GIRAF Animation Festival is a non-profit festival run by an Artist Run Center. Our budget is unbelievably small, but we’ve never let our lack of money keep us from dreaming big. $1,000 would help us create an amazing event for a diverse community of Calgarians – and we think that’s pretty awesome!

Newmarket – HeadGames

2012-10-23T00:00:00Z

I see too many children playing sport without an essential peice of equipment -the simple helmet. My passion is cycling and I see so many kids riding their bikes without a helmet. I have also, a very long time ago, lost an uncle who died from falling off his bike and hitting his head on the curb. Helmets can also reduce the severity of concussions and I've had a few of these and I'm fully aware of the long term effects. Whether its due to lack of money or because the child's helmet isn't "cool", I want to see more children wearing a bicycle helmet. Using my ability to purchase cycling products at cost (not retail), my project is to get as many kids helmets as I can possibly purchase, work with a local non-profit and get the helmets to children and talk with them about cycling safety. Primarily to underprivileged families. Even though I do not live in the catchment area of the chapter I have selected below, my project would be for those who do do live in the chapter area - Newmarket, Ontario..

LA South Bay, CA (Non-active) – Planet Orchestra

2012-10-19T00:00:00Z

Beacause I am an amateur orchestra violinist, since June 2010 I have volunteered to organize a youth orchestra in Lawndale. We started teaching 8 children at the public library and word quickly spread. The community responded so strongly that not only the number of children grew to more than 50 in less than a year, but also an outpour of support allowed us to grow. We now use space at the new Lawndale Community Center as well as the library and the lawn in front of City Hall, running 3 concurrent session at times, thanks to our volunteer and professional staff. Help comes in the form of volunteer musicians, free space at public facilities, organizers, and money to pay for professional string players and instruments. We have partnered up with a similar organization called Palos Verdes Strings and we have had two concerts at Marsee Auditorium where children from all over the South Bay, and of different backgrounds, have come together to achieve the common good of making music. I have a vision that by forming a nonprofit organization, I can help start other satellites in other communities where kids don't have enough quality constructive and recreational activities and then bring them all together to play in concerts. We plan to partner up with other similar groups in the Los Angeles area and include dance and singing to create an uplifting culture through fine arts, with an emphasis in reaching out to the most excluded children. We would like to partner up with school districts to include this activity in their after school programs. Also, I would like to work with law enforcement to help us connect with kids who still may be within reach and rescue them from falling into a life of crime. While all of this may sound too idealistic, this work has been done for the past 35 years in Venezuela and they are obtaining awesome results.

Seattle, WA – Postcards From Farr Away

2012-10-19T00:00:00Z

My organization, Postcards From Farr Away is an organization that asks people to write genuine and sincere messages on postcards, and then we send them out randomly. We hope to spread random acts of kindness. One evening I received a call. It was from a woman who had just been in the hospital. Her child was hospitalized for the past couple days and she had just arrived back at her house to start sorting thru life that had been temporarily postponed. As she was going thru her mail, sorting out the junk mail & bills, she came across a postcard. Now I don't know what the postcard said, but this woman called me to articulate that this simple piece of mail had a message written on it that lifted her spirits and was extremely timely. That it impacted her and it made a turbulent time in her life a little better and brighter. This was the work of Postcards From Farr Away. I aim to make as many people's days as possible, by using a very simple, yet meaningful gesture. Volunteers write these messages, and then sometimes by myself, and sometimes by the help of these volunteers I address them and send them out. Each postcard is branded with a simple URL (http://from.postcardsfromfarraway.org), which the recipients can come to a website and can understand how they got the postcard. People on the website can buy merchandise associated with the cause, submit addresses to have postcards sent to, and stay up to date with the current state of the organization. In the next couple months I plan to start to roll out a volunteer network across college campuses to help spread PFFA exponentially. With the assistance of the Gonzaga University New Venture Lab, we created an inexpensive plan to syndicate the organization, and allow it to function all across the nation. I have sent out thousands of postcards locally, nationally, and recently internationally (9 countries and counting!).

Boulder, CO (Non-active) – Operaverse presents Trouble in Tahiti

2012-10-13T00:00:00Z

Operaverse is about creating musical art and developing musical artists. Our inaugural production is Trouble in Tahiti by Leonard Bernstein offered in Boulder, CO on 10/27/2012, Fort Collins on 10/28, and Broomfield, CO on 11/2. We are completely cast by local artists and all the performances will be free and open to the public. Opera is often branded as elitist and it is certainly not the cheapest art-form to produce or attend. As a result and despite its beauty, it is often named as one of the most disliked art-forms. Many, if not most of the "opera-haters" have never heard an operatic performance. The charm of this particular medium is that you get to experience the power of the human voice in a visceral way but only if you can afford to go. That's were I step in. I believe in the power of the human voice and I believe in humans so this is my community offering. The Opera: Trouble in Tahiti is a one-act opera in english that tells the story of one day in the life of an unhappily married couple, Dinah and Sam. It is a sublime piece of music that really speaks to the human condition. The work makes a social commentary about things that look perfect on the surface. It is also rumored that this work was biographical, a story about Leonard Bernstein's own parents. Trouble in Tahiti is very accessible for an American audience that may or may not have any experience with Opera. The story is an archetype and one we all know because we have lived it or seen it play out. There are elements of jazz in the score as well as a jazz trio (as a greek chorus) that help the audience navigate the work both aurally and emotionally. In conclusion, this project is awesome because it is a new approach. Operaverse is grassroots Opera designed for the community-at-large. To display the power of the human voice. This power should not be reserved for those who can afford it. It belongs, by right, to all of us.

Los Angeles, CA – Be The Match - On Campus

2012-10-12T00:00:00Z

Be The Match On Campus is a national program that targets minority students attending colleges and universities around the country to add more people who fall in the 18-24 year age range to the registry. This initiative will focus on recruiting minority students from 35 main colleges and universities in Southern California. Why College Students (18-24)? Research shows that cells from younger donors lead to more successful transplants because younger donors produce more and higher-quality cells than older donors. Why Minorities? The chances of finding a matching donor vary widely based on genetic tissue types and minorities are particularly at risk. Racially and ethnically diverse groups such as African Americans, Hispanics, and multiracial individuals have more genetic diversity in their tissue types, and this complexity can make it harder to find suitable donors. Because tissue types are inherited, patients are most likely to match someone who shares their racial and ethnic heritage. Although access to transplant is improving significantly, with the NMDP facilitating more than twice as many transplants for minorities than it did just five years ago, there are still patients who are denied access to treatment because a matching donor cannot be found. For multiracial patients, the chances of finding a match are significantly reduced. The genetic combinations are staggering, and only 3% of the donors on the registry self-identify as mixed race. Our criteria for success is to ensure that we have recruited healthy individuals between the ages of 18-24 Southern California universities who are well educated about the marrow donation process, understand what they are committing to, and are indeed committed to donating if matched with a patient. Together, Be The Match Foundation and the NMDP are the world’s leader in connecting patients in need with compassionate and generous donors who are willing to volunteer their time and cells to save a life.

Kitchener-Waterloo – Pandora's Box Grows Up

2012-10-11T00:00:00Z

Pandora's Box-The Puppet Show has been performed in school classrooms, outdoor festivals, libraries, and senior's centres. This is one version of this puppet show, an intimate and interactive version, which is entertaining but lacks the "pizazz" of a live theatre experience. With the help of the Awesome Foundation, I would like to provide university technical theatre students with a theatre design project. This is a chance for theatre technicians to have hands-on experience on a highly inspiring and challenging theatre piece. Pandora's Box is a puppet show designed to be performed onstage. There is no "puppet theatre". I perform what I call "Shameless" puppetry, where the actor performs in front of the audience shamelessly. This is why this show would make such a great design project. There are unlimited lighting, sound and special effect opportunities in a show that deals with a tale as large as a Greek myth, performed with one actor and multiple puppets. This is a excellent Awesome Foundation project because it comes at the final phase of this artistic enterprise. The show is already written, cast and well rehearsed. It is a fully professional show with a successful beginning, which now requires this final push to make it great.

Ottawa – Laser Musicbox

2012-10-11T00:00:00Z

October’s Awesome Ottawa award goes to Christopher Smeenk to support his making music with lasers. Christopher, a physics PhD student at the University of Ottawa and the Attosecond Science Lab at the National Research Council, explains that his scientific work “focuses on applications of ultrashort laser pulses to control and image matter on the atomic scale.” But he’s also interested in, as he puts it, “delivering tangible outcomes that non-specialists can enjoy.” So he has developed a new method to make music that he calls the laser musicbox. “New developments in laser technology,” Christopher explains, “make it possible to use light to create and control sound – merging the sensations of sight and hearing into a single experience. By focusing an ultrashort laser pulse into air it is possible to simultaneously generate an audible sound and colours spanning the entire visible spectrum. By focusing a laser pulse into air we create a plasma, i.e., a gas of electrons and ions. When the hot plasma expands into the surrounding cooler air it creates a shock wave that you can hear. By controlling the frequency of the laser pulses we can manipulate the pitch of the note and play a melody.” So far, Christopher has used his laser music box to play back scales, as well as two pieces of music from Daft Punk. Next, he plans to connect a piano keyboard to the laser to transform it into a musical instrument, and invite musicians and composers into the lab to experiment with the technology. He hopes to eventually use the laser in performance, with a small ensemble of musicians. He also plans to open up the software he is developing to others interested in experimenting with music and light. To learn more about Christopher’s laser musicbox — he has written a short paper about how it works — and to follow his progress, visit https://sites.google.com/site/csmeenk/laser-musicbox.

Sydney – Hoopy Happenings

2012-10-10T00:00:00Z

The idea for Hoopy Happenings started when I was at Circus Fest 2009 in Tasmania and wanted more than just 2 hoop workshops during the training time. A few of us tried to pick a place & a date but everyone had different ideas & we all lived in different parts of Oz. I decided if it was going to happen we just needed to set a date & go for it. I decided on Sydney, chose a weekend, advertised it and searched for teachers. It kicked off in 2010 & after many hours of work I managed to cover costs, we had 29 participants. The next year, 2011, I learnt a lot from 2010 & made the changes to make it a success again & we had 39 participants. Every year though right up until the very last week I'd be stressing out and wondering if I'd sell enough tickets to cover the costs. Every year my sister Lisa who helps me & Bunny would tell me to breath and the hoopiverse will come through for me. Hundreds of hours spent to get this hoop community event up & running each year and its really beautiful when it comes to fruition and all the bills get paid and there may be a little left over for me too. I try to get a good mix of workshops together that covers top to toe hooping... this year we have workshops in contortion. foot hooping. salsa, belly-dancing, isolations, native american-indian inspired hooping, acrobalance, fire hooping, World Hoop Day Dance choreography, twin hooping plus I've added master classes where hoopers can develop their teaching skills & performance development. It's totally full of awesomeness! Plus this year I have a cameraman on board to do a DVD for us so that it is professionally done. Hoopy Happenings is a community happening. It accommodates for the circus styled hoopers and the hoop dancers. These 2 different styles of hooping don't always see eye to eye, the teaching & training styles are very different and there are still some who are just one or the other. I like to see HH as the bridge & inspiration for hooping creativity. Next step to grow.

New York City, NY – The Acoustic Guitar Project

2012-10-08T00:00:00Z

The Acoustic Guitar Project is music, creativity, inspiration, and a celebration of humanity rolled into one. The project’s basic premise is to set an acoustic guitar off on a physical and musical journey. It begins with a single musician, who has one week to record an original song with the guitar on a handheld recorder. At the end of the week, the musician signs the guitar and gives it to another musician to repeat the cycle. The guitar thus becomes a "viral memento" with its own path, until 20 musicians have contributed to a single guitar. There are already instruments circulating in New York and Helsinki and a third will soon set sail in Latin America. The songs, lyrics, pictures of the musicians, and interviews with them are archived on a website, and the ultimate aim is to bring the musicians together again in the real world for a concert. The Awesome Grant will help support all aspects of this project’s growth, as the website is revitalized and new guitars are added and the whole process is documented on video.

Austin, TX – Austin Sea Veggies

2012-10-06T00:00:00Z

Austin Sea Veggies is a seaweed farm in Austin TX started by Lewis Wells. Originally he was growing seaweed for scientific purposes. "Seaweed products are in many products most people don't know it. It is in many foods, cosmetics and medicines. The wild harvest of it is reaching unsustainanble levels," Lewis told us. He started growing in aquaria as proof of concept. It required years of research and experiments. "In an off handed comment I made a remark to my wife about eating it. Next thing I know I am running a booth at the sustainable food center's farmers market and my garage is full of tanks of seawater growing seaweed for culinary use." How cool is that?! Now Lewis has so many customers in grocery and restaurants that he has more demand than supply. With the awesome foundation grant Lewis plans on purchasing electronic probes to measure nitrogen and phosphate level in his farm tanks. "If I can graph in real time the rate the plants are taking up nutrients I can give them the exact amount of nutrients they need and have 0 waste," he says. He'll also be buying a UV sterilizing unit to eliminate bacteria and nuisance algae from the water supply to produce even better crops. This will allow Lewis plans to moving Austin Sea Veggies out of his garage and into a greenhouse at Agua Dulce aquaponics farm in southeast Austin. He'll be finally able to raise several fold the amount of seaweed and finally meet his customer demand. He will also be able to start growing more varieties beyond the one he grows now called Ogo. "My goal is produce amazing, fresh, healthy local seafood anywhere in world. I want people to have good food and for us to be able to leave the wild environment alone at the same time."

San Francisco, CA – 24/7 Bike Repair Vending Machine

2012-10-02T00:00:00Z

As an urban bicyclist, I am frequently stricken with flat tires and mechanical failures at times when bike shops are closed. Many bicyclists (myself included) have the know-how to fix their own bikes, but lack the access parts when they need them. I want to create the Bay Area’s first 24 hour bike repair depot. I want to take a vending machine and fill it with bicycle tubes, tires, tire levers, lights, and other assorted parts. I’ll decorate the outside with helpful bike repair information, such as how to change a tire, attach an air pump to the outside, and place it in a prominent, bike friendly location. With this, bikers will have an emergency repair option at any time of day or night.

Rio de Janeiro (Non-active) – Open Mic - Primeira Base (TAKE 2)

2012-10-01T00:00:00Z

O Primeira Base Open Mic tem como proposta gerar uma oportunidade para aspirantes a humoristas terem uma plataforma inicial acessível para se lançarem no mercado, assim como abrir a possibilidade para humoristas profissionais testarem novos materiais para seus shows. Cria-se um espaço fixo no calendário cultural do Rio de Janeiro que, ao contrário de SP, carece de locais de apresentação onde a comédia stand-up possa criar alguma tradição e não um aspecto de evento sazonal. O evento foi realizado ao longo do mês de outubro de 2012 no La Esquina Teatro Bar e o prêmio concedido foi utilizado para adquirir um troféu e em cachês para os humoristas profissionais.

Oahu, HI – PermablitzHI

2012-10-01T00:00:00Z

Hawaii is dependent on food grown elsewhere and shipped to the middle of the Pacific. Less than 2 weeks of food inventory is on hand. Delivery stoppage, delays and costs increases would have a tremendous negative impact. Permablitz Hawaii allows people to create perennial food gardens at their homes with little money and no experience. Anyone is eligible simply by helping install three other gardens. In one day, a large group of people will come and transform your land into a Permaculture foodscape. Since it’s founding in the Fall of 2011, 39 Permablitz’s have been completed. Please read more here: http://permablitzhawaii.com/pages/what-is-a-permablitz As raindrops fall in to rivers and rivers into oceans we hope to naturally inspire more and more people to work together as neighbors for the benefit of all involved. PermaBlitz not only increases the island’s food security, but also allows people to create new, reciprocal relationships with a diverse group of “blitzers”. These symbiotic relationships increase everyone’s resiliency when faced with adversity. PermaBlitz started Oahu-wide and has grown to establish more local groups, like the Westside PermaBlitz in Waianae and 'Growing Together' on the North Shore. We aim to continue this trend to lots of neighborhoods and other islands. There are no restrictions limiting the growth to whoever wants to adopt the program. Nothing is more peaceful than helping others grow healthy food. We love striving to recreate what Hawaii once was, a community where neighbors help neighbors grow their own food, trade, eat together, share recipes and “talk story”. By doing so people care about each other more deeply. They are generally inspired to invite others to participate and share even more, creating peas (peace!) on Earth!

Sukhbaatar (Non-active) – BOOK RESTORATION

2012-10-01T00:00:00Z

It has been a busy couple of months for Awesome Mongolia! First, Aldarmaa and I had an amazing time representing the Awesome Foundation by speaking at TEDx Ulaanbaatar about Awesome Mongolia, as well as another project we have been working on, the Good Father Project. You can catch the video at AwesomeMongolia.com and practice your Mongolian during the second half of the video, subtitles are forthcoming! The idea was well received by the audience and we are currently working with a group from Ulaanbaatar, the capital city, to start our second chapter (and potentially third) of Awesome Mongolia! The deans of the new group are going to work with students at the health sciences university, and hope to fund some great public health projects. We can’t wait to see what they come up with! Finally, we awarded our second project for Awesome Sukhbaatar in late October. The winning proposal was submitted by an entire class of 11th grade students at one of our schools. They will be working with the local municipal library to recover books that are severely damaged. The students also plan on starting a competition based on reading books!

Austin, TX – Color Squad: Youth transforming public spaces

2012-09-30T00:00:00Z

Since I have been working in public schools serving specifically low-income communities, I have noticed these schools target STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) based education with an eye towards college and trade school, and a very low focus on the arts or creative education. I will occasionally come across youth with a genuine talent and interest in art, but have no way to substantially encourage them to pursue a career in art or to show them ways to do so. With an Awesome Grant, I would use it as seed money to start a program for youth in low-income, under-served communities who are interested in art to come together and create murals in their community. It would be a group of four to eight teens that would submit portfolios and be accepted on a competitive basis. My goal is to give them a sense of what it is to be a real working artist, and the challenges and rewards of creating art in a group for their community. They will learn composition, execution of design, and come out of the program with experience working with the community and completing public art projects that can be put toward a portfolio for college or more professional work. It will also hopefully create a sense of engagement in their community and be a beautiful addition to a part of the Austin community.