Awesome Foundation - Projects

Oahu, HI – Stage Mosaic Mural

2018-07-27T00:00:00Z

Washington Middle School is located in the heart of Honolulu on the corner of King and Punhahou streets. We have an extremely diverse population attending from 6th to 8th grade. Art Club which began in 2010 is currently working on it's third mosaic mural and wanted to make a design that celebrated our diversity. Students attend Art Club after school facilitated by myself, the 6th grade art teacher. Our goal is to beautify our school and have demonstrated this through mosaics. We choose mosaics as the medium, because it is hearty enough to withstand the elements and is virtually maintenance free. We did our first mosaic on the corner on our main administration building. The second is located on King street side by our parking lot. This last one that we are currently working on will be mounted behind our stage where our school holds assemblies. Leah Kilpatrick Rigg and her father Doug Kilpatrick have graciously helped us along the way with the three mosaic murals. I contacted them in 2010, and they gladly stepped into the teaching role giving up their own free time to come and teach the kids and myself about the process. Students designed the mural. They learned how to glaze tiles, make clay slabs, use nippers to break tiles, and to grout. Not only did students learn the physical and aesthetic roles of creating this mosaic mural, but they also learned to work together in tight spaces, appreciate everyone’s different styles and techniques, and figure out ways to harmonize these differences. Students gave up hours and hours of their free time. They even came over Christmas and Spring Breaks. A few teachers, counselors, and a custodian also helped piece together some of the mural puzzle. We are currently about half way through the project but are optimistic that we will finish by the end of the school year in May.

Oahu, HI – ARTBOX Kaimuki

2018-07-27T00:00:00Z

We want to bring more art to our town, Kaimuki, and we are doing that through our project ARTBOX Kaimuki. Our objective is to take ugly, gray traffic boxes, some even with graffiti, from bad to beautiful and from utilitarian to works of art by incorporating the artistic talent from our community. We will be offering this invitation to artists from local high schools, colleges and our artists at large. We have identified 15 traffic boxes on Waialae Avenue and one on Harding Avenue that are in need of attention, and we anticipate this being done in two phases. The first phase will include seven traffic boxes on Waialae Avenue in addition to the one on Harding Avenue. We have included pictures of a traffic box on Waialae Avenue with the original gray paint and graffiti and also a pictures from a painted boxes on the mainland as an example of what can be done. We will be focusing on eight Hawaiian themes including beach scenes, native flora, mountains, and ethnic diversity. We will be vetting the artists’ entries to ensure that their work is family friendly and meets our theme criteria. We recently presented our project, ARTBOX Kaimuki, to the Mayor’s Office of Culture and the Arts (MOCA) and received approval to go forward with our event. The ARTBOX Kaimuki project is not just an artistic endeavor; but a way to bring our community together as we beautify our environment. It is our hope that Awesome Foundation will agree that this is an awesome project!! **Please note that we do not have a website for ARTBOX Kaimuki because this is a one time project but in order to be able to submit the application we needed to list one so we are using Kaimuki Neighborhood Board website.

Gloucester, MA – Period Partners

2018-07-27T00:00:00Z

We provide menstrual products to people in need on Cape Ann. Access to menstrual hygiene products is a basic survival need, but for many people in America this need goes unmet. This can have a negative impact on people’s lives in a variety of ways, including missing work or school and having to resort to unhygienic practices, which causes infections requiring medical attention. Homeless shelters and food pantries rarely have adequate supplies of tampons or pads to meet the needs of their clients. Because it’s something we rarely talk about, people just don’t think to donate these essential items. We have been in operation since December 2016 and began working with The Open Door in June 2017. We've raised over $15,000 and it costs us around $1,500 a month to meet the needs of our community. An average 500 individuals a month take advantage of our products. Our funds are low at the moment, so an Awesome Gloucester grant right now would really help!

Oahu, HI – Naonealaa Story Board

2018-07-27T00:00:00Z

There is a special place on Windward O`ahu which figured greatly in Hawaii's history, and which we hope to tell the story through an Awesome Foundation grant. This is Naonealaa, which has a modern name attached to it - Kaneohe Beach Park. Our organization has raised $1,200 of the $2,200 needed for the storyboard to be purchased, from an earlier grant given by the National Geographic Society. NAONEALA`A The Sands of La`amaikahiki In ancient times, this area was named Naoneala`a, for the famous chief who once lived here a long time ago. In 1867, noted Hawaiian historian Samuel Kamakau tells the story: “La`a, that is, La`a-mai-Kahiki, was so named for his coming from Kahiki. After the death of Olopana, the kingdom was inherited by La`a, and he heard from Kila and others that Hawaii was a fertile land, and that the people were great farmers and keepers of fish in fish ponds. Oahu was the richest of all, so La`a became determined to come here to Hawaii. At Naoneala`a, the chief built three heiau, one of which was named Kalaoa. Perhaps the area is best known as the site where the chiefs of all the islands gathered to make peace. Kamakau describes this important place in the history of the Hawaiian people: “It was in January, 1737, that the two hosts (Alapai’s and Peleioholani) met, splendidly dressed in cloaks of bird feathers and in helmet-shaped head coverings beautifully decorated with feathers of birds. Red feather cloaks were to be seen on all sides, both chiefs were attired in a way to inspire admiration and awe, and the day was one of rejoicing as that of the ending of a dreadful conflict. So it was that Peleioholani and Alapai met at Naonealaa in Kaneohe. The canoes were lined up from Ki`i at Mokapu to Naonealaa, and there on the shore line they remained, Alapai alone going on shore. The chiefs of Oahu and Kauai and the fighting men and the country people remained inland, the chief Peleioholani alone advancing. Between the two chiefs stood the counselor.

New York City, NY – Block Party for a Just Rezoning

2018-07-26T00:00:00Z

_An exciting social justice event using the arts to mobilize and educate people of Inwood, Northern Manhattan, and other NYC neighborhoods subject to predatory rezoning plans._ _Dominican fusion band Yasser Tejada y Palotré will headline entertainment that will include spoken word performer Kaila Paulino, dancers, poets, and other artists. This big, upbeat event will celebrate the sharing local culture of our diverse, mostly working class, majority-Latinx community, and educate people about competing rezoning plans: the Economic Development Corporation’s predatory plan making its way through the approval process despite its rejection by the community board and borough president, and the alternative Uptown United plan developed by a coalition of community groups._ _EDC’s plan, with 70-80% of new housing as market rate luxury units, is a 1-way ticket to displace low-income residents, as has happened elsewhere in NYC. EDC’s upzoning commercial streets and enabling big-box stores will displace thriving local small businesses, many immigrant- and/or woman-owned. EDC offers no protections for 150 small businesses ripe for displacement in easily-developed “soft sites.”_ _The Uptown United plan enables growth of over 2,500 apartments affordable to Inwood’s working class residents and includes protections to discourage big-box chains and keep local small businesses in Inwood. People from other communities subject to recent or ongoing rezoning—East Harlem, East New York, Chinatown, and parts of the Bronx—will join us in solidarity for just rezoning plans across the city, including investments in oft-neglected neighborhoods that need new schools, improved infrastructure, better-maintained parks, and legal support for low-income tenants, as well as more affordable housing and commercial space._ _Amidst the fun and entertainment, this event will make the case that social justice demands these investments without predatory rezonings that push out current residents and businesses._ **AwesomeNYC is happy to be able to support the members of this community who are putting on this event to raise awareness about changes coming to their own community, and can hopefully lend a voice to making changes in support of this vibrant neighborhood.** **Read more about the Uptown United Platform here**

Minas Gerais (Non-active) – Coleta Seletiva

2018-07-25T00:00:00Z

A COLETA SELETIVA é um projeto da Associação de Catadores de Material Reciclável de Salinas, na qual 12 associados, a maioria mulheres, catam até 100 kg por dia, buscando ampliar a coleta seletiva na cidade e melhorar as próprias condições de trabalho. Para isso precisamos de apoio financeiro para poder dar continuidade e evitar que material que podemos reciclar vá para o aterro sanitário. A ideia para realizar esse sonho é usar o dinheiro para poder comprar algo que tenha valor para podemos realizar um bingo ou uma rifa para arrecadar mais dinheiro para comprar um carro para a coleta seletiva da cidade.

Portland, OR – KB's Poise Parlor

2018-07-24T00:00:00Z

KB'S Poise Parlor is an idea I came up with in my last year of undergrad that is just coming to life now. My idea is to help young foster girls of color in the pacific northwest express themselves by learning new and healthy ways to care for their hair. Self care is one of the best gifts you can give yourself. Feeling a disruption of self expression can bring on cloudy feelings of confusion and loss of identity. I strive to help each child find the best representation of themselves through hair care. I also find it very important to help their foster parents become educated on healthy hair care routines , and how this can also play into their child's self confidence and identity issues. The goal is to put on an event in august before the 2018 school year for a group of at least 10 -15 youth. At this event I want youth to receive hair products,a simple hair style and education on the importance of healthy hair.

San Jose, CA – Youth Science Institute's 33rd Wildlife Festival

2018-07-24T00:00:00Z

Youth Science Institute is a non profit organization that has been educating the public and local schools about science and nature since 1953. This year is Youth Science Institute's 33rd Annual Wildlife Festival, and it's also our 65th Anniversary! Every year, we invite a variety of vendors and exhibitors to YSI's Alum Rock Park location, and we educate the public about, like face painting, crafts, and games, as well as guided nature walks, We also feature a stage where we have various exhibitors speak about what their mission to protect wildlife, and give education about their organizations and what the public can do to help. We bring out live animals that the public wouldn't normally see face to face, and we also have story time with Smokey the Bear, as well as Fire Fighters coming to speak about fire safety, and let kids try on their safety gear. This event is completely free to the public, so we are always searching for ways to raise money to help cover funds. We would be very appreciative of any funding for this wonderful and educational day!

Awesome Without Borders (Non-active) – Chalkbeat Tennessee School Board Debate

2018-07-23T00:00:00Z

Through unbiased reporting, Chalkbeat journalists help the public examine how schools are truly operating, scrutinize key policy and legislative developments that often happen behind closed doors, and gain access to important data and context. Our reporting holds schools, politicians, and organizations accountable. By building communities’ understanding, we can improve their ability to serve students better. As part of our strategy, we hold regular community engagement events. In July of 2018, Chalkbeat Tennessee is planning to host an event in advance of the upcoming school board elections in Memphis, Tennessee. The event will be a debate between all the candidates, but with a twist -- it will be led by students. Over the next few months, Chalkbeat journalists will be working with a select group of students to come up with questions for the candidates. Two of the students will moderate the discussion, which we hope will be attended by a wide variety of community members. The goal of the event is to create a more engaged and active community around issues of education reform in Memphis. At Chalkbeat, our dream is for our community to get more engaged in its local schools. Through our work, we can help people learn together about what is working and not working in Memphis’s public schools. We want to provide the community with a space, both digital and in real life, to talk openly and honestly. We also want to ensure that, when they enter the voting booths to select school board members in August, Memphians are making clear, informed decisions and selecting candidates who will serve students well.

Almere (Non-active) – Beach PicNic NL

2018-07-23T00:00:00Z

The largest picnic ever hosted in the Netherlands had 1400 visitors and took place in Zeeland, we can do it better. We would like to organize a PicNic with a minimum of 1500 visitors on Almeerderstrand. I have found various partners that would be interested in participating should I be getting the green light for this event. A food partner (ecological), a partner wanting to offer sustainable picnic blankets that also function as trashbag, and Elle Eten as a media partner. Also from my network I have connections with various influencers that we would be inviting to give this event the footprint it would need to be getting 1500 visitors. I hope to be getting the opportunity to pitch at the event.

Santa Fe, NM (Non-active) – Street Homeless Animal Project

2018-07-22T00:00:00Z

Street Homeless Animal Project (SHAP) is the only organization in Northern New Mexico working with homeless youth to provide services to their companion animals. This summer SHAP, partnering with Smith Vet Hospital, will fund services for the companion animals of 10 or more homeless youth - girls and boys. No shelter in Northern New Mexico will allow people to bring in their animals. Kids often just sleep on the street with their animal families. SHAP’s services since 1998 have included emergency veterinary care, preventative care, spaying neutering, shots, teeth pulling and more. Also provided are leashes, harnesses, food, blankets, coats, crates and more. SHAP exists because none of the emergency or long-term shelters in Santa Fe and Northern New Mexico have the resources to house companion animals along with their people. SHAP gets referrals from police, fire, EMT, animal control, the humane society, Street Outreach, youth, adult, family and animal shelters. They get daily and nightly calls from homeless people on the streets whose animal companion is suffering or in need. Summers are especially busy for Street Homeless Animal Project, as many homeless youth are in the streets and arroyos with companion animals. In the last 5 of years we’ve seen 40% of these calls coming from homeless youth, 21 and under. There are many reasons that youth are on the streets. Homelessness stems from an epidemic of mental health issues, domestic violence, substance abuse, the economy, and more. As many as 25% of homeless persons have animals. Studies have shown that companion animals provide emotional support and represent important, loving relationships especially in youth. Animals make them feel loved, safe, less depressed, less lonely and with more of a sense of purpose. Teen suicide is reduced when the youth has a companion animal. There's no question about it - these animals are family! SHAP helps alleviate suffering and provides aid to these kids and their families. This summer, SHAP will come to the aid of at least 10 homeless youth in Santa Fe whose companion animals need preventative or emergency veterinary care. In partnership with Smith Veterinary Hospital, $1,000 will fund 10 office visits (at a 30% discount) for wellness preventative visits including vaccines for rabies, distemper, bordatella and kennel cough, or emergency visits for exam and meds for an infectious disease or bad reaction to diet.

Ottawa – Wish of a Lifetime

2018-07-22T00:00:00Z

July’s Awesome Ottawa award goes to Monica Harvey to support wishes of a lifetime for residents of Cornerstone Housing for Women, a non-profit organization that provides emergency shelter and affordable housing for women in the city of Ottawa. The award from Awesome Ottawa will help Cornerstone give at least five of its residents something from their previous regular lives they are currently missing, a chance to accomplish something they always wanted to do but couldn't, or an opportunity to reconnect with someone from their past. “The wishes of the women are often simple,” says Monica, “and only limited by not enough funds. One woman, for example, was a lifeguard all her life. When telling stories about saving lives or teaching people to swim, her face lights up with passion. She lost her job when she became sick and couldn’t work. After finding her way to Cornerstone and becoming healthy she would like the chance to go swimming again. Unfortunately, she is unable to afford a swimsuit, goggles, or a pass for a swimming pool. Being able to get back in the pool would make her feel like it was yesterday, before she was sick.” Other wishes that might be granted involve reuniting women with family members who live outside Ottawa, or enabling them to cook with herbs from a home country. Monica is a volunteer and member of the corporate board at Cornerstone Housing for Women.

Miami, FL – Painting Rocks in Overtown at Lotus House

2018-07-20T00:00:00Z

Painting Rocks... as we can all agree! Art is one of the best tools used to gather people and build community. The Lotus House in Miami caters to homeless women and children in need. I am an artist and founder of Earth Angel Outreach, a non profit organization that helps bring awareness and support to children in need. I have designed a series of Plays and Programs that have been taught in Liberty City, Overtown and throughout Miami in various schools and are now being offered to Lotus House for their children. One of the playful sessions being offered is Painting Rocks on a weekly basis in the garden at Lotus House. Painting Rocks has been a wonderful tool used to bring people together in a simple way by decorating rocks. These sessions engage children quietly and creatively while opening a window for mothers to relax and socialize with each other. With a little imagination and some paint and glitter, when settled in a safe space, time warps and people connect as they get into their creative zone. A simple concept can become a regular outlet for creativity, ideas, and a force in building new friends. Set outside, Painting Rocks in the garden allows for children to connect with nature and see the relationships between art, nature, and themselves. I would like to offer Painting Rocks every Friday at Lotus House. This would be a class setting that would encourage mothers and children to paint and create together. All supplies and tools will be made available with ample time and assistance to make mini paintings on various size and shape rocks. Many rocks become part of a collection that is being recycled back into the community. Painting Rocks has been a regular Friday night pop-up where people have been supporting the effort to allow the children to paint for free. Each session lasts for 2 hours and costs approx. $100 per session with all supplies, materials including aprons, brushes, paint, glitter, rocks and more for up to 20 people.

Miami, FL – Ukuleles for my school!

2018-07-20T00:00:00Z

My name is Nerissa Manela and I am the music teacher at two schools in Miami. I found out about your organization while researching some grants and wanted to reach out to tell you more about my music programs. I work at Morningside K-8 Academy three days per week and Phillis Wheatley Elementary two days per week. Both schools are above 90% free and reduced lunch and support from parents and the community is sometimes limited. In my general music classes (with grades 2-5), I try to incorporate a variety of lessons including songwriting, movement, reading music notation, music listening, instrument playing, singing, and cross-curricular integration. I am trained in Little Kids Rock method, which is a modern band and music teaching philosophy. I have been teaching with my modern band instruments (ukulele and keyboard) at Morningside, but I am not able to transport them between schools. I am hoping to start teaching a ukulele curriculum at Phillis Wheatley next year, and need 20 ukuleles to serve students in 2nd-5th grade. I look forward to hearing from you and finding out how we can hopefully collaborate together.

Kingston – Keeping Kingston Kool

2018-07-20T00:00:00Z

Along with my 8 year old grandson, Riley, our awesome idea is to hand out free ice cream vouchers to people in the down town core. We chose White Mountain Ice Cream as our source as they are a locally owned business who have been a part of Kingston for many years. Our target population will be anyone who looks hot, needs a reason to smile or simply requires verification as to why Kingston is so Awesome! We have recruited 6 family members who will volunteer their time to help distribute the vouchers. They will be handed out over the course a few weekends and one weekday, for the construction workers who are working hard to make Kingston more Awesome. We chose ice cream as opposed to water bottles as they are a consumable product with no environmental impact. After all, who doesn't smile when they're eating ice-cream, especially when it's the result of a random act of kindness!

Newmarket – Back to School Backpacks - WCYR

2018-07-19T00:00:00Z

The Women's Centre of York Region's Back to School Backpack drive is in its 11th year. The Backpack drive supports women attending programs or counselling at the centre who are returning to school, as well as their children. Many of our clients are low and moderate income residents of York Region whoa re mothers, sisters, daughters, aunts, friends, neighbors , and coworkers. The majority of women that seek our help are women who have experienced violence, have limited income, have low participation rates in the labour market, or experience other barriers that make it difficult for them to contribute to their communities and live their lives to their fullest potential. Many of our clients struggle meaking ends meet and often cannot afford back to school items. Our Back to School Backpack program ensures that all children and adult learners hav access to the tools they need to be successful in school, and ensure that they start their year with dignity. Each age appropriate backpack is estimated to cost about $40. We begin taking names and ages for the program in late June and distribute the backpacks in late August. In 2017, we were able to0 distribute 80 backpacks to 9 clients and 71 children as follows: 9 for JK/SK; 17 in grades 1-3; 20 in grades 4-6; 12 in grade 7-8; and 13 in grades 9-12

Yerevan – Պատահական Անցորդ. «Ձեռքի ուժը»

2018-07-19T00:00:00Z

Որքան էլ մեզ հետաքրքրում են անծանոթները, մենք երբեք նրանց հարցեր չենք տալիս և փորձում ենք չխոսել նրանց հետ՝ սահմանափակելով շփումը միայն հայացքների փոխանակմամբ: Այնինչ, շատ հնարավոր է, որ պատահական անցորդը լինի մեր գաղափարակիրը, մեր ապագա գործընկերը, երկրորդ կեսը, լավ ընկերը կամ ուղղակի հերթական պատահական անցորդը, ում հետ կարող ես անցկացնել կյանքիդ ամենահիշվող 1 րոպեն, ժամը, օրը... «Ձեռքի ուժը» նախագծի թիմով կենտրոնական սրճարաններին կից կտեղադրենք պատեր՝ 2 փորագրված ձեռքերով (նկարում տպագրված տարբերակն է), ձեռքերի միջով կանցնի LED լույս, որը կլուսացնի մութ ժամերի զրույցներն ու հանդիպումները և ձեռքերին շրջապատող տախտակը: Մեր ծրագրի շնորհիվ պատահական անցորդները, տեղադրելով իրենց ձեռքերը հատուկ նախատեսված վայրում, կունենան հնարավորություն նոր ծանոթություններ ստեղծել, կիսվել օրվա դրական և բացասական լիցքերով, ստանալ խորհուրդներ անծանոթներից և վայելել հանդիպման րոպեները կից սրճարանում: Շրջապատող տախտակի վրա մարդիկ կգրեն իրենց մտքերը և այն մարդկանց անունները, ում հետ ծանոթացել են: Գրառումը կարող է ունենալ հետևյալ տեսքը. <<Այստեղ ես ծանոթացել եմ Արինա Մկրտչյանի հետ>>: Հարթակը միշտ կյանքով լի պահելու համար պարբերաբար կկազմակերպվեն միջոցառումներ և այդ օրը մարդիկ հնարավորություն կունենան ծանոթանալ և խոսել օրվա հյուրի հետ՝ ձեռքերը դնելով պատին: Մեր նոր Հայաստանում վստահ ենք որպես հյուր կարող ենք տեսնել ամենաբազում զբաղմունքների և մասնագիտությունների տեր մարդկանց՝ սկսած վարչապետից մինչ գործարար և արվեստագետ: Հանդիպումների արդյունքը կարող է լինել նոր ծրագրերի ստեղծում, կապերի հաստատում կամ ուղղակի զրույց բանիմաց մարդկանց հետ:

Buffalo, NY (Non-active) – Feed Buffalo Little Pantries

2018-07-18T00:00:00Z

I’ll be launching a new pantry this summer (like June 2018)! In effort to encourage the community to support one another, Feed Buffalo will lead a Little Pantry installation project. Our goal is to have 25 Little pantries throughout Buffalo by the end of August 2018. The pantries will hold non-perishable items and toiletries (toilet tissue, toothbrushes/toothpaste, feminine items) & baby items (diapers, baby wipes). The idea is that anyone can donate to the pantry and/or take an item from the pantry whenever needed.

Newcastle – The Share Shop - A Library of Things

2018-07-18T00:00:00Z

Our mission is to create a vast library of useful things in a friendly space where the community can borrow items and learn how to use them. We want people spending less money on things they don’t necessarily need to own (and the storage associated with those things), we want to reduce waste eventuating from the disposal of unwanted items and reduce our carbon footprint by enabling access to local resources near our homes and workplaces. Some examples of the type of things we already have in our inventory including camping equipment like tents and camp chairs, party equipment like a PA and chocolate fountain and tools for DIY like jigsaws, drills and post hole diggers. Sharing is also an exciting way for the community to come together. Sharing provides people with the opportunity to try new things and learn new skills with minimal outlay. The Share Shop will be co-located with other community groups it is expected the location will grow to be a vibrant community hub. The Share Shop is a not-for-profit, incorporated association run by volunteers. We have a core team of eight with a broad network of community-minded people pitching in on various aspects to help us get going. All the things in our inventory to date have been donated by members of the local community. We have set up our inventory and member management system and our website, we have over 100 things in our inventory and we have an agreement in place to occupy a space in Clyde St, Hamilton North. Annual membership is set at $52 a we want the Share Shop to be accessible for all. We also plan to looking into sponsored memberships through charitable partners once we're up and running. At the moment we are building our inventory, taking pre-purchased membership through a crowdfunding campaign (https://chuffed.org/project/theshareshop) and documenting core processes with the intention of opening the doors at the end of July.

Philadelphia, PA – Love Starts Here.

2018-07-18T00:00:00Z

Love starts here. Within our hearts, our soul, our spirit. If you can't love yourself, how in the heck are you gonna love somebody else? I want to put together an art show that is a safe space for featured artists who bring awareness to mental health and LGBT+ issues within the Black community. I have a mission to shine light on the importance of self-love and showing artists that collaborating is more progressive than competing. I want everyone involved to feel empowered and to gain a bit of insight into how artists use their work to cope and elevate. I have a team of artists, performers, and vendors that are willing to help me create my own show as I've only been a part of other people's events. It will be a collaborative event where artists are not only showcasing their work but engaging with the attendees to help them in expressing themselves. There will be 3 main sections for interactive displays such as live painting on a large shared canvas, jumbo coloring sheets created by the artists with markers for attendees to color in, and a self-portrait photo booth. I want to influence the community to practice love for self through art because the more I expressed myself and refined the results, the more I developed my skill and clarified my path. Hopefully this event can inspire and uplift people to feel more confident in their natural talents and potential growth.

Philadelphia, PA – Impact Workshop at Riverside Correctional Facility

2018-07-18T00:00:00Z

Starting on July 23rd, we will begin a two-week performing arts workshop with women at Riverside Correctional Facility (RCF). RCF is one of six jails in the Philadelphia Prison System. Our workshops empower communities of marginalized, incarcerated women in this jail and many others by expanding their pro-social skills (particularly confidence, empathy, resilience, and leadership) and faith. This creates communities of courageous leaders amongst the women who participate, the effects of which ripple out to the rest of the facility and, after they are released, into their home communities. In each workshop, professional artists collaborate with 30 women from the correctional facility for two-weeks to develop a 45-minute performance of dance, music, drama, and spoken word. This performance presents an uplifting message of hope to other incarcerated people in the facility. During the workshop, SLM staff and artists work with inmates for seven hours per day, five days per week, in rehearsals, community building activities, reflection, and small group discussions on faith and self-awareness. All choreography, theater sketches, and spoken word pieces are original work, crafted by the participants from their own life experiences in a way that will powerfully touch their peers in the audience. The two culminating performances take place on SLM’s full stage, set up in the facility’s gym, complete with a professional lighting plot, sound, and video projection. Each performance is accompanied by a professional band and is followed by an interactive feedback session between participating inmates and audience members. This workshop is one of six workshops we are holding in 2018, and will be our fourth annual Impact Workshop at Riverside Correctional Facility.

Chicago, IL – An Arm and a Leg:Podcast re: Cost of Health Care

2018-07-18T00:00:00Z

The cost of health care shapes people’s lives: The jobs they’re afraid to leave, the businesses they don’t start, not to mention their health. It keeps getting more expensive, and it’s confusing— and scary— to face alone. An Arm and a Leg will pull back the curtain to show how the dark machinery works. And that should be… fascinating. Surprising. Entertaining. (That’s how a nerd like me sees it.) It should also be kind of empowering. Occasionally, maybe even useful. Also, consoling, as in: None of us is in this alone. On this show, all us blind people will put our hands on this elephant and ask, WTF IS GOING ON? And what can we do—individually, collectively—to help ourselves? Our 20-minute episodes will include: • Root causes of everyday nightmares: A guy gets a knee brace from a local hospital, and then the bill: $1,400. Google says he could’ve gotten the same brace for $150. We investigate: What the heck? • Personal stories: In one woman’s epic quest to save her family from sky-high medical bills, she makes heroic sacrifices… and history. • Expert findings: Some terrific reporters and researchers have already done GREAT digging here. We’ll have them on, to unpack what they’ve found. Interesting hacks: • Renaissance Fair workers often have trouble getting good health insurance, so they’ve improvised a creative alternative. (I recently did a brief version of this story, produced with Planet Money, for NPR; there’s more to tell.) •Experiments, with your help: In her book An American Sickness, journalist Elisabeth Rosenthal offers some prescriptions for “taking back” health care— by becoming better-informed, more-assertive consumers. Honestly, they sound TOUGH: tricky, awkward, and uncertain. Let’s try them, record the results, and compare notes.

Cass Clay – Harbor Health Clinic/Diversity Training

2018-07-17T00:00:00Z

We've put together a non-profit clinic that allows people to be seen for Gender Affirming Hormone Therapy using an Informed Consent model, in essence, we do not ask that our patients see a therapist/counselor prior to prescribing hormone therapy. Our provider lays out the pros and cons of hormone therapy to each patient and provides an in-depth analysis for the reactions that will occur while on hormone therapy, and then we let the patient decide what is right for them. We are looking to expand our model across the state, as well as via tele-health. We also offer diversity trainings for community members and organizations wanting to know more about the LGBTQ+ cultures. Our training helps identify ways to be more supportive and better allies, and acknowledging ways that they're already doing that.

Pittsburgh, PA – The Busnegie Museum of Art

2018-07-16T00:00:00Z

I am creating a temporary art museum in the two bus shelters outside the Carnegie Museum of Art during the Carnegie International Exhibition (which starts in October and only happens once every three years), featuring the work of Pittsburgh artists. One of the target audiences is the arts professionals who will be attending the Carnegie International in the hopes that this will provide exposure for the local artists involved and propel their careers. The second target audience is people who do not have a relationship with art and rarely (if ever) attend museums or galleries. By bringing art to them in the very egalitarian space of bus shelters, the Busnegie seeks to remedy the (often correct) perception that art is elitist and stuffy. To further promote the arts to those who are economically disadvantaged, the Busnegie will publicize the little known fact that people who receive government services and have an ACCESS card can attend the Carnegie with up to 7 other people for just $1 each.

Awesome Without Borders (Non-active) – CodeBuddies

2018-07-16T00:00:00Z

CodeBuddies is a free, open-sourced project and Slack community that enables an international community of over 4000 independent coders to improve their coding skills via peer-to-peer organized study groups and remote study hangouts. The platform was built from scratch entirely by volunteers, and lets anyone start a study group or schedule a virtual hangout to learn together, with the premise that getting coding help and getting access to study partners shouldn't be limited by where one lives or by one's ability to commute to a tech meetup after work.

Birmingham, AL (Non-active) – YWCA Summer Adventures in Learning (SAIL)

2018-07-16T00:00:00Z

The YWCA’s After-School Enrichment Program (ASEP) serves school-age children living in local homeless shelters during the academic year. In the summer months, the ASEP Program serves as a site for our Summer Adventures in Learning program (SAIL) which provides academic and enrichment activities for approximately 50 children from 7:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. during the work week. During the summer children participate in hands-on academics targeting the summer slump in areas of reading, math and science. They are also given the chance to participate in typical summer experiences such as field trips to local museums, Railroad Park, movies, swimming, skating, Desoto Caverns, and more. These summer experiences offer homeless and at-risk children access to opportunities for physical growth, cognitive development, socialization and integration that they would otherwise be denied. SAIL students participate in scientifically research based assessment that measure Literacy, Mathematics, and Reading aptitude. At-risk students often miss important early reading instruction providing a foundation for continued success in school. We focus on phonemic awareness, the alphabetic principle, comprehension, exposure to wide genre of literature. Classrooms are print rich with books, magazines, multimedia software, and newspapers. Last year, students gained one month in reading comprehension and two months in math ability. Summer is usually considered the summer slide when students are not focused on academics and lose grade level competencies if not engaged in academic enrichment activities. The YWCA collaborates with dozens of organizations including Red Mountain Theater, Children’s Theater, Hand in Paw, The Civil Rights Institute, Southern Museum of Flight, The McWane Center, UAB School of Education and more to increase our capacity to provide the experiences that all children should have despite their family financial circumstances.

Minas Gerais (Non-active) – Fundos Rotativos Solidários

2018-07-16T00:00:00Z

O programa visa criar um Fundo Rotativo Solidário com características de uma poupança social. O processo de criação do fundo é divido em três partes: 1. Rodada de Conversa; 2. Formação sobre Economia Solidária e Social; e 3. Realização da Assembleia Geral. Objetivo do Programa: Buscamos promover práticas para permanência e sucessão do jovem no campo: (i) Jovem gerando sua própria renda; (ii) Filiação de jovens na cooperativas da economia solidária e agricultura familiar; (iii) Participação juvenil ativa nas comunidades; (iv) Programa baseado na formação em economia solidária e social. Público Alvo: Jovens na faixa etária de 16* a 29 anos, da agricultura familiar, com relações de parentesco ou não com produtores rurais. Momento 1: Momento de sensibilização da cooperativa, mapeando a possibilidade da criação do fundos e possíveis jovens participantes. Dividindo nas seguintes etapas: (i) Apresentação do programa; (ii) Reunião entre Trias, cooperativas e jovens interessados; (iii) Criação do grupo de trabalho; Momento 2: Formação sobre Economia Solidária e Social. Processo de formação sobre economia solidária e social para o grupo. O processo de formação tem uma carga horária de 6 (seis) – 8 (oito) horas e será divido nos seguintes módulos: - Aspectos da Economia Solidária e Social; - O que são fundos rotativos solidários e como funcionam; - Educação financeira; Momento 3: Após as etapas anteriores, o grupo já está com a decisão formada: a criação de um fundo rotativo solidário. Para criação do fundo, é necessário a realização da Assembleia Geral de criação, neste momento serão abordados os temas: - Regimento Interno; - Regras e normas do fundo; - Criação do grupo gestor. Com a iniciativa da criação de fundos solidários, o Trias juntamente com seus parceiros busca aumentar a participação juvenil nos empreendimentos da Agricultura Familiar com o foco principal na geração de renda dos jovens.

Pittsburgh, PA – Giant Puppet Dance Club

2018-07-16T00:00:00Z

Giant Puppet Dance Club is Pittsburgh Puppetmaker Cheryl Capezzuti's latest experiment in community connection, laughter and delight. Through this project she invites people to put on a giant puppet and join a pop-up Zumba dance class in a Pittsburgh park or other public place. Capezzuti currently has about 200 giant puppets, including a set of 10 super-lightweight puppets designed for dancing. Through this project she will work with local organizations that host events in parks and other public places to create Giant Puppet Dance Club experiences during their already planned events. For example, on the Braddock Community Day, Capezzuti has already talked to the Braddock Library about using their Zumba teacher and existing puppet collection to stage a Giant Puppet Dance Club experience in the park on Saturday, August 11. The only barrier to the success of this plan is a little bit of $$ to pay our dance leaders. Events that I would like to connect with include: Braddock Community Day Brighton Heights Halloween Festival An Open Streets event Allegheny Commons Farmer's Market Gallery Crawl in downtown Pittsburgh Puppetry Guild of Pittsburgh Puppet Slam

Oakland, CA (Non-active) – The Pan African Festival (PAF)

2018-07-12T00:00:00Z

Pan African Festival is a free annual one-day festival that aims to, 1.) strengthen the Bay Area Pan African community through arts and culture, 2.) reclaim public space, and 3.) bring residents together to celebrate. More than a festival, PAF is a cultural resistance tool developed to build bridges between long time Black Oaklanders and new African immigrants. PAF utilizes a five-pronged strategy to build the power of attendees. The first strategy is to host an Elder Zone that satisfies PAFs theory of change that creating a site for scholarship which puts elders in direct contact with youth will transfer history, enhance understanding and critical thinking skills, and help build a racial justice fight overtime. Secondly, the Artist Zone open to all regardless of experience, increases people's visual story-telling competency-another method that builds voice, and transfers histories and legacies. It is premised on the idea that the community's visual surroundings directly shape residents’ thinking and behavior. Therefore, the creation of (mural) arts featuring a radical message/images fosters a sense of self-determination. Thirdly, the Youth Games Zone engages children and youth in team building activities that promote a restorative justice philosophy for their day-day lives. Fourthly, the Workshop Zone threads people's lives beyond boundaries, borders and blocks to deliver key information and resources. Lastly, the Main Performance Stage showcases artists and singers from across the diaspora in order to highlight the diverse Pan African experiences.

San Francisco, CA – Ice on Ice: an Ice Capade!

2018-07-11T00:00:00Z

A night of performance art pieces and ephemeral sculptures on ice. Think something like Einstein on the Beach meets the Disney Ice Capades, curated by Marina Abromovic. It would be weird, spectacular, and free. Amateur hockey players, up-and-coming figure skaters, and other ice skating stars will interpret the rapid-fire series of acts and actions that make up the night. Each will be performed in a sequence of 60 acts in 60 minutes with the giant hockey scoreboard buzzing and counting down time. As people filter into the dark arena, a large block of ice would be kicked in and out, through a single spotlight in the center of the ice rink. Eventually, as audience members opt to either file onto the ice themselves with just their tennis shoes or sit in the stands, the spotlight expands to a hockey goalie in his full protective gear, frantically practicing Buster Keaton falls, tumbling to the ice like a collapsible doll. Other acts include whimsical figure skating (the Bay Area is home to a number of young, world-class, Olympic hopefuls); a tragi-comedy farce of a man pinning his laundry to a long, moving clothesline; the echo of drums and wooden blocks in the massive, resonant arena; the audience shuffling around the edge of the rink as performers glide past them on skates, passing a giant 8’x8’ concrete cube back and forth across the ice. It’s going to be weird, wonderful, and free to the public. Join us November 2nd, 2018 at the Oakland Ice Center! http://amfuller.com/ice-capade/

San Francisco, CA – Whose World Is This

2018-07-11T00:00:00Z

As more conversations centered around anti-immigration is on the rise, now is the perfect opportunity to document immigrant narratives for future generations, a pro-immigration dialogue. We are tired of others telling our story which is why we should encourage all immigrants AND children of immigrants to take responsibility and document these stories. This initiative is to highlight these narratives through a book as a collection of stories/statements and a video series. This project specifically would work with artists, influencers, educators, small business owners, organizations, and regular day people. With the book, it is meant to bridge the successes and struggles of members from various communities through word and imagery. Usually, these struggles/successes aren’t acknowledged, and doing so would allow insight into the differences and similarities we have with one another. The video series will be individualized interviews(up to 5 minutes) of cinematic video. The website would include more info about each piece, more content, and where to find those who contributed to the collection.

Seattle, WA – Upper Skagit Library Bikemobile

2018-07-10T00:00:00Z

Why a book-bike-mobile would be an awesome addition to the Upper Skagit Library District A book-bike-mobile would greatly improve Upper Skagit Library District’s (USLD) ability to provide library services to the close (yet so far away) residents of eastern Skagit County. It would allow us to reach families who find it difficult to visit the library due to poor public transportation and/or physical or financial limitations. USLD opened its doors in 2005. The library, located in the small town of Concrete, WA, serves the 5,000 residents of the eastern “upriver” portion of Skagit County. While the area abounds in farms, forests, and natural splendor, it is also home to many at-risk kids and households facing difficult economic challenges. We have learned from talking to community members and patron surveys that distance and cost to travel to the library during open hours prevents many people from visiting the library as often as they would like. For example, there is no bus service to two of the area’s most economically challenged neighborhoods, Cedar Grove and Cape Horn. These neighborhoods, only 4.5 and 6 miles away from the library respectively, are home to numerous mobility and economically challenged families. Some of our patrons go to great lengths in order to visit the library; many are not able to make the trip. A book-bike-mobile would make it possible for us to reach out to these neighborhoods with consistent summer book visits and programs. A book-bike-mobile would also enhance the Upper Skagit Library’s partnership with the Concrete School District on various projects and programs. One is the Concrete Summer Learning Adventure (CSLA). CSLA’s mission is to encourage learning and prevent the “summer learning slide.” Bringing the library book-bike-mobile to summer camp at the school would be a natural and exciting partnership opportunity.

Miami, FL – PhotoGetherness

2018-07-09T00:00:00Z

The day we took my Aunt Pam to live at an assisted living facility was one of the saddest days of my life. I couldn’t believe we were leaving her with a bunch of strangers in this complex that was supposed to be her new “home.” True, it had the appearance of a home in that it had a kitchen and a living room, 5 bedrooms and a couple bathrooms. True, they called themselves a “family.” But, there was one huge thing missing: a sense of home and belonging. I left her facility thinking how sad it was that Pam’s new home had no pictures up on the walls. It felt barren, not like the home or family that my loving Aunt had grown up in. Then I realized that I could help Pam transition by actually taking pictures of her and her new home family. This is how I started PhotoGetherness, a non-profit endeavor to help bring a sense of home to group homes in South Florida. Research shows that photographs are a powerful tool in establishing a real sense of belonging, and they help make a house look and feel like a home. My goal is to take, develop, frame and hang pictures in Pam's home and throughout all the units in her facility. Furthermore, I want create a family photo calendar with group photographs and individual photographs for the home to have and use and to send copies to the other family members. I have already started this project. I have taken photos of Pam’s immediate villa and am in the process of printing and framing and putting the calendar together. Once I am successful in Pam’s villa, I hope to move on to the other villas to help create this sense of belonging at Sunrise, a complex of 8 villas (with approximately 80 residents) in Miami. Once done there, I will move on to other assisted living facilities in Miami. As such, I have incorporated PhotoGetherness as a nonprofit so that I can seek to raise funds in other ways as well.

Miami, FL – MIAMIGIRL-Empathy training for police officers

2018-07-09T00:00:00Z

Violence and death by police shooting are overwhelmingly associated with mentally ill persons. Likewise, mental illness training may be insufficient or ineffective for officers that routinely encounter the mentally ill while on duty. Given the high stigma associated with mental illness and the lack of understanding and empathy towards the disease, empathy training with police officers and family caregivers could influence police-related violence and deaths by building community engagement and constructing a deeper understanding of the mentally ill person. To solve this problem, I will implement an innovative project aimed at reshaping attitudes towards mentally ill persons. Police officers will participate in an auditory hallucination simulation during roll call. First, police officers will receive a pre-briefing of the exercise. Next, police officers will listen to “Pat Deegan’s Hearing Voices” simulation for 45 minutes while completing: a) an origami puzzle, b) a number crossword puzzle, c) an employment application, and d) a mental status exam. Then, police officers will watch video-taped testimonials of a mentally ill person and a family caregiver that describe their lived experience of being taken into custody for transport to a mental health facility. Finally, the facilitator will debrief police officers and data will be collected to determine: a) if the objectives were met, b) their feelings about the activity, c) lessons learned, and d) how this training may affect future encounters with mentally ill persons. Within six months of completion, the results of this pilot project will be shared with local police departments, policy makers and mental health stakeholders to suggest improvements in current practice. From these meetings I plan wider dissemination of the results through professional journals and national conferences. Ultimately, the results will be used to justify the project’s significance when requesting larger subsequent funding.

Miami, FL – BAM! Black Architects in the Making

2018-07-09T00:00:00Z

Because architects of color are woefully underrepresented in the creative industries, The Miami Center for Architecture & Design (MCAD) seeks to work with young people in under served neighborhoods to foster an interest in pursuing careers in architecture and other creative industries. More than a career talk, BAM! is a creative series of hands-on labs where students create a computer-generated model and display images of these models at the end of the workshop. The workshops will also feature interactive presentations by architects and architectural students of color. Additionally, we are working to develop “Design & Build” programs much like the one we created for the New Educational Paradigm School in Miami. We were invited to share our mission—introducing children in under served neighborhoods to the profession of Architecture. For the pilot project, our volunteers worked with the students to design and construct raised planter beds as part of a greater focus on the science of agriculture. We partner with the Miami Chapter of the American Institute of Architects to bring this program to our community.

Awesome Without Borders (Non-active) – Choosing Our Roots

2018-07-09T00:00:00Z

Choosing Our Roots is a new (and awesome!) grassroots nonprofit devoted to safely housing queer youth in Alaska. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) youth experience homelessness at disproportionately high rates, and while there are other organizations dedicated to serving homeless and marginally housed Alaskans, there are none that focus on the significant and unique needs of LGBTQ youth. Choosing Our Roots (COR) has emerged from that gap as a youth-led and queer-led initiative that is participant centered, culturally relevant, trauma informed, and chock-full of awesome. Our existence responds to a deep and persistent need for services that center the safety, needs, and potential of LGBTQ youth in our communities. COR will begin offering services in 2018, working with homeless and marginally housed youth (ages 13-24) who identify as LGBTQ. Using a host home model that has been successfully established and refined in many other communities, COR will provide participants with more than just shelter: our services will empower participants to build supportive, long-term relationships with host families while growing into confident, competent young adults who know their own value and promise. To this end, COR will offer extensive training and ongoing support for host families, comprehensive case management for youth participants, and supports and training to families of origin, while coordinating with community partners to provide wraparound services. COR is currently developing services in the Anchorage and Mat-Su regions of Alaska with a strategic plan to expand to hub communities throughout Alaska by 2023. Our vision is that all queer Alaskan youth have access to safe homes and supportive communities, thus allowing them to thrive and to fulfill their own potential for awesomeness.

Newburgh, NY – LODGER: A Culinary Workshop for youth

2018-07-09T00:00:00Z

Lodger will launch a six-week workshop that connects Newburgh's youth to local food initiatives, curriculum-based learning kitchen, and the operation of a pop-up restaurant. Based on an earlier program in Detroit, Lodger will culminate in a pop-up restaurant. Students will become familiar with back-of-house, front-of-house, and the inner workings of set-up and design responsibilities. The pop-up graduation restaurant will be hosted at Lodger 188 Liberty St. The public will be invited as well as family members and friends. We will welcome educators, artists, authors, farmers and chefs to partner in the play of ideas and the creation of innovative events and convivial gatherings. Please join us for an evening of celebration on August 25th at 7pm Stay tuned for the pop-up restaurant in October/November. #lodgernewburgh

Vegan (Non-active) – Walking the Daises

2018-07-09T00:00:00Z

Walking the Daisies (WTD) is annual 2-day hike event to the music festival Rocking the Daisies in Cape Town. The event has become a platform to create a fun, creative and interactive space for raising awareness, education & support around issues such as global warming and environmental degradation, while taking into account social issues such as unemployment, poverty and inequality that prevail in the South African context. WTD is now a widely acclaimed event that supplements the Rocking the Daisies festival’s aim to reduce their carbon footprint, create and promote positive environmental action, facilitate conscious dialog and raise awareness about the social and environmental challenges. Every year WTD takes approximately 150 walkers through an experience involving environmental education, beach-cleanups, plastic campaign awareness, guest speakers, yoga and meditation and community engagement and upliftment projects. The WTD event is zero-waste, with all waste being recycled, ecobricked or turned into compost. A big component of the walk is that all food served is vegan and vegetarian.

Adelaide – Wood burning art

2018-07-06T00:00:00Z

With a Soldering Iron I burn pictures into 3 ply pine board. Currently I am only doing them as gifts and for the 2018 NAIDOC Poster award ( Lady picture attached). I was unsuccessful with it this year. I am doing the art in my spare time mainly after work at night. I am hoping to sell the art and fund a gardening project I am also working on. I am intending on making better our vegetable patch and fruit orchard by initially Kangaroo proofing the areas and then incorporating more raised beds and fruit tress. Also I intend to build a fruit and veg stall out the front of our house with a sign that reads as follows: "Please leave a donation if you can, if not, take what you need and leave some for others. Maybe you can make a donation next time".

Singapore – The Aroid Flora of Sibuyan Island, Philippines

2018-07-05T00:00:00Z

My project is about creating a photo-encyclopedia of the different kinds of taro species and its relatives. This book will be comprehensive but easy to understand; English and Filipino translations will be provided for better communication. It will serve as a guide book for the locals, protected area managers, students, professors, and students. The book will showcase about the economic uses of the taro family, such as which taro relatives are poisonous, which part of the plant could be eaten, potential food substitute in case of food shortage, and some awesome plants of the island. Copies will be given to the different municipalities of Sibuyan Island. The book will also showcase the different endemic plants and species of the island, the intact virgin forests, and some of the cleanest rivers of the island - Thus, the area was referred to as the "Galapagos of Asia" by scientists. Aside from the book, I will be imparting my knowledge by providing a capacity building activity. It will be about the importance of plant conservation in different communities of the island. Proper collection of plants, preservation techniques, and storage/maintenance will also be included. If possible, I would like to initiate the awesome idea of making a museum. I will start creating the botany section of the museum and I will invite different experts like mammalogists, entomologists, and herpetologists to pursue with this initial phase of the project.

Awesome Without Borders (Non-active) – Saving Lakota Language Off the Rez

2018-07-02T00:00:00Z

All Native languages, including Lakota, are in serious danger of extinction. We lose speakers, especially fluent speakers, daily. Spoken language speaks the soul of a People & their culture. We have a free class in Bismarck, ND that meets every Wednesday in the Veterans Memorial Public Library. Our teacher is a certified Lakota Language Teacher. We gift him for his help. We need books & other such materials - the dictionary alone is $50 + tax. The workbooks we need are about $40 each. CDs of conversational Lakota are similarly expensive. Natives in the US have the worst economic statistics of all groups. We simply can't afford to buy the books & supplies we need to successfully teach our class. Some of us get government assistance to live; others work at low-wage jobs. I am self-employed but spend a great amount of time helping my People at no cost to anyone (except me). Currently, we make scans or photocopies of my books or library books to pass around. This is not a good way to proceed with this vital work, because there aren't enough books for everyone to have one. Much is lost without the entire book to refer to, when someone is learning. Cultures are only truly expressed through their languages. Each language expresses that culture's soul. Most of any culture cannot be expressed accurately in another language. It is vital to preserve our Native languages. Once the spoken language is gone, it cannot be recreated. This is deadly to the cultures and to the people of each Native culture. Our Indigenous holocaust has continued for over 500 years. This money would help us help more people to speak - & now, to read & write - Lakota, OFF the Rez. Despite laws that say our Native languages are to be taught in the public schools, there are no classes off the Rez here. The average age of our remaining fluent speakers is over 70. We need to reduce that greatly. This $1,000 grant would enable us to increase the number of speakers & reduce the average age of them.

Aviano (Non-active) – Angels for Animals - Aviano

2018-07-02T00:00:00Z

Angels for Animals of Aviano will seek to provide comfort and care for stray and abandoned animals in the Aviano, Italy area, where the feral population tends to be large due to the moderate climate. Help will be provided in the form of food, medical treatment, shelter, love and placement with a forever home. The organization will enlist volunteers to set up food points, foster rescues and manage animal care.

Ann Arbor, MI – Project Reentry Resource Navigator

2018-07-02T00:00:00Z

Project Reentry is a relatively new program that supports re-sentenced juvenile lifers in Michigan. We are based out of the State Appellate Defender Office and collaborate with a team of public defenders, masters-level social work interns, and community organizations, united by a shared mission to help incarcerated people successfully reenter Michigan communities. Our clients were arrested as children and given life without parole sentences but became eligible for resentencing after a 2016 Supreme Court decision. Now they are being released back into society, never having lived as adults. Many of our clients have trouble using the internet to find and access services in their communities. Technology advanced rapidly while they were incarcerated, so many websites and devices are difficult to navigate and understand. We are planning to build an easy to use website that connects incarcerated people to felony-friendly resources nearest to them. Users will input their location and needs, and the website will generate a list of nearby organizations that can help. The descriptions of the organizations will include eligibility requirements, hours, a map view, what to bring, and other important information. As many of our clients are unfamiliar with new technology, we are partnering with a member of the Detroit Community Technology Project, an organization that specializes in making technology more accessible and expanding digital literacy in Detroit. We are also going to run focus groups with our clients to determine what makes technology easier to use. In researching this project, we have been in contact with Purple Binder and the Youth Sentencing and Reentry Project, who have similar websites in Chicago and Pennsylvania. We are planning to pilot the website in Washtenaw County and then expand it to all of Michigan.

Raleigh, NC (Non-active) – The Oracle Fleet

2018-07-01T00:00:00Z

With the Awesome Grant, I plan to develop the next step of my project, “Oracle Machine,” previously performed at Artspace in Raleigh as well as the North Carolina Museum of Art. As seen in the image I submitted, the Oracle Machine is a contraption constructed from two boxes and a tube, covered in fabric and lights. I, the artist, act as the oracle,and have a box on my head, and the participant has the other box on their head. We converse by speaking and sound is carried through the tube from one box to another. The participant remains completely anonymous, as I cannot see them, and the boxes create sensory deprivation. The power of this seemingly absurd contraption is to facilitate an intimate, open and safe space whether the participant is known or not. I rarely tell the participant what to do, and instead talk through with them their situations. I am trying to inspire participants to be able to have honest, intimate conversations, which they will then hopefully be able to continue in their regular lives. With the grant, I plan to employ a fleet of five oracles at a pop-up event at Anchorlight studios in Raleigh. I will recruit these oracles through my network as well as putting out an open call, and will interview them with a special focus on diverse backgrounds and experience. While I will give the oracles general guidelines on treating people in an open, unbiased manner, I hope each one of them will bring their own special approach to the experience. There will be signs instructing visitors to tell the oracles a secret or ask for advice, and visitors will have a chance to talk to different oracles in order to receive a variety of insights. I believe this will be a great event because it is participatory, unusual, and engages people in in-depth conversation while they are experiencing performance art. It will help visitors look at art in a new way as an experience rather than an object.

State College, PA – Hammock #Communitree

2018-07-01T00:00:00Z

I want to create an eye-catching, sturdy, and multi-layered, hammock tree. A place where our community can hang up their hammocks and be surrounded by friends, family, and/or strangers! The #Communitree is made up of a series of poles/posts/boards that allow users to hangout in many different directions and heights. My favorite part, you ask? The center pole, which holds it all together, is a Peace Pole (which symbolizes the oneness of humanity and our common hope for a world at peace). This important detail emphasizes the true meaning and vision of the #Communitree; To live (or hammock) among those that are different from you and to embrace diversity in your daily tasks. AND, in addition to the #Communitree attracting different demographics of people into one location, it also adds another free, wholesome, and fun adventure into our town!

Liverpool (Non-active) – Kerbinator

2018-07-01T00:00:00Z

We're working on a project to enter into the Big Bang NW and after playing around with a few ideas we came up with the Kerbinator. The Kerbinator is a button which, when pressed, records the GPS location of the button. The purpose is to crowd source data about where drop-kerbs are located. We want people to take this button and press it, every time they find a drop-kerb. The data will be written locally and then uploaded to a website once connected to wifi, then the co-ordinates will be plotted onto a map so that wheel chair users can plan their routes more easily, taking in the locations of drop-kerbs. Once the button is complete we will make the schematic and design files open sourced and encourage makers across the UK to make their own to contribute data from they local area.

Austin, TX – The Texas Justice Initiative

2018-07-01T00:00:00Z

The Texas Justice Initiative was founded to collect, vet and publicly release information on criminal justice and policing in Texas. TJI released its first report and two related data sets on June 1, 2018. The report includes analysis of nearly three years’ worth of officer-involved shootings in Texas, and more than a dozen years’ worth of records on custodial deaths in Texas. "An incredible team of volunteers has been working together for months to build TJI," says founder Eva Ruth Moravec. "Now that our framework is built, we're ready for intentional growth." A $1000 grant from the Austin Awesome Foundation will help TJI make this data even more accessible to the public. By automating and streamlining their back-end processes, users will be able to filter, map, and parse the raw data for themselves. Says Moravec: "We believe that with quality information, Texans can craft good policy, improve governance, ensure accountability and identify creative solutions."

Sydney – Let's Coach the Coach

2018-07-01T00:00:00Z

We are a local sporting organisation who provide T-ball and Softball for those aged 2-100. As such we want to make sure that our kids in particular have what they need in order to be successful and achieve their goals. This starts at the grass roots level...So why the project ... We want kids to learn, have fun and be successful and wish to enable this through energetic and highly taught coaches who have the right skills in order to teach them what they need to know. Over the years the financial cost of coaching programs has stopped many people wanting and learning to become a coach. The basic program costs $100 per person. We don't want this to be the case and want to be able to provide the opportunity for as many people to become a coach in our sport as we can.

North Minneapolis, MN – The Dance Dream

2018-07-01T00:00:00Z

The Dance Dream was created by a mother who saw the passion her son had for dance. She watched him from a young age dance but never knew how much of an impact it would be on him as he grew older. From dancing in the living room of their home to signing up for the talent show every year, she noticed how he loved to dance and how he was not going to stop anytime. She decided to sign him up for dance classes and from that point on he continued to prosper. He began to enter local dance battles/events and go up against some of the best dancers in the community. It didn’t matter to him if he won or lost; the goal was to perform his best. One day the mother and son sat down and talked about what were his goals and where did he see himself in the future, his response was he wanted to be the best dancer he could and dance all over the world. He wanted learn as many styles of dance he could and some day move to California or New York to be come a dance choreographer. “That’s my dance dream,” he said. And this is where the mom got her inspiration to create The Dance Dream. In April of 2018, The Dance Dream was created by the mother and son.

Disability – Self Care Sunday's Podcast

2018-06-30T00:00:00Z

Self Care Sunday’s is one of the few podcasts on air that centers communities of color and their access to sustainable, non-commercialized self-care. Our team is led by two women of color: host Aditi Juneja and producer Jess Talwar, both Indian-Americans. Aditi created Self Care Sundays as a feminist practice based on the ideas of Audre Lorde, an American writer, feminist and civil rights activist who stated, “We can’t pour from an empty cup.” In Season 1, we started with social justice roots as we interviewed activists and discussed how they combated burnout during unstable political climates. Our inspiration for Season 2 came from our conversation with Alice Wong of the Disability Visibility Project. As she discussed the power of saying “no” and social media boundaries, we decided to explore how one concretely habitualizes self-care practices. The idea fueling this podcast is that our work as activists cannot end at the end of this Administration. We need to remain vigilant and healthy beyond 2020, 2024, and so forth to continue empowering marginalized groups. Our creative vision is informed by intersectionality as we seek to elevate the voices of guests and listeners who exist at the intersection of marginalized identities including race, gender, disability, and sexual orientation. We deliberately choose guests from all walks of life for two reasons. First, we hope that the unique practices discussed by our guests can be broadened and applicable to the lives of our diverse listening base. Second, we hope to “introduce” listeners to folks they otherwise might not have the chance to know, as was the case with our episode with Paralympian Andrew Johnson, former sex worker Kaytlin Bailey, or entrepreneur Carolina Contreras. Blind athletes exist. Sex workers exist. Afro-Latinx people exist. We want to uplift their stories while also talking about a topic unfortunately considered “selfish” or “bougie” by some. What our grantee is saying: "The whole purpose of Self Care Sundays is to explore sustainable, non-commercialized self-care for folks within communities of color that are juggling competing obligations. Discussions of self-care can get clouded quickly with the ideas of face masks and bath bombs, and we’re here to say there’s more to it than that. If we’re talking about making the practice of self-care accessible to more people, we need to make the content itself literally accessible to all people! That’s where this grant is going - to a transcription service to transcribe two seasons worth of episodes."

Alaska (Non-active) – Keys to Life Eyes Closed Project

2018-06-30T00:00:00Z

The Eyes Closed project is built around the possibilities expressed in the dreams of children. “Open your eyes to see the world; close your eyes to imagine a better one.” Whenever children close their eyes, they can dream; anything can happen! This the thread in each child’s story shared through Eyes Closed. Children speaking more than 100 languages call Anchorage their home. Under its sky they dream at night and tell stories during the day, wresting from each one meanings and symbols from their cultures. Eyes Closed has gathered 69 stories from these children. Keys to Life will display 16 of the stories on 4’ x 8’ exhibit panels installed throughout the city in August 2018. Each panel consists of professional photographs and story excerpts. An additional five children’s dream/stories will be published in the accompanying full-color book. The panels will render Anchorage’s streets an atlas of our combined heritages. Take seven-year old Mohamud Hassan. He was born in Uganda. His parents moved to Somalia when he was still a baby. Now they all call Alaska home, and we are fortunate, because Mohamud dreams of becoming the kindest businessman ever. For a person to be happy all he needs is “a house, clothes, and shoes,” says Mohamud. He still remembers his early years in Somalia. Men went to work. Women washed their clothes in the rivers, often speaking about America. After the chores, they all gathered around a fire. His aunties would sing, while someone else would play drums. Back in Somalia, people had little, but they had each other. Mohamud arrived in the US two years ago not speaking English. Now he speaks it fluently and thrives at school. Whenever he attends to special events, Mohamud arrives perfectly dressed in a two-piece suit. In the fall of 2018, Keys to Life will host school exchanges, public conversations, and other programs to extend the reach of the stories, the children who told them, and the hope for a better Anchorage that they represent

New York City, NY – Homeward Bound: Memories, Identity, and Resilience

2018-06-28T00:00:00Z

Located in the heart of Chinatown, the W.O.W. Project is a new women-run initiative growing, protecting, and preserving Chinatown’s creative culture and history through arts, discussion and activism. Founder Mei Lum is the 5th generation owner of her family’s 93-year-old porcelain ware business and the oldest operating store in NYC's Chinatown, Wing on Wo & Co. (W.O.W.). The W.O.W. Project directly responds to the community’s needs by addressing pressing concerns voiced by all generations, gender-identities, and economic backgrounds. With the future of Chinatown’s multi-generational community threatened by displacement, it will take community solidarity and resistance to mitigate the powerful forces of gentrification. The W.O.W. Project is a space for Chinatown residents to sustain ownership over our community’s future. In their first year, they hosted 13 public programs with a total attendance of over 500 people, each program reaching their maximum capacity of about 40 people. They’ve launched an annual storefront artist residency, initiated a design challenge to recycled decades of wooden crates, hosted two emerging filmmakers screenings and an open mic night of storytelling from Chinatown residents. Homeward Bound: Memories, Identity, and Resilience in the Chinese Diaspora, is a series of 5 public events: presentations, panels,and a visual exhibition, highlighting everyday resilience across the Chinese diaspora in Chinatowns on the East and West Coasts and eight countries that are confronted with urban displacement. This is the first series of this kind initiated by the W.O.W. Project and two Chinese American scholars who have spent the past years conducting ethnographic, community-based research on the diaspora. This project addresses the need for our community's stories and residents' voices to be uplifted and heard in a rapid time of change and to bring those conversations into a global focus. The final event of their series will be held on July 19, 2018. Get your tickets now. If you're inspired by the W.O.W. you can support them during their 2nd Anniversary Fundraiser.