Awesome Foundation - Projects

Kitchener-Waterloo – Change is in the bag

2019-05-30T00:00:00Z

This project's goal is to reduce the use of single use plastic produce bags - the kind that people use many of at the grocery store - to cut down on valuable resources wasted in their production, to eliminate the burden on our recycling system, to keep unnecessary items out of our landfill, and to protect our waterways and wildlife. I want to replace these with a sustainable alternative, by making and giving away mesh produce bags made from nearly 100% upcycled materials - previously-loved lace and sheer curtains and tablecloths, and drawstrings made from upcycled tshirt yarn. The bonus is that this process also keeps unwanted textiles out of our overburdened landfill. I want to organize a Making Day, where volunteers come together to make mesh produce bags, then insert a note explaining this environmental issue, then distribute them for free to the public. I already make this item as part of my business, so I can easily streamline the production of these produce bags on a larger scale. We would have volunteers to cut, sew, and stuff bags then hand them out at various locations throughout KW. Each reusable bag can be used hundreds of times, so the environmental savings are huge, and the pride of people making earth-friendly choices is immeasurable.

Kitchener-Waterloo – Summer Circus Park Jam

2019-05-30T00:00:00Z

Weekly, we would transform the space next to the gazebo on the island in Victoria Park into an open area of circus arts exploration. Aerial silks and rings would hang from the large tree in the middle of the area with safety mats underneath (we have previously put both of these up with much success). Gym mats would cover part of the grass, offering opportunity for acrobatic exploration, yoga and movement arts. Circus props such as juggling equipment, hula hoops, unicycles and numerous other types of circus props (i.e. poi, staffs, fans) would also be available to explore. A slackline might also be suspended between 2 trees. A chalkboard welcome sign explaining and encouraging curious exploration and play for the public would welcome passerbys. The chalkboard would also list specific circus skill classes that would run weekly (i.e. an intro to hula hooping class or learning a three ball juggling cascade). Music would also play from a Bluetooth speaker throughout the evening and blankets would be available for lounging and relaxing, along with healthy vegan snacks available for everyone (i.e. fruits, granola bars). Once the sun goes down, the area would be lit by battery powered LED strands and fairy lights, and there would be ambient music until the park closes for the night. Given the wide skill range & sizes of circus props we would have available, our project offers opportunity for anyone, of any age to come, explore and potentially pick up a new skill among a group of supportive like-minded individuals. From a 68 year old couple walking by deciding to try their hand at learning a beginner juggling trick, to young children picking up hula hoops and spinning around, to differently abled people being assisted through their first acrobatic yoga moves, supported by a team of spotters, there is plentiful opportunity for individuals, families and people of all walks of life to engage in safe play.

Phoenix, AZ (Non-active) – Lights Camera Discover Youth Workshops

2019-05-30T00:00:00Z

Lights Camera Discover is "turning imaginations into opportunity." The nonprofit organization provides underserved youth opportunities to develop confidence, build self-esteem and learn teamwork by participating in a series of workshops that teach various aspects of performing and digital arts (including digital filmmaking, photography, acting, screenwriting, website design and animation). Through afterschool and summer programs youth receive mentorship in group and one-on-one settings. They have the chance to work with seasoned veterans in film, acting, writing, production and more and discover a different way of thinking, writing, speaking and ways to be creative. "The activities in which our youth engage in are critical to their development," says executive director Kema Charles. "The world of technology is ever rapidly changing and in order to prepare our youth, we have to be able to expose them to tomorrow's trends and technology today." She continues, "If we are able to keep a majority of our students out of trouble off the streets and out of jail we feel that we are doing what is needed to ensure our youth have a bright future ahead of them." The long-term goal of Lights Camera Discover is to instill in youth to make positive career choices in life. "We encourage our students to understand the old concept of it takes a village to raise a child. That means they will encounter all facets of life, their environment and community. But their ability to choose is first and foremost," Kema says. The organization focuses on partnerships, innovation and engagement. LCD has formed partnerships with City of Phoenix Housing Department, Roosevelt School District, Maricopa County Regional School District and local community organizations to ensure reaching more youth and more often. The grant will allow the nonprofit organization to purchase needed equipment and supplies as well as meals and snacks for the participants.

Birmingham, AL (Non-active) – Cadettes Care-Helping the homeless

2019-05-30T00:00:00Z

We are the Cadettes of Girl Scout Troop 350 and we are working on our Silver Award. For our Silver Award we are raising money to buy backpacks specifically designed for the homeless in Birmingham, Alabama. Our goal is to raise $10,000. When you buy a backpack you are making a homeless person's hard times much better by giving them a safe place to put their personal items and giving them many more advantages built into these customized backpacks. This will greatly help us achieve our goal of giving the homeless a safe, convenient backpack to help make their everyday lives easier.

New York City, NY – The Birthday Party Project

2019-05-29T00:00:00Z

The Birthday Party Project is a nationwide non-profit that partners with homeless shelters and transitional living facilities across the country to host big, fun birthday pizza parties for the children living there. They work with 5 locations in New York City alone, celebrating with 120 children each month. In their own words: _Every month we bring birthday JOY to the families at local shelters in your community. From art parties to petting zoos... from carnivals to dance parties...our parties bring new and special experiences to these children and let them know they’re worthy of celebration. They bring a sense of consistency and normalcy during a difficult time and show them their community cares. They allow kids to be kids!_ _The children we celebrate have all experienced varying levels of trauma. From being evicted, bounced around from shelter to shelter and/or witnessing domestic violence, giving them this carefree hour to JUST BE A KID is vital! Many of the children we meet have never blown out a candle or made a wish. We bring them experiences they might not otherwise have, including have a roomful of people sing to them! The stories we hear and the moments we witness are beyond special._ The pizza is being donated by local sponsors (yay!) so our $1,000 grant will help The Birthday Party Project buy presents for the kids, ensuring an even more awesome birthday for each and every one of them. Would you like to volunteer at one of their upcoming birthday parties? You can find their [NYC Party Calendar on their website](https://thebirthdaypartyproject.volunteerhub.com/?format=Calendar&filter=40905) where you can learn about how to get involved!

Melbourne (Non-active) – Reaching for Gold

2019-05-29T00:00:00Z

The Goannas are Australia's men's Deaf Basketball team who are aiming for Gold at this years Asia Pacific Deaf Games in Hong Kong this November. All athletes on the team are Deaf or hard of hearing meaning that in competition they have to communicate with each other using Auslan (Australian Sign Language) Now that's pretty awesome. What sucks is that team do not receive any government or sports association funding. This means that the players themselves have to pay their own way to represent Australia. Now that's a bit unfair! The team has been selected and consists of Deaf and hard of hearing athletes from all over Australia who love the game of basketball. Being Deaf or hard of hearing is big barrier in society as it can be a hardship as they experience higher levels of social isolation due to being Deaf and hard of hearing. We help them experience higher levels of confidence through the game of basketball by giving them the opportunity to Deaf basketball on the world stage. Having this opportunity however is not free as there are costs involved, however the friendships that the team-mates form from being involved in the national program last forever. That's awesome.

Ottawa – The Company of Adventurers

2019-05-29T00:00:00Z

May’s Awesome Ottawa award goes to Cynthia Sugars to support The Company of Adventurers, a young people’s Shakespeare company in Old Ottawa South that performs in a neighbourhood back yard. “For years my dream was to run a summer theatre program for local kids to bring what I do in the classroom to the public,” says Cynthia, a teacher of English and Theatre at the University of Ottawa. “It is my belief that we underestimate what kids are capable of. Shakespeare is not hard or scary. Our actors revel in the poetry, humour, and social insights of Shakespeare. As each production develops, we see their creativity, self-expression, community spirit, and confidence build. They are an inspiration!” “Our goal,” Cynthia continues, “is to nourish the creative talents of local children and to offer them access to a genuinely enriching cultural and theatrical experience. No prior acting experience is necessary, and we accept children from ages 10-19. We try to bring out the inner confidence and creativity of children and youth by working very cohesively as a team. We also foster the talents of the actors by using music, dance, gymnastics, and other abilities that the actors bring to the group. We are also trying to instill in young people a sense of community outreach and responsibility,” says Cynthia. “We present our shows as fundraisers for a local charity. We pass a hat after each show and donate all of the money raised to the designated charity for that year – which is chosen by the children.” The company’s show for 2019 is Shakespeare's As You LIke It. “We choose a different play each year,” explains Cynthia, “and rehearse all summer, two nights a week, presenting our shows on weekends in September.” To learn more, and to attend a show this fall, visit companyofadventurers.ca.

Leiden – O.K. Lammenschans XXXL #9

2019-05-29T00:00:00Z

Bouwplaatsen in Leiden zijn altijd super lelijk, wij willen hier verandering in brengen. wij willen de gigantische bouwplaatsen in de lammenschansdriehoek (bij het ROC) gaan opleuken met onze kunstzinnige uitingen. We zijn al in gesprek met de gemeente en de reacties zijn super positief! ons doel is om van de zomer de grootste graffiti-jam van Zuid-Holland te organiseren in de Lammenschansdriehoek.

Awesome Without Borders (Non-active) – Promoting production of edible insects in Uganda

2019-05-28T00:00:00Z

Edible insects are recognised as a valuable source of protein and other nutrients. In addition, they are easy and cheap to produce, requiring little feed, water and space. These properties make production of edible insects an attractive option for people who lack access to land or resources for farm inputs, especially in areas where there is limited access to nutritious food. This is the case in Uganda, which is host to more than 1 million refugees, who have limited access to land and resources, and suffer from severely limited access to a nutritious diet. If the right business model is developed, production of edible insects could become an important source of income for refugees, and at the same time provide a valuable source of nutrition. The project has two equally important overall objectives: 1) Improved access to nutritious food for refugees in Uganda; 2) Improved income generating opportunities for refugees in Uganda. These objectives will be achieved through the development of a sustainable business model for the production and sale of edible insect products (focusing to begin with on mealworm), and supplying the necessary initial inputs and training to refugees to start production. We will focus in particular on associations of refugee farmers, many of whom are women, in the Kyaka II settlement in Western Uganda. We are working with the Danish Refugee Council, one of the world's leading humanitarian agencies, who have been supporting these farmer's associations for several years. Unfortunately most refugee farmers have lost most of their land during 2018 as a result of renewed influx of refugees from DR Congo to Uganda, and there is therefore an urgent need to develop new forms of produce that does not require much land. Insects are commonly eaten among both Ugandans and the Congolese refugees, and our preliminary research in the settlement showed great interest in the production and consumption of mealworm.

Portland, OR – Miss Anthology

2019-05-28T00:00:00Z

Miss Anthology’s mission is to support racially and economically diverse young comics artists by teaching professional skills through free and open to the public hands-on workshops, and publishing their work online and in print. By introducing female and LGBTQIA+ artists, writers, and creators to the comics and art industries before they graduate, they will gain a firm understanding and head start on their careers, as well as an established network of peers within this otherwise cisgender male-dominated field.

Portland, OR – Nat Turner Project: Drinking Gourd Fellowship

2019-05-28T00:00:00Z

I am one half of the fugitive gallery space, Nat Turner Project. We provide safe spaces, exhibits, funding, and press for artists of color. maxx martinez and I originally started this curatorial project in the bathrooms of our MFA studios when we were art students at PNCA in 2016. Most recently, we were lucky enough to procure funding to launch the Drinking Gourd Fellowship program, which is a series of need-based studio visits, exhibition opportunities, and no-strings-attached stipends for Black and POC artists in Portland. While we able to secure enough funding for the stipends and studio visits, we would like additional funding for our end-of-the-year exhibition showcase of the artists. We have also recently employed a part time Research & Development Operator to handle administrative tasks, social media, and research of other art collectives and spaces we can collaborate with, which has been extremely helpful. As maxx and I are both working artists with full time jobs and several part-time jobs, alleviating the burden of some of our administrative tasks has helped us concentrate on the main missions of our project: providing opportunities for artists of color.

Alaska (Non-active) – P.O.P.-Promote Our Pollinators

2019-05-28T00:00:00Z

Many people on the Kenai Peninsula do not realize how important pollinators are to the environment; I hope to educate my community about how crucial pollinators are. I will distribute tools and supplies, so everyone can help promote our pollinators. I will present and distribute the following to schools on the Kenai Peninsula, Senior Centers, the Rotary Club, the Chamber of Commerce, Gardening Clubs, and other community events around the Peninsula to provide information about pollinators and the means to help them. -Educational flyers: o Contains information about the importance of pollinators and why they are declining o A description of how to create a pollinator garden o Ways to avoid harmful pesticides using ecologically safe methods -Pollinator packs: o Ready-made, six-pack pollinator garden starter kits o Contains six different Kenai Peninsula hardy seedlings -Pollinator activity book: o Contains elementary-appropriate information about pollinators o Original illustrations and activities to inspire the next generation of gardeners -P.O.P. logo “Gear” o Buttons o Reusable tote bags I will host more “Make and Take” pollinator planting events at schools on the Kenai Peninsula and senior centers, so students and seniors can plant pollinator packs, potentially inspiring over 800 people. I will distribute the activity books and teach them about our pollinators to inspire the next generation of gardeners who will be the ultimate solution to this critical problem. My idea is time sensitive; I would like to begin disseminating my materials this spring. I plan to implement my project according to this timeline: • Purchasing equipment and supplies: June 2019 • Educational presentations and material dissemination: May-September 2019 • Planting and pollinator pack care: March through April 2020 • Educational presentations and pollinator pack distribution: May through June 2020

Sydney – Hinchinbrook Hornets Open Women Team

2019-05-26T00:00:00Z

I write on behalf of my team. My name is Jax and I'm the co-captain for the Hinchinbrook Hornets Junior Rugby League Football Club Open Women's Team (What a mouthful!). Our team are based in Green Valley, in the Liverpool area of South West Sydney. Our project is to fund our teams needs for new tracksuit tops/hoodies for the current 2019 season. Our team is made up of passionate women who love to play football. Unfortunately many members of our team come from rough homes where paying for boots, gear and even registration to play the game, is impossible. 50% of our team are Aboriginal, many of our ladies are mums and we all love to play footy and inspire the next generation of young women to rise up and play footy. Rugby League is no longer a sport for men, it's a sport that connects people, and provides a family to those who need it. Our Open Women's Team of 22 players really need new tracksuit tops/hoodies to train in as our season is played throughout the whole of winter. We train late on Monday and Wednesday nights, and play on Sundays. We feel like we are close, family orientated team and we just want to look the part (and also not freeze!).

Newmarket – Hockey for Autism

2019-05-26T00:00:00Z

My husband and I started Hockey for Autism in response to a lack of programming available for children with Autism. Hockey for Autism was founded with a single goal - to offer safe, fun, non-competitive hockey to children on the spectrum desiring to play. Our program is for children aged 7 to 14 with basic skating skills and runs for 24 weeks (September to March) at National Training Rinks in Newmarket. Hockey for Autism provides a fun and supportive environment teaching kids both basic hockey skills, as well as, helping them build their self-confidence and the experience of being part of a team. Our program consists of 30 minutes of fun hockey drills followed by a 30 minute scrimmage game. Both my husband and I provide on ice coaching with the support of our great community of parent volunteers and player mentors who provide dressing room support, help manage the player benches and provide on ice encouragement to all our players. The cost of the program is $160 which includes a jersey and hockey socks, as well as, the year end team party..

Singapore – The Block Party by The Community Theatre

2019-05-25T00:00:00Z

Community Theatre is an initiative by Beyond Social Services that rallies volunteers from different walks of life to co-create a show that engages its audience to reflect on the social challenges faced by children and families from low-income backgrounds. Since 2015, the Community Theatre has developed into a youth development programme that engages both rental and purchase flat youths to produce interactive performances base on personal experiences. This year, Beyond Social Services will be partnering with the good people of ArtsWok Collaborative by providing The Community Theatre an opportunity to be part of the upcoming M1 Peer Pleasure Festival 2019. This will be a great opportunity to elevate the voices of marginalize youths through The Community Theatre programme. As the theme for the festival is Poverty in Singapore, it will be a platform to hear the voices of young people living in poverty taking their stand on the topic and sharing their ideas to tackle them. They will share and perform their experiences living in rental flats, the unheard stories, aspirations and perspectives on people living in poverty that we don't usualy hear from professionals and academics. Through this experience, we will be re-shifting their personal narrative from a receiver to a contributor as they will be empowered to advocate, take ownership of their community issues while de-bunking the stigmas that others have on them.

San Antonio, TX – Shelby's Sweets

2019-05-24T00:00:00Z

Shelby's Sweets is an organization founded by myself and Shelby Struxness. We hope to one day open a bakery that offers vocational training and employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities in the San Antonio area. We are working on getting our nonprofit status, but we currently fundraise by selling cupcakes and other baked goods made by Shelby and other friends who have disabilities. We are involved in many projects. We support the nonprofit organization Aid the Silent by donating cupcakes to their events. We also will donate eight dozen cupcakes to Gabriela's Cupcake Run, a 5k supporting childhood cancer research. Finally, we have partnered with the Food Bank this summer through the FeedSA initiative to help raise food and funds to provide children with meals this summer. All of our products are picked by Shelby, who has fetal alcohol syndrome and learning disabilities. She is also fully involved in making all of the products, creating invoices, and choosing our partner initiatives. Shelby has said that being involved with Shelby's Sweets has increased her self-esteem, and made her feel like she is "capable of anything." We have a team of about ten individuals with disabilities, and around fifteen of their typical peers. When we have a big order, we host "baking parties" where products are made, but more importantly, friendships between people with and without a disabiliity are made! As a home bakery, we follow all local cottage food laws and regulations. This includes helping our volunteers learn about food safety, and even working with them to obtain their food-handler's certificate. While we do not currently have the resources or facility to actually employ our volunteers, paying for food-handling courses and assisting them with completion helps them find jobs in the community as well! In the future, it is our goal to open an inclusive bakery and coffee house where people with and without disabilities can congregate.

Kitchener-Waterloo – KW May Day 2019

2019-05-23T00:00:00Z

Here is a synopsis of last years event, followed by a brief piece of this years call out: We saw over 200 people gather in Victoria Park for a May Day celebration. We invited many community groups and individuals to share their projects, food, workshops and celebrate in the streets. The open mic held space for poetry, powerful words, music, and performance. There was a children's obstacle course, and games for folks of any age and ability to participate in. We had a build your own burrito food station as well as a potluck. to close the evening, we had a celebration in the streets that cumulated in an outdoor dance celebration at city hall. In the lead up, we also hosted several art gatherings that brought together community to create art for the day of. This year, we will include a similar amount of fun and activity inviting many community organizations to join once more. In addition to the main event on May 1st, we will be hosting a film screening the next evening, and dance party on the Friday. Here is the first part of our invitation to the community to participate this year: Join us Wednesday, May 1st for our second annual May Day community gathering, as we shake off the icy winds of winter, celebrate the coming of spring, and remember once again what it means to be resilient, radical, and rejuvenated! Let’s gather to share our stories, our grief and our joy, and to reimagine and remember what we want and need in this world! In this space we can feast, create, dance, celebrate, and resist, while we continue to build connections with ourselves, one another, and the land. Our goal is to create an event that is inclusive and free to everyone; grounded in mutual aid, voluntary participation, and personal/collective autonomy, without authority. We are dreaming up a fierce, fun, family friendly event that will kick off with diverse activities and a potluck in the park, followed by a most marvelous march. Let’s put our dreams into action together!

Yerevan – Փրկելը հիասքանչ է

2019-05-23T00:00:00Z

Դինգո Թիմը ավելի քան 12 տարի է, ինչ զբաղվում է անտուն կենդանիների փրկության և որդեգրման հարցերով: Այն փրկել և տնավորել է հազարավոր կենդանիներ, որոնք փրկվել են մահից և մարդկային դաժան վերաբերմունքից: Ամեն փրկությունն իր պատմությունն ունի, ամեն փրկություն յուրովի հուզիչ է: Կենդանիների նկատմամբ դրական վերաբերմունքի մշակույթի զարգացման հարցում չափազանց շատ կարևորելով ապագա սերունդների ճիշտ դաստիարակությունը՝ Դինգո Թիմն իր «Փրկելը Հիասքանչ է» նախագծով նպատակ ունի փրկության պատմություններից մեկը դարձնել հեքիաթի գիրք: Դրա շնորհիվ երեխաների համար դեռ փոքր տարիքից անտուն կենդանիների փրկությունն ու որդեգրումը կդառնա անգիտակցական մակարդակով նորմալ ու սովորական երևույթ, չէ որ ի՞նչն է երեխաների վրա ավելի լավ ազդում, քան հեքիաթը: Այս հեքիաթը, որը կդառնա կրթական նոր նախագծի առաջին քայլը, փոքրիկ Ջինայի պատմությունն է, ում մի բարի մարդ փրկում է խեղդվելուց, տանում տուն և նա դառնում է գեղեցիկ ընտանիքի մի երջանիկ անդամ: Հեքիաթի հեղինակը Դավիթ Մակիչյանն է, նկարչուհին՝ Գոհար Սարգսյանը:

Newcastle – Cuplet Poetry Night

2019-05-23T00:00:00Z

Cuplet is Newcastle's newest monthly poetry night, focusing on touring interstate and international acts. The project was launched at its gorgeous venue The Beaumont (Hamilton) on August 15 to a packed crowd, with seven feature poets - three international, two Sydney based, one Melbourne based and one Newcastle based poet - taking over the stage for an evening of world-class poetry. I decided to develop Cuplet after a trip to Sydney, to read at the 'Avant Gaga' poetry night at Sappho Books in Glebe. The Sappho poetry nights have been running for over 15 years, most recently under the stewardship of Toby Fitch - poetry editor of Overland Literary Journal. I realised that Newcastle was missing this kind of event, and I wanted to fill the void. While Newcastle has a robust scene of open mic nights and local poetry readings, Cuplet offers an opportunity to have touring poets come to us - outside of our two major writers festival periods (Newcastle Writers Festival and the National Young Writers Festival). Newcastle's arts and cultural scene is strong and deserving of a regular, high class event with a wide range of local, interstate and international artists. The support for the launch was extremely heartening - we had a full house, six poet sponsors (individuals who sponsored the reading fee for a poet), and most audience members donated to cover the remaining costs. The venue was happy to host, and supplied mic and PA as well as offering drinks for the poets. Newcastle Live, the Newcastle Herald and HunterHunter all covered the launch. Responses to an audience survey showed that the majority of respondents were more likely to come to a poetry reading if there were an interstate or international artist. "A wonderful generosity and buzz of excitement. A terrific addition to the burgeoning Newcastle poetry scene." - Dr Trisha Pender, University of Newcastle "Cuplet is the poetry event I wanted to find when I first moved here." Anupama Pilbrow

Chicago, IL – TRQPiTECA Queer Pride Chicago 2019 - Sound System

2019-05-22T00:00:00Z

TRQPiTECA Queer Pride Chicago 2019 is a FREE, ALL-AGES festival celebrating LGBTQIA existence and resilience at the beautiful and iconic Ping Tom Memorial Park in Chinatown. It will take place on Sunday, June 30, 2019, from 3pm - 10pm. This event was selected to be a part of Chicago Parks District's Nights Out in the Park, which features arts and cultural programming in parks throughout the Chicagoland area. Programming with include two stages of live music, DJs & dancing, performances, art installations and visuals, as well as vendors, health & wellness providers, and community organizations. TRQPITECA Queer Pride 2019 will coincide with a teen-led Queer Family Picnic and Open Mic from 11am-4pm also at Ping Tom Memorial Park, sponsored by the Chicago Parks District. Our goal is to provide an inclusive space for people of all ages to uplift and affirm each other, to receive community care through health and wellness resources, and to enjoy our community's artist and personal expression. Because the majority of LGBTQIA funding and resources go towards community on Chicago's North Side, we are hoping to provide space on the South Side that celebrates all identities, not just those centered by mainstream Pride celebrations.

Chicago, IL – AMFM Presents: Feast "A Festival in Three Courses"

2019-05-22T00:00:00Z

We created a festival that creates a platform specifically for local musicians and artists to perform and share their work on a larger stage in the city they live, thrive and create in. We also center our festival on the West and Southside of Chicago to address issues of food equity and hunger in the city's food deserts. We utilize arts and culture to cultivate community and bring awareness to a large issue facing many people in this city. We give a new meaning to the saying "it takes a village." This is a diverse festival created by the people, for the people, where artists are hungry with passion, and “everybody eats,” and gets a shot at the stage, not just those who are bigger names, and no one leaves hungry. In 2018, through a series of festival pop ups over the course of the summer, we held a food drive, a community potlucks, and our feast finale in parks across the city with amazing local talent and even a fashion show. This year we hope to continue this mission seasonally to continue the conversation year round, because hunger is year round. Along with our summer festival Feast, we plan to host a Harvest, a dinner that highlights chefs and restaurants to raise funds for a partnering organization supporting food justice, and feed the less fortunate a fancy feast, and Seeds, a community day highlighting local community gardens, markets and organizations that people can get informed and fresh foods from.

Almere (Non-active) – Tasty mushroomburgers for flexitarian people

2019-05-22T00:00:00Z

It is our mission to provide the people with food based on local waste streams produced by smart technology. This statement has been developed on four problems on which we want to contribute on the solutions - Our living space had been built or paved for 70 procent which reduces the water drainage, health & wellbeing levels of the people (WUR,2019); - A flexitarian diet saves 1366 liters of drinkwater and 2 kilograms of animal feed per day when not eating any meat (Nudge, 2015); - The energy use is partly renewable (6,6%) and mostly fossil (93,4); - At the Netherlands cancer is the main reason of death, one of the causes is an unhealthy diet which contains to much red meat and charcuterie (Voedingscentrum, 2019) Therefore the local government of Almere introduced a program in 2017 which focusses on greening, feeding, energyzing and healthying. One of the program results is our company UPZWAM. Our mission is to provide food to people based on waste streams and produced in our own technical growth systems. To realise this mission we execute three key activities: -Cultivate edible mushrooms on local waste streams (coffee grounds, wood); -Produce derivative food products like vegaburgers, snacks and fitness supplements; - Design, development en production of modular technical solutions for small mushroom cultivators; To realise this activities we use serval resources. To collect the coffee grounds we collaborate with a local coffee company (Van Duijnen) and we are working on collaboration with a health supplier (Kwintes) tot create social jobs. All knowledge for the cultivation proces is obtained by ourselves. The result: an automated growthroom which is connected to the internet for continuous improvement. By these activities we want to reduce the impact on the local environment and supply in the need for delicious food and cultivation technology.

Adelaide – Connect @ Enfield

2019-05-21T00:00:00Z

'Connect @ Enfield' is a new project which aims to contribute to a "strong, connected and resilient community" in the suburb of Enfield. The aim is to develop a suite of programs that are relevant to the needs of the community, address social isolation, and build strong links between the local community, various ethnic and indigenous groups in the area. At the moment, CareWorks is announcing its arrival in the community with a series of programs that are fun and engaging (Food stalls, Sausage sizzles, car wash, mini-fair, etc.)

Kingston – Happy Tails Butterfly Sanctuary

2019-05-21T00:00:00Z

Happy Tails Farm Sanctuary is as a farm animal rescue offering lifelong Sanctuary and rehabilitation to abused, neglected and abandoned farm animals, and also operates as an education center. Happy Tails is a volunteer run registered charity in Harrowsmith. Happy Tails offers several different programs for our community youth, and this year will be instituting an inaugural summer camp program, based on Dr. Jane Goodall’s roots and shoots program. This camp filled to capacity in less than 48 hours, and is offered free to Kingston area children and includes all meals! All of our children’s programming has always been free or buy donation, because money should never be a barrier to learning and fun! As an education piece to this camp, as well as for all of the other children’s programming and community visitors, we will be building a butterfly sanctuary. This butterfly sanctuary does not simply mean we plant flowers and butterflies come. This will be an educational garden, and will highlight the full lifecycle of the species. We have fully planned out the garden, and the plants we’ve incorporated into the plan support the entire lifecycle of a species. This garden will also attract bees, and these butterflies and bees will make their way throughout the property. This garden will have a teepee design, so children can go right inside and explore. We have chosen plants to host the eastern black swallowtail and the painted lady butterflies. This will be an interactive garden that you can walk through and experience. The teepee will be covered in pole beans that children can literally break off and eat! The garden will be surrounded by three benches where people can sit and watch their children, or just sit, relax and reflect.

Awesome Without Borders (Non-active) – Flipping Out: A Gymnastics Documentary

2019-05-20T00:00:00Z

I suffered some horrific abuse at the hands of my gymnastics coach Doug Boger in the 70s/80s: being hit/kicked/poked with toothpicks/burned with a cigarette - the list goes on and on. I didn't talk about it with anyone until my mid-30s, at which point my best friend and teammate found other former gymnasts who had also suffered. We tried to get our coach removed from the sport, and through that process, we learned of many loopholes in the athlete protection policies of USA Gymnastics. This documentary details the abuse by our coach as well as the TEN YEAR BATTLE that we fought (and continue to fight) with USA Gymnastics trying to close the loopholes that we had discovered. You can imagine our devastation when the Larry Nassar case broke - and the exact policies that we tried to change could have prevented the toxic environment that allowed Larry Nassar to molest 100s of gymnasts at the Karolyis "Ranch" in Texas. I have an ambitious goal to raise $500k thru several avenues: crowdfunding (coming in January), grant-writing (1 grant/week until it's funded), and through personal investment (of time and $). I know this is a big number, and I'm starting right here with you (!) I intend to complete the documentary by January 1st, 2020. P.S. The website is up - but it is not active yet. I just applied for LLC status and an EIN, and I can't hook up a bank to receive money yet - so PLEASE don't attempt to back the project/"make a purchase" - this will be solved in 10- 15 business days. Thank you for understanding.

Tallahassee, FL (Non-active) – Mighty Meals

2019-05-20T00:00:00Z

The Junior League of Tallahassee is dedicated to supporting basic needs for local children and families through strategic partnerships, sustainable community programs and volunteer resources. Our basic needs focus is three-pronged – food, clothing, and shelter. In February, the members of the Junior League of Tallahassee recently voted in an exciting new signature community project – Mighty Meals. Mighty Meals will target child hunger and food insecurity issues in our community. Leon County ranks third in the state for food insecurity and hunger. One in five people are food insecure and hungry, making our focus all the more important. The meal gap, though narrowing slightly, continues to be in the millions - approximately six million more meals are needed annually in Leon County to satisfy this gap. In researching our next project related to these issues, we found that no current organizations target longer school breaks, such as Spring Break. Programs such as Second Harvest’s Backpack program, which the JLT supports, only provides shelf-stable food for a weekend. The mission of Mighty Meals is to help alleviate food insecurity and provide access to nutritious meals for elementary-aged children and their families during spring break. The Mighty Meals box would contain a recipe book with ideas for how to prepare the included food. Participants in the project would receive a free “Mighty Meals” box containing nutritious food for a family of four for one week, which equates to 84 meals per family. Fresh produce and a protein component would be a priority for each day. The approximate cost for one box will be $50. The goal of Mighty Meals would be to assist 200 families, which equates to 15,120 meals. The boxes would be distributed at no cost to participants at a location to be determined in accordance with food safety regulations. The distribution would occur the Saturday prior to Leon County Schools’ Spring Break in 2020 on March 14th.

Ann Arbor, MI – The Guild Needs A New Community PA

2019-05-20T00:00:00Z

The Music & Arts Guild's PA has bitten the dust. Originally purchased used in 2016, our $300 investment has supported so many gigs that it is exhausted beyond repair. It has supported a multitude of community events such as Totally Awesome Fest, the Palmer Park Art Fair, gigs at Dreamland Theater and backyard fundraisers for social causes. The Guild's PA is available for any community member to rent for a small fee and is free for Guild members to check out of the equipment library. We purchased a set of $300 Yamaha speakers in 2018 and we need a small amplifier to power them in order to continue our community mission of bringing amplified sound to the masses.

Ann Arbor, MI – Bow School Garden

2019-05-20T00:00:00Z

FoodCorps is a nonprofit that partners with schools in underserved communities to teach children about fruits and vegetables so they can make healthy choices. Our vision is to create a future in which all our nation’s children––regardless of class, race, or geography –– know what healthy food is, where it comes from, and eat it every day. Bow Elementary-Middle is a public, K-8 school in Detroit where a FoodCorps service member teaches weekly hands-on nutrition classes, conducting fun and engaging healthy food taste tests, and more. Ninety-five percent of Bow’s students participate in the national free and reduced lunch program, and the student body is nearly all children of color. National statistics show that 1 in 2 children of color are on track for diabetes, and there are financial, geographical, and historical barriers to accessing fresh fruits and vegetables for Bow’s families. An integral piece of FoodCorps’ work includes connecting students right to the source - the garden - and involving them in the process of growing their own nutritious fruits and vegetables. Research shows that in schools where FoodCorps’ hands-on learning practices happen to a high degree, students eat triple the fruits and vegetables compared with peers in low-implementation schools. The school garden will be an invaluable teaching and learning tool at Bow, where core subjects such as science, math, and writing can be integrated into hands-on healthy eating and garden education. The Bow School Garden will provide a space to bring together the school community in a collaborative project centered on food and health. Students will experience the wonder of seeing a tiny seed grow into a delicious vegetable, the joy of plunging their hands into warm soil, the therapeutic effects of gardening, and the teamwork and community building that makes it all happen.

Pittsburgh, PA – Let's Go Fishing

2019-05-20T00:00:00Z

My ministry cleaned and aeratated an inner-city lake a in a public Park in Pittsburgh. Seven men from different parts of the community came together in July 2017 and worked to establish a safe and secure fishing environment for urban youth and families. Urban Youth do fish , but in Pittsburgh the fishing stopped in the 1950's. We are reviving sport fishing as we believe it will save our community from the violence in the street and the rapid expansion of the mental health system. The Juvenile Justice system in Pittsburg spends five hundred and sixty dollars a day to house one youthful offender. A lot of fish can be purchased for that amount of money. We believe the forty year blight has hurt families in their interpersonal relationships. I believe that will be strengthened as young families at risk begin to rebuild relationships outside of the electronic stimuli of today. We desire to teach fishing to pittsburgh families and we have been certified by the State Fish commission to do so. last year June 2018, we conducted the first family fishing event at Lake Carnegie in Highland Park since the 1930's. We chose to make this an annual event. Finally we are all volunteers and most of us are Grandfathers in the community we serve.

Washington, DC – One Night One BUILD

2019-05-20T00:00:00Z

The Business Plan Competition at OneNight OneBUILD is a multi-part event that represents the culmination of a year of hard work by our ninth-grade students and celebrates the transformative power of entrepreneurship. Starting in early May, more than 20 teams of BUILD high school students will pitch their innovative business ideas to volunteer judges in hopes of earning a final slot at OneNight OneBUILD on May 22nd, at WeWork Navy Yard, 80 M Street, SE, Washington DC, from 6:30-8:30 PM. Only three teams will make it all the way. These finalists will compete in front of a panel of celebrity judges and 200 guests. BUILD is dedicated to creating a more diverse future workforce by ensuring students in under-resourced communities have access to the mentorship, professional development opportunities, and funding they need to graduate high school, go to college, and launch successful careers. Starting in 9th grade, BUILD students work with their peers, teachers and business coaches to develop business ideas, pitch for seed funding, and launch real businesses. BUILD’s unique “Shark Tank”-style program offers students a four year entrepreneurship experience designed to develop 21st Century Skills and motivate low income youth to succeed in school.

San Francisco, CA – Stoop Stories

2019-05-18T00:00:00Z

Stoop Stories is a movable event that takes original plays and performances by local writers off the stage and onto the stoops of San Francisco. By removing the physical and financial barriers of a traditional theatre, Stoop Stories aims to make theatre and exercise accessible to everyone. Each story is broken into five 10-minute scenes, told chronologically over a three hour period on stoops within a ten-block radius. The stories are free to watch, but interested stoop crawlers can purchase a map revealing scene locations ahead of time. For every map purchased, Stoop Stories will donate a portion of the funds to a local non-profit working towards reducing homelessness in San Francisco.

Miami, FL – Pete's Putrid Peas

2019-05-17T00:00:00Z

I’m currently fundraising for my new film, Pete’s Putrid Peas! It’s a wild and visually insane short that brings you into the world a notorious Vlogger who falls further and further out of reality while eating nothing but peas for a three week Instagram challenge. Over the last year, I haven’t felt good about my time on instagram, my social media screen-time was up to 5 hours per day and I felt like crap. I wished my shots looked liked others’ and I was trying to keep up an image on Instagram that I couldn’t. Truthfully it felt like I was slipping into a different reality, a fake reality. I decide to creatively channel this into writing a narrative/experimental film and in the process, I now feel a lot healthier about my time on social media and my screen-time is way down. Now, the next step is to make this film to spread to the 210 million people who suffer from social media addiction and exhibit depressive symptoms due to screen-time.

Miami, FL – As I See Myself

2019-05-17T00:00:00Z

WE ARE ON A MISSION TO USE ART (in all its forms) as a tool of engagement to raise awareness and to be a voice for children, youth and women victims of abuse, exploitation, human and/or sex trafficking. We work hand in hand with other organizations to prevent, alert and inform our communities of the risks, statistics and factors involving these problems. “As I See Myself” is a program we created where children look at themselves in a mirror and paint a self-portrait on a canvas, which externalizes deep feelings, thoughts and liberates emotions. Children are given a space to have a voice, where they can dream and draw their future, and realize that they are unique and loved. Through art we can express many feelings such as: sadness, happiness, anger, frustration, anxiety, etc. That is why As I see myself project can help identify these kinds of factors, including whether a child is being abused at school or at home. Your generous donation will provide free art classes to kids on the foster care system, migrant children and youth, children in placement homes or kids in under-served communities.

Lake Mac – Warners Bay Netball Club Mural

2019-05-16T00:00:00Z

We would like to brighten up our clubhouse by painting a mural that represents our local community. We are hoping to hold a "club day" where all players, their families and interested community members can come to the clubhouse and take part. Each team at our club is named after a sea creature (eg Piranah's, Turtles, Jaws, mermaids etc) we plan on having stensils made to represent each team (mascot/logo) that the players can place/paint on the mural in hopes to increase players sense of community ownership, belonging and pride and to further encourage positive community involvement. The players will also have the opportunity to bring their own T-Shirt to have their teams mascot painted on it. On the "club day" we will also invite the players to take part in skill-building activities, games and play some friendly games against each other to get to know their fellow club members as opposed to only knowing/sticking with their own team or age group. Our clubs motto is "A club with spirit", by hopefully enhancing the sense of club/community spirit within all of our players we hope they will continue to be involved in and contribute to their wider community.

Orlando, FL – Wonders in Motion

2019-05-16T00:00:00Z

2nd Sight Dance is producing 5 show run at the 2019 Orlando International Fringe Festival. Our show is an emersive experience that takes audience members on a journey of wonder through the art of dance and illusion.

Orlando, FL – An Otherwise Invisible World (Scott White)

2019-05-15T00:00:00Z

Cass Clay – Seperated Families Community

2019-05-15T00:00:00Z

A new program called the Separated Families Community seeks to bring together families that have only one parent due to dissolution of the relationship, deportation, or incarceration. It's an idea from Motherland Health, an organization that provides free mental health counseling. "Motherland Health is not just a place to receive counseling," says Kasakwe, "but a community center that is used to help each individual achieve their own path to overall wellness." Kasakwe hopes to hold monthly and even biweekly events to create, she says, "a community that strengthens each other and encourages each other." To help the program get started, Motherland Health has received a $1,000 gift from the Awesome Foundation of Cass/Clay. The money will help the inaugural event by funding refreshments and activities.

Newburgh, NY – Keep It Moving- 5K Run/Walk and Community Fun Day

2019-05-14T00:00:00Z

On Saturday June 22, 2019 at the Newburgh Recreation Center , Keep It Moving (K-I-M) with support from Blacc Vanilla, Shred and We Are Newburgh are hosting Keep It Moving 5K Rn/Walk and Community Fun Day. This exciting day will kick off with a 5k Run/Walk, a kids fun run, community fair with join along activities such as Zumba, yoga and kickball. Food trucks and music will provide an electric atmosphere to keep the day flowing. The City of Newburgh Recreation Center will allow K-I-M to utilize the building for rest rooms and relief from the heat of the day.There is a registration fee for the 5K with the proceeds benefiting Keep It Moving. The skate park will be alive with skaters celebrating Go Skate Day in honor of Zane. Mobile Life has agreed to donate stand by EMS care to make this day fun and safe for everyone. An awesome aspect of this event is that its genesis was quite organic. The young skaters in the Newburgh Community, created the event Go Skate for Zane. June 21 is National Go Skate Day and they chose to honor my son Zane Mandel Michalak this year. Zane was an avid skateboarder and knew many of the young men involved in the skate park, He was an adventurous, sweet man and he really loved Newburgh. He grew up in Newburgh and attended Newburgh Schools, played pop warner football and planned on raising his family here. Zane died at 22 after graduating from Siena College with a Social Work degree and had just started working for a non-profit in the City of Newburgh. Keep It Moving is dedicated in his playful, spirited memory and life, and this event event embodies Zane's energy.

Awesome Without Borders (Non-active) – 7000 Languages

2019-05-13T00:00:00Z

7000 Languages is a non-profit that creates free language-learning software in partnership with Indigenous communities around the world. Research has shown that kids who learn their heritage language have higher self-esteem, do better in school, and are more likely to graduate. But in many communities, the last remaining speakers are too old to teach in schools. Take, for example, Sarah Silas. She’s the last speaker of Benhti Kenaga’ (an Alaska Native language) and she’s 93 years old. Sarah has priceless knowledge, but she can’t easily share it with the hundreds of kids who want to know about their culture. That’s where we come in. We’re helping Sarah and her community create a free online course. When it’s finished this spring, kids all over the world will be able to learn Benhti Kenaga’ as if Sarah were in the room with them. Each course would normally cost $200,000 to create, but we charge nothing. Instead, we adapt software donated by the language-learning industry and raise our operating funds from donors who are passionate about language. This means that the funds that would have been spent on software remain in the community, where they can make an even greater impact. We’ve done the same thing in 15 communities across the US, including the Ojibwe, Cree, and Dakota nations. Next year, we’re set to double our impact, publishing courses for 16 more communities in 2019.

South Bend, IN – Musical Charities

2019-05-13T00:00:00Z

Musical Charities will be a speed dating event for citizens that want to get involved with helping Michiana through volunteering/donating to non profits and community projects that make South Bend stronger. The focus will be on every individual having a direct impact on their community by meeting 10 non profits per event, and putting the power of community improvement into the hands of individuals. South Bend and the greater area can't thrive if individuals feel disconnected from valuable social change, and this project shows that it's not solely a business or government role to make our communities better, it's also up to us as residents to help our communities thrive. Each Community Builder (Unity Gardens, La Casa De Amistad, The Music Village, Y.S.B, etc.) will have 3 minutes to pitch; 1) Who they are 2)H ow they help the community 3) How you can support them. If the resident feels compelled to hear more or connect they can exchange contact information and follow up after the event to donate or volunteer. There is no minimum or limit on engagement, and the goal is to spread as much networking and information as possible. I've already gotten commitment from a multitude of community builders and have a great relationship with more. It would take an email or phone call to make this happen and I want it to be big. The bigger it is, the more good we can do as a community!

South Bend, IN – B-Credit Worthy

2019-05-13T00:00:00Z

Our mission is to educate, empower and inspire fellow entrepreneurs through financial and credit literacy education to properly manage their personal finances and make informed decisions related budgeting and credit maintenance. Poor personal credit makes it difficult for entrepreneurs to borrow for their business, which can be the difference between growing and struggling. The B-Credit Worthy Project will help guide aspiring entrepreneurs through the intricacies of improving their personal credit to become creditworthy of business funding so they can sustain, grow and expand their business. Indirect, response to an unmet need predominately in underserved communities, we seek to target this demographic, provide education that will translate to a sense of financial stability.

Vegan (Non-active) – Keep It Fresh Fest

2019-05-13T00:00:00Z

June is National Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Month....and school is out! The Black Veg Society of Maryland (BVSMD) is pleased to announce its partnership with Changing Lives MD, The African Griot Book Fair and Safety city @ Druid Park in Keep It Fresh Fest presented by MECU Neighborhood Event Grants. Featuring: DJ Tee Brown and Son (Live Entertainment) Culture Queen (read along, book signing and performance) So Freakin' Vegan (cooking demo and performance) Public Enemy's own, Professor Griff Maria Broom (The Village Bully) Crystal Forman (cooking demo) Baba C and Janis Curtis (African Griot Host) John Carrington (Magician) Margaret Ann Locklear (The Greenbook reading) Abu the Flutemaker Wombworks (youth performers) Keep It Fresh is a campaign for youth. The Keep It Fresh Fest is a free festival that will highlight plant-based culinary arts, organic gardening, music and environmental actions. You will need money to shop. Youth retail and prepackaged goods vendor registration is free. The youth must be manning their booth. ***Please be mindful of the fact that this is a health and wellness event with the focus of minimizing the consumption of artificially sweet products, candies and junk foods.*** #KeepItFresh EARLY REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN! Donations are welcomed and very much needed to make this event a success. Register and donate here: buytickets.at/bvsmd Keep It Fresh Fest will feature: 1. Workshops and speakers on live, vegan whole foods, organic gardening, and food as medicine 2. African Griot Children's Books 3. B-boys and B-girls 4. Yogis 5. Environmental awareness If you have a cruelty-free organization that's interested in sponsoring or participating, please register. No animal products or by-products will be offered or sold at this event. Email all questions to BlackVegofMD@gmail.com. Sponsors: MECU Neighborhood Event Grants, A Well-Fed World, American Legion Location: Lakeside Pavilion Area Grove Rd. Druid Hill Park

South Bend, IN – Greater Impact PRINTS

2019-05-13T00:00:00Z

Greater Impact is a ministry of Transformation Ministries in the northwest region of South Bend (transformation58.com). Greater Impact has a goal of helping local, urban teenagers have a positive employment experience. Through creating jobs, we are helping teenagers learn positive life skills, how to manage money, how to live and work with integrity, how to work hard and be great employees (or employers!) in the future. Currently Greater Impact has a lawn care business, caring for over 100 grassy areas in South Bend, and employs eight male students. They are very proud to be making our city a better looking place! We would like to expand the opportunities of employment to include students who have other skill sets that include organizational, creative and artistic elements. We are in the beginning stages of developing a screen printing business! We will start with t-shirt orders and expand product variety as we are able. Being a local business, we would be able to accept smaller orders that are sometimes hard to find reasonably priced and deliver them ourselves. This allows us to build relationships with customers as well as see our work in the community! But we also look forward to connecting with local schools, churches, etc. to obtain larger orders as well. How cool will it be for our teenage employees to be able to say, "I did that!" Within this structure, we would employ a variety of students to handle taking orders and customer service, developing and creating designs for clients, prep screens and do the actual screen printing, as well as package & ship orders or deliver locally. That means we'll be working on professional phone and conversation skills, computer and office type skills, order taking and processing. We'll be encouraging ideas and design while teaching Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. We'll have hands on experience with production, quality control and meeting deadlines. We could make a "greater impact" on South Bend one shirt at a time!

Liverpool (Non-active) – Contrast Mural Festival. Alphabet Doorways

2019-05-11T00:00:00Z

Alphabet: I propose to engage with local, national and international artists to produce a series of letter based murals onto dreary doorways and small walls across the city centre of Liverpool. Individual artistic letters would be painted onto the spaces.. the public can collect photos of each piece and ...create their own slogans, sentences, poems & share online! This would be part of the Contrast Mural Festival in June 2019, where we wlll be working with local, national and international artists to produce larger scale murals across the city, which i have gathered funding for. However , i want to do a lot more! And have a series of spaces to do this project on! Details of the 2018 festival are on the website above! (And on www.zapgraffiti.co.uk for our general works.)

Philadelphia, PA – A Climber’s Guide to Eastern State Penitentiary

2019-05-10T00:00:00Z

I am a multidisciplinary artist and climber currently living and working in Philadelphia. In an inspiring act of institutional support, the cultural institution Eastern State Penitentiary has accepted my site-specific proposal to climb the walls of this historic prison, rate and name each climb, and produce a book titled A Climber’s Guide to Eastern State Penitentiary; or East State’s Architecture and How to Escape It. I have begun working on the project, due to open in May of 2019. Until then I will be training, fabricating, designing and writing with a small group of dedicated local climbers. I have received modest funding from the prison, and am looking to supplement this with support from other cultural institutions. The enthusiasm, generosity, and support that we have already received from the local community has been inspiring. To my knowledge, there has never been a visible art project involving climbing, and I hope to represent the nuanced art of climbing safely and wholeheartedly. Eastern State Penitentiary is a 501c3 not-for-profit institution and will provide documentation to receive a tax refund for any contributions to my project. I will also acknowledge supporting institutions at public events and in print prominently in the published guidebook. In addition to supporting the arts in a particularly challenging political climate, your contribution helps make this project visible to a diverse community within and beyond Philadelphia, inspiring future climbers and artists alike.

Philadelphia, PA – Leadership and Wellness Workshops

2019-05-10T00:00:00Z

Successful Women Achieving Goals, Inc. is seeking a grant to expand our adult readiness program with the objective of helping girls, ages seven to eighteen increase their life skills and prepare them for all that life has to offer. The objective of SWAG is to encourage youth to fulfill their dreams and give them the tools to do so. The SWAG initiative is based on area research regarding effective motivations for young girls and ways in which to help them succeed.

Philadelphia, PA – Youth Gentrification Exhibit

2019-05-10T00:00:00Z

I will provide 12 two-hour classes to 10 high-school students from Esperanza Academy in an after-school setting, centering their artistic work on the themes of gentrification, joy and community. I am currently working to produce and perform in a play called MinorityLand (October 2019), a powerful exploration of a community undergoing gentrification in North Philadelphia. I want students to connect to this theme through art-making and community engagement. During the classes, I will work to build relationships between students and MinorityLand’s production team, giving youth the opportunity to experience theater from behind the scenes. With my support, students will do research around gentrification. They will read MinorityLand and discuss the themes in the play. In response, they will create poetry, photography and use other arts mediums to find joy in, celebrate, and connect to their surrounding community. Students will then collectively curate a show of their work to be displayed in the lobby space outside their school’s theater, Teatro Esperanza, where MinorityLand will be performed. My goals for this project are to: Give youth a platform to talk about their neighborhoods; Educate youth on who makes decisions locally; Support youth in researching gentrification experiences around race and social class; Engage youth in a creative journey to produce artwork around local gentrification; Help youth have dynamic collaborative discussions and supportive experiences with their peers; Help youth learn to advocate for their artistic visions and share their perspectives publicly; Provide a platform for youth to tell their stories and listen to others’; Pay youth for their time and expertise; Give youth the opportunity to sell their artwork. I have worked with community youth in the past while producing other plays in the area, and I am committed to amplifying youth voices and providing them with a platform to express themselves.

Columbus, OH (Non-active) – The Bitter Angel

2019-05-09T00:00:00Z

The Bitter Angel is a social media character who comes to Earth to re-unify people. The story starts like this: God had a meeting with all the angels and said one of them needed to go back to earth and the choice would be made by playing Enie, Meanie, Minne, Moe. The Bitter Angel spoke up and said that was racist. Boom she was chosen. She is not happy about her job on Earth and wants people to hurry up and get it together so she can go back to her cloud. Through humor and some snarky-ness she will bring light to issues that are causing the sense of division, fear, or unease and remind people that we are really all in this together. She will have check ins with Mother Nature, Poseidon, and other characters to shed light on caring for the planet. This is aimed at older teens and young adults who pay so much attention to social media. The long term goal as this becomes popular is that people will invite The Bitter Angel to their cities- and it will start clean up days and a talk about who we are as humans. Also, as popularity grows and she complains about missing her cloud, she sees that many people do not have beds and she calls for sponsors to donate to shelters and beyond. I expect this to have an impact on the individual person, on communities as a whole, and the world. I want to help people see that beyond our borders of the US, those are humans too and deserve respect no matter the religion, skin color, or any other differences seen with the eyes. Love wins, EVERY TIME! (Links coming soon!!)

Boston, MA – Community T-shirt printing

2019-05-08T00:00:00Z

I have been traveling around Maine with my Bicycle Screen Printing Shop to conduct live on-site t-shirt printing. This is a mobile unit that I designed myself, which I can ride or drive to any community protest, rally, or other events inside or outside. In light of our political climate, the upcoming 2020 election make 2019 a very important year to motivate people to think about the issues that affect them. I will teach people how to print right then and there, and I will have my heating unit to dry the shirts so once they have printed, people can wear their shirts right away. When I am printing outdoors I have to rely on plugging in my Flash dryer. This makes me not as spontaneous as I want to be, which is why I’m applying to purchase an awesome solar-powered portable generator! T-shirts are a universal and economical way to visually share personal opinions and ideas with an immediate audience. Wearing a t-shirt can be a an act of resistance, and even more so when you create the message yourself. I believe in the power of art to give voice to people, whether they consider themselves artists or not. Everyone understands a simple message on a t-shirt, from a favorite sports team or band to a more potent political message or call to action. Expressing yourself on a T-shirt is a positive way to strike up a conversation and relate to another person, stranger or otherwise, giving people the power to spread their message. I hope to educate all who participate in the power of art and screen printing, but especially the power of their voice to affect political change. They will gain new skills and knowledge, and the resulting projects will elevate each of their voices within our communities, during the event, and in the future. I will also spotlight each design and event on my website and on social media to share the project with a wider audience and hopefully motivate even more people to use their voices.

Newmarket – Redefining Leadership, Reshaping Communities

2019-05-07T00:00:00Z

I have been chosen to create leadership development opportunities for young women in Newmarket as a part of ‘Women, Let’s Take Our Place’ program by the Girls’ Action Foundation. As a young leader with more than 7 years of experience in civic and youth leadership, I am working hard to give back to my community through empowering young women and girls. Our town has seen significant growth in the past few years, and that can be reflected in the growing vibrant and diverse demographics in our community. Yet young people, especially young women such as myself, are struggling to connect with our community in the same sense that we do with urban centres such as Toronto, where we find numerous opportunities for leadership and self-improvement. This project hopes to change that. My project, Redefining Leadership, Reshaping Communities will be a day-long gathering focused on providing young women with leadership development and civic engagement opportunities. In the spirit of redefining leadership, participants will have a chance to learn about Canada’s political structures from women in leadership and improve their personal leadership style through skills training workshops.

Fleurieu – Deep Winter Agrarain Gathering

2019-05-07T00:00:00Z

The Deep Winter Agrarian Gathering is an annual farmer led forum for agriculturalists producing non-commodity food and fibre. With a focus on circular or regenerative farming practices and community development this annual meeting of the minds is an opportunity to think big about small scale food production and connect with peers in the field. In 2019 Deep Winter delves into the themes of scale and viability. We all want the live the regenerative farming dream but how the hell do you actually make a go of a small scale farming business? South Australian regenerative graziers, market gardeners, egg producers, grain growers and mushroom farmers will share their learnings about how they got to where they are AND where they still need to get to to make the dream a reality. This year is the first year the event will be held in South Australia - the conference will be in Willunga at the Willunga Show Hall and there will be a tour which will visit Fleurieu and Adelaide Hills Farms. http://www.deepwinter.org/

Awesome Without Borders (Non-active) – Awesome Summit 2019

2019-05-06T00:00:00Z

The Chicago Chapter of the Awesome Foundation is hosting the sixth Awesome Summit this upcoming May 3-5. This also marks the 10-year anniversary of the Awesome Foundation! Our sixth AweSummit is a time for Awesome Foundation members across the world to come together, exchange ideas and experiences, and to get ready for another decade making great ideas happen. Since the Awesome Foundation was founded in Boston in 2009, we've held five summits -- Boston (2012), New York City (2013), Ottawa (2014), Seattle (2016), and Washington DC (2017). Each has been a valuable chance to strengthen our movement and build connections across the globe. The Chicago chapter is thrilled to host the sixth summit in 2019 and we appreciate your support.