Awesome Foundation - Projects

Plano, TX (Inativo) – Shepard STREAM Lab

2016-05-22T00:00:00Z

The students at Shepard Elementary are more than just by-the-book learners, because of that we are expanding our classrooms beyond just text. We are in the process of creating a STREAM (Science, Technology, Reading, Engineering, Art, and Math) Lab in our library. In the STREAM Lab, students will be able to dive into their lessons and bring education to life! Working together with teachers, we target subjects that will become more meaningful through STREAM activities. Pencil and worksheets are being replaced by model bridges that students design and build, a light bulb that they power with static electricity, and a musical instrument they create and play. These are just some examples of activities that we have had in the STREAM Lab since it opened in the fall. In addition to the activities that support the district’s curriculum, we would like to introduce more technology to Shepard students. We view computers, wires, and coding as tools and materials that can be used to build, just as hammer, wood, and nails are. When we better equip students to create technologically, we are creating tomorrow's innovators and inventors. This December we participated in the international movement Hour of Code, where all of our students had dedicated time to learn about coding. Students as young as kindergarten came to the STREAM Lab and explored the process behind how to program through interactive games. These seemingly just-for-fun games were actually laying the groundworks for understanding how to script in Java. In the STREAM Lab, we strongly believe that in order to learn something, including programming, you must do something. When we allow students the opportunity to see programming as more than just lines of letters and parentheses, they will understand that programming is engaging and infinite in possibilities for them.

Miami, FL – The Plantain

2016-05-22T00:00:00Z

The Plantain is a satirical news outlet that creates funny, Miami-centric fake news stories. The goal of the project is to get Miamians engaged in local issues by presenting them in an absurd way.

Seattle, WA – Edible Sculptures

2016-05-22T00:00:00Z

If I was able to earn this grant, I would love to create an array of public sculptures designed for urban and rural areas. Within these sculptures, I would plant/inoculate an assortment of edible plants and/or fungi made for free, public consumption. By creating works of art that tantalize taste and sight, I hope to encourage a dialogue among the public participants about how a work of art may effect their everyday life, as well as encourage the notion of self-sustainablity. With the creation of numerous edible sculptures in various locations, I would hope that others would look upon it as something that they could do themselves; that they would be inspired to make their own art at home that can also act as a personal garden.

Kingston – Music at JG Simcoe Public School!

2016-05-22T00:00:00Z

John Graves Simcoe Public School is a low-income school in the Rideau Heights neighbourhood in Kingston, Ontario. Instrumental Music has become quite popular and successful at JG Simcoe Public School over the last few years. Learning musical instruments has been an opportunity they might not receive otherwise. Students are performing quite regularly at school concerts and school assemblies, as well as at upcoming opportunities at local nursing homes to perform for residents. Most students cannot afford to purchase or rent a musical instrument (which is most students at JG Simcoe PS) If we reach our goal of having 30 instruments by September 2016, that will allow approximately 30 students to have a chance to learn an instrument, as well as using some of these instruments with the school's various music clubs.   There are currently not enough instruments for future intermediate students for the next school year. Students in younger grades are beginning to see, and hear the success of the school band, so with more instruments, that means that more and more students will have a chance at learning to play a musical instrument. All of these music opportunities at school (which are free of charge to students) have given students a creative and positive way to express themselves and interact with their peers. It has translated to noted improvements in their in-class behaviour during music class and clubs, and in their homeroom as reported by homeroom teachers. Their confidence level has increased and they enjoy practicing during the school day, and some students take their instruments home to practice. Music education is building teamwork through music ensembles, and frequent school and community performances.  The students are learning about notation, performance, as well as appropriate language and behavior with different audiences.

Plano, TX (Inativo) – 105 Stories of Hope

2016-05-22T00:00:00Z

Each person is living a vivid, complex, and epic story filled with hopes, dreams, and battle scars, a story that we may play a major role in or never cross paths with. However, the lives of some of these people – their stories – are plagued with a silent killer. Depression affects 14.8 million Americans and has claimed 42,773 lives last year. Due to its negative stigma and the sufferer’s own feelings of shame, depression can be undetectable until it is too late. My team and I have started this initiative in response to a dear friend whose life and vivid story was one of those cut short too soon. Four months ago, my girlfriend, Cheyenne Garza passed away and lost her fight to depression. Cheyenne was a beautiful woman who always looked for the good in everyone. She was an artist who loved to paint, draw, dance, and take pictures. Her dream was to become a photographer for National Geographic so she could explore the world and put her passion to good use. However, depression is a silent killer, and Cheyenne battled her anxiety and depression alone for years without letting anyone know. While we are still in shock and healing from this tragedy, we know we are channeling Cheyenne’s benevolent spirit to help others who are afflicted with the same disease. In March 2016, we established ourselves as a non-profit organization in the state of Texas aiming to help young adults overcome their battle with depression. During the week of April 18th, 2016, we also partnered with the Gamma Beta Fraternity chapter at Texas Tech University for Philanthropy Week. As part of raising awareness of depression’s pervasiveness and educating students on how they can recognize or treat the symptoms, we distributed informative pamphlets to students and culminated the week with guest speaker, Tye King. The reception was resoundingly positive with students exclaiming how they can connect these lessons to their friends who are dealing with depression to potentially help or even save a life.

Alaska (Inativo) – The Velella Project

2016-05-22T00:00:00Z

I have designed and am building a shelter prototype called Velella to address an important and unique community need for truly affordable and safe temporary urban shelter for Alaska’s most vulnerable people. Aesthetically pleasing, highly durable transitional living structures in which individuals and families experiencing housing crisis can safely live are practically nonexistent. The municipality of Anchorage and key partners are working diligently to address and resolve the housing crisis in our state’s largest city. Velella is an attempt to provide a constructive temporary emergency housing solution in the interim. What if I designed beautiful inhabitable spaces with our most vulnerable neighbors well being foremost in our minds? What if the appearance and feelings generated by those spaces were valued as much by those with good fortune as those with poor fortune? Couldn’t this approach actually erase judgement, dissolve stigma and move all of us toward healthier and more empathetic communities? Velella is a shelter fashioned to engender a sense of security and pride in its dwellers and designed to resonate with everyone, regardless of housing circumstances. This shelter is designed to be surrounded by built land forms and grouped together to establish “micro-neighborhoods” that reinforce feelings of safety, home, whimsy, belonging and inclusiveness in both the inhabitants and the larger established community. Velella is intended to provide safe space and reinforce cohesiveness for individuals and families in the midst of crisis. It is deliberately designed to equalize social and economic imbalance, combat stigma and restore social dignity. The long term goal of this project is to advance Velella to production as an aesthetically pleasing, elegant, simple to install, durable shelter that has many applications.

Oahu, HI – LISTEN: IT ONLY TAKES A MOMENT.

2016-05-20T00:00:00Z

We are launching a social movement called IT ONLY TAKES A MOMENT™. The purpose is to demonstrate how we can improve the mental wellness of our communities through active listening. The catalyzing event is screening the unreleased feature film LISTEN across North America in Fall 2016. It will be 100% free for people to attend. LISTEN was inspired by Writer/Director Erahm Christopher's work with nearly one million youth. The film is about a school counselor who struggles to make a difference as isolation and negative influences spark destructive behavior among broken youth. Prominent themes include: mental illness, self-harm, gang violence, racism, cyber-bullying, domestic abuse and suicide. The trailer may be viewed at: www.listenthemovie.com. We test screened the film to 6000+ people and received incredible feedback. Here’s a summarized video response: https://youtu.be/1F1f8u83Evo. LISTEN helps youth feel like they are not alone and empowers them to empathize with their peers and vocalize their own struggles. We can provide a comprehensive data packet upon request. Screening event structure: • Intro by Local Mental Health Professional (5 - 10 min) • Feature Film Presentation (1 hour 48 min) • Facilitated Q&A Discussion (30 min) • ‘Just Listen’ Activity Books distributed to all attendees Supporting this event will benefit the community of Oahu in a multitude of ways. The event will (1) build awareness to mental health (2) reveal the damaging consequences that occur when we fail to listen to those in need (3) bridge the social divide between youth and adults (4) create a space for honest conversation and (5) provide local resources for individuals and families to seek help. Overall, we believe this will make Oahu more awesome by transforming inactive listeners into ACTIVE LISTENERS! Everyone has a role to play in communities therefore we must work together to help our youth grow healthy and connected!

San Jose, CA – HelloBots LEGO Robotics

2016-05-18T00:00:00Z

I started the HelloBots LEGO robotics program (www.hellobots.com), a free program specifically for underprivileged children in East San Jose and Alum Rock school district, California in the summer of 2015. Also I am offering “HelloBots for Her”, a special program for girls to build and explore in a supportive environment to develop an interest in math and science through the fun of robotics. I first created a basic level curriculum for four to six weeks. Then I planned another curriculum for the intermediate level for children with some basic exposure to LEGO NXT. The next challenge was to buy the kits. But in summer 2015, I worked at the Silver Creek Academy as an teacher’s assistant, and earned some pocket money from that. I combined that with the seed donation from my family and bought four LEGO NXT kits from Ebay. On August 8th, 2015 I had my first HelloBots workshop in Alum Rock Public library, which ran for six weeks. Library provided the some much needed laptops for the workshop. That was a life changing experience for me. Children from different family backgrounds, who couldn’t afford to have a laptop at home, came every day even before the class started, and didn’t miss a single one. Now I am running the 4-6 weeks workshops in three different libraries, and completed six workshops so far.Since last year I successfully ran free after school programs in LUCHA Elementary school, Alum Rock and Valley Vista Elementary School, San Jose. I am working closely with Alum Rock school district office and planning to launch new programs in 2016-2017 school year. This is the first time for any school in Alum Rock where students got exposure in LEGO robotics through the school. To this day, I have inducted three volunteers and taught 150+ students and looking forward to expand the horizon of Hellobots in more schools and libraries in San Jose and beyond.

Tilburg (Inativo) – Tante Leen (op de Buurtcamping)

2016-05-18T00:00:00Z

Voor één weekend is Stadscamping Tilburg, op het voormalig Van Gend en Loosterrein, geen evenementencamping maar een gezellige Buurtcamping volgens een bekend concept uit de Randstad. Ze wordt bewoond door alle mensen die de stad rijk is: van rasechte Tilburgers tot studenten, van muurbloempjes tot druktemakers en van peuters tot senioren. “Met een pleerol onder de arm zien we er ten slotte allemaal even knullig uit.’Ze zorgt ervoor dat Tilburgers elkaar leren kennen en zal daarmee duidelijk onderlinge sociale cohesie en begrip voor elkaar vergroten. Een uniek ‘evenement’ met een hoge sociale waarde. En iedereen is welkom! Tilburgers uit alle wijken, van de Reeshof en de Blaak tot Noord en Broekhoven. In totaal komen ca. 600 Tilburgers: ¼ inwoners met beperkte financiële middelen - ¼ vrijwilligers en actieve mee-makers - ½ Tilburgers die niet onder 1 van de vorige groepen vallen Een deel van de gasten leeft op de grens van het minimum inkomen, zij kamperen tegen een gereduceerd tarief en kunnen spulletjes lenen bij Tante Leen. Ook voor deze groep is dit een leuke manier om kennis te maken met lokale activiteiten, kunst & cultuur. Samen met de campinggasten zelf en vrijwilligers wordt een divers en actief programma opgesteld met enkele hoofdthema’ s: Sport & Spel, Cultuur en Natuur en eten & ontmoeten.

Gloucester, MA – "Gloucester Speaks"

2016-05-17T00:00:00Z

"Gloucester Speaks" is a one hour documentary portrait of the people of Gloucester at the crossroads between the historic past, the present and the unknown future of this iconic and beloved city. The story will be told through the captivating, sometimes excited, sometimes troubled words of our citizens. The building and opening of the Beauport Hotel will act as a kind of Motif representing the inevitability of change in this, America's first fishing community. To date, conversations have been videotaped the Mayor Theken, Peter Anastas, Jimmie Tarantino, fishermen, stone cutters, graffiti artists, a homeless man and an actor. 17 more conversations are planned spanning a broad and intriguing cast of Gloucester residents.

Ottawa – Love Letters from Anonymous

2016-05-17T00:00:00Z

May's Awesome Ottawa award goes to Brittany Paulhus, to support groups of community volunteers making cards with messages of kindness and support for people who might need a little extra love. The project is called Love Letters from Anonymous. “At our first event,” explains Brittany “we invited the public to help decorate Valentine’s Day cards for every person at ten women's shelters in Ottawa and the surrounding area. We also sent donation items including toiletries, feminine care products, bus tickets, makeup, and jewelry. The turnout for this grassroots event was unbelievable. More than 300 people showed up to participate and many others stopped by to drop off donations or to share stories of their own experience.” “Our most recent event,” Brittany continues, “happened in time for Mother's Day, with a similar goal of sending messages of support to people staying in Ottawa's shelters. We again also collected and delivered donation items. My goal,” she says, “is to make this a quarterly project where people can submit ideas for who to send cards to next. We’ve already received some amazing ideas. One volunteer suggested we do a card workshop and school supplies drive in September for refugee families new to the country.” Want to get involved? Love Letters from Anonymous is on Facebook and Twitter. Brittany is an events coordinator at a national not-for-profit, and moved to Ottawa this year from Winnipeg.

Awesome Without Borders (Inativo) – play:ground

2016-05-16T00:00:00Z

An adventure playground will open in the heart of New York City this May. play:ground, a local nonprofit, will open a 5,000 square foot play space on Governors Island where kids can imagine a world of their own making and experience self directed play. Modeled after a junkyard, the adventure playground lets children shape their environment using an assortment of materials, tools, water, dirt, and things that others might describe as trash. At the Governors Island adventure playground there will be none of the usual structures that you might find in a traditional playground - no shiny metal slides or swings, but the kids might build their own forts from wood pallets and hay bales, they might manage a see saw out of planks of woods or a trampoline out of old tires that lands them in a pile of mud. All this happens under the watchful eyes of trained playworkers — staff who are on hand to provide assistance when requested, but otherwise stand back and let the children take the lead. Today in New York, young people experience a tightly managed urban landscape, with rare access to spaces belonging entirely to them. Where are kids free to self-organize, or independently create from their imaginations? play:ground encourages a sense of freedom and permissiveness not found in most of the city. In addition to free public hours, play:ground will offer summer camps and school visits. Beyond the space on Governor’s Island, play:ground will continue providing local outreach through its ongoing initiative — play:ground in the park. Based on the Pop-Up Adventure Play model, play:ground in the park brings

Boulder, CO (Inativo) – Bear Creek Beautification

2016-05-16T00:00:00Z

The Bear Creek Signs and Mural project represent the next phase of Friends of Martin Acre (FMA) beautification projects along the Bear Creek Path. There are currently 5 signs upstream from the Bear Creek Path Mural under Martin Drive (an FMA project!) that are small, outdated, and at this point, covered in graffiti. These signs were originally designed, created and installed by Creekside Elementary School in cooperation with Boulder Parks and Recreation many years ago. FMA is seeking funds to replace these 5 signs with engaging environmental education signage. We have been working with New Vista High School, the City of Boulder, and facilitated a focus group of neighborhood residents to identify the topics and themes for the signage. Each sign and the new mural will educate the public about Bear Creek and its inhabitants as well as the 2013 flood. In addition to the 5 signs, we will incorporate a new mural component that focuses on art inspired by the flood, and includes a ‘How Tall are you in Flood Years’ marking the 500 year flood and below. Most importantly, each sign and the new mural will engage its reader with fun activities that range from using your senses to experience the creek to seeing if you can jump as far as a mountain lion (or squirrel). The entire part of the pathway, from the first sign to the 5th sign to the mural, will be connected with footprints that kids (and grown-ups) can follow to the next sign and experience.

Pittsburgh, PA – Street Side Karaoke

2016-05-16T00:00:00Z

Everyone has a favorite song they know by heart - but would they sing it on the street? Let’s find out! The Street Side Karaoke project is karaoke with a new twist: it’s portable, spontaneous, and most importantly, street side. The project combines singing - traditionally an intimate, indoor activity - with the growing busking + music scene in Pittsburgh in a form everyone can participate in: karaoke. Inspired by CMU opera students and their “Bus Stop Opera” project (http://bit.ly/1rD77Rs), Street Side Karaoke brings music and entertainment to Pittsburgh in an even more accessible and family-friendly form by allowing people to participate, not just listen! In order to bring Street Side Karaoke to fruition, I need Awesome PGH’s help! Right now, Street Side Karaoke is just an awesome idea, but it needs funding to purchase the materials to make it a reality. With Awesome PGH’s grant, Street Side Karaoke will purchase the screen, microphones, speaker, and Karaoke software subscription. The entire outfit will then be mounted to the side of a vibrantly yellow Honda Fit (no purchase necessary) so the sing-along experience can pull up to any street corner and immediately bring joy into people’s lives (see attachment). Not only can Awesome PGH make Street Side Karaoke a reality, your funding will also make it a free-ality. That’s right, unlike traditional Karaoke DJs, Street Side Karaoke will provide that 100% Natural Good-Time Family-Karaoke Solution at absolutely no cost to the singer! With Awesome PGH’s help, it will be absolutely free. So, in the immortal words of the Beatles: “Won’t you please, please help me!” Thank you for your time and consideration. Street Side Karaoke - now karaoke can come to you!

Philadelphia, PA – The C.C.A. Baldi Middle School Sculpture Garden

2016-05-13T00:00:00Z

My name is Bill Mathes, an art educator at C.C.A. Baldi Middle School within the Philadelphia School District. I began a comprehensive sculpture and mural program, in addition to my regular classes about three years ago. We have a very spacious atrium in the middle of school that has been turned into a sculpture and arts garden. Last year the theme 'Baldi Park' ( a dinosaur theme) and we created a 21' long long (1:2 scale) T-Rex, 23' tall Brachiosaurus, 15' long Triceratops and 8' long Velociraptor which were donated to St. Christopher's Hospital for Children in May 2015. That year we also made a 16' tall Optimus Prime Transformers sculpture. This academic year's theme is, "I love the 1980's & 90's" and we made a life-size Jabba the Hutt and C3PO sculpture, and Ursula the sea witch sculpture and are currently working an accompanying Ariel, Sebastian and Flounder sculpture. My students also have been working on an ongoing mural in our school's library. We have been covered three times by the media: http://www.philly.com/philly/education/Packing-tape_sculptures_bring_dinosaurs_come_to_life_at_Northeast_middle_school.html http://www.northeasttimes.com/2015/feb/11/primeval-adventure/#.Vt9uFMfhgQ8 http://www.stchristophershospital.com/newsroom/highlights/363 My vision is to keep our Atrium area, which we lovingly refer to as the "Commons", to be a blank canvas every September for the students to create their own environment. The old sculptures will hopefully be donated or moved to another part of our wonderful school. This ongoing project, I believe, embodies the concept that Walt Disney had for his parks— to be an ever growing and evolving and living project that should never be finished.

Chicago, IL – Operation Endangered Species

2016-05-13T00:00:00Z

Operation Endangered Species is a project that focuses on saving endangered species from extinction. Currently, we are focused on saving the Alligator Snapping Turtles. We do this by working with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and 18 other high schools across Illinois. We buy the turtles as babies and give them to high schools to be taken care of. The students take care of the turtles until they are one year old, and then they release them into their habitat in southern Illinois. OES is also a way for teens and kids to be involved in a project that helps their community and environment. So far, our project has had almost a 100% success rate! Why should we save the Alligator Snapping Turtles? The snapper turtles are a keystone species in their ecosystem. This means that without them, their ecosystem would collapse. They maintain their ecosystem in two ways. One, they burrow holes in the ground which other animals can use as habitats or means of protection. Second, the alligator snappers are generalists, meaning they will eat almost anything. This helps them keep the ecosystem's population under control OES was started 8 years ago by a group of high school students from Pontiac Township High School. They saw the alligator snapper and thought, "Wow this is so ugly, who would ever want to save it?". So they decided to! They began to notice that most of the turtles began to die out before they reach one year of age. Considering the turtles do not develop reproductive properties until they are 18, this is a major problem. There are many factors that could contribute to this, including turtle poachers and environmental damages. Operation Endangered Species is an impact project that could have a momentous impact on our environment. For more information, please watch the video that my partner Nicole and I created: https://youtu.be/4TlP4wrf4jg

Philadelphia, PA – The Business of Doing Good

2016-05-13T00:00:00Z

We are a social entrepreneur program for kids. We teach kids to change the world! Our mission is to inspire middle school kids to discover what is truly meaningful to them – and empower them with the skills to put their ideas into action. Each day of the program, the kids meet an inspiring entrepreneur who is working to make the world a better place, and are taught business skills to create a business or project of their own. These real-life heroes work with the kids to teach them the skills they need to become entrepreneurs themselves. Entrepreneurs are chosen based on the students' interests and have included those who are working in health clinics in Sierra Leone, building houses to create a middle class in West Africa, starting a fashion line supported by an incubator lab, launching a national food truck line heavily promoted on social media, market research for a ground breaking new educational product, and a National Geographic photographer's studio. To date our kids are creating accessory lines to help fund public schools, creating headbands for health care in Sierra Leone, making organic dog treats and apps for pets, and creating tutoring, senior citizen outreach, and anti-bullying social programs. Kids learn leadership, entrepreneurial, and innovation skills that will better prepare them to thrive in the global economy of their future. Throughout the year, TBDG kids are invited to workshops on advance business skills training, mentoring and learning from those who are changing the world as they work on their projects, and are part of a community of support.

Austin, TX – Party World Rasslin'

2016-05-13T00:00:00Z

Party World Rasslin’ is a “theatrical wrestling” event which exists somewhere on the spectrum between comedic performance art and professional wrestling. We use the narrative and physical vernacular of pro wrestling to tell the big, long, dumb, and collaborative stories that move us. It has grown over the past year and a half from a backyard party of a few friends with a few dozen attendees to a 1400-attendee megaspectacular with a staff of 70 artists and performers. Pro wrestling is an engaging sort of physical storytelling that embodies conflict in a raw and primal way. It is also an extremely goofy style of performance that is beset by bald seriousness and stodgy, dour tradition. PWR dissects this format and reassembles it as a community-oriented, self-effacing, outsider-artist-run spectacle. With great stories, jokes, and brilliant performers at the helm, the audacity of pro wrestling is put into the service of big-hearted narratives, without the posturing sobriety that turns people away from wrestling at large. This allows the stories of conflict to be told in a safe space free of the toxic hypermasculinity or aggressive oppression cultivated in mainstream wrestling. Good vs evil, big vs small, flawed social norm vs passionate outsider—these, and more, we explore in the ring. A grant from the Austin Awesome Foundation will go toward's PWR's June 2016 show, SLIP 'N' SLAM: SLIMETIME, a Nickelodeon Games 'n' Sports-themed extravaganza.

Minas Gerais (Inativo) – Projeto Amorcão

2016-05-13T00:00:00Z

O Projeto Amorcão é um projeto de incentivo a adoção de cães vira-latas e um esforço de conscientização dessa causa através do trabalho de identidade visual. Em Belo Horizonte, alguns esforços por parte da prefeitura e de ONGs de proteção animal são feitos na tentativa de aliviar as questões de saúde pública, mas não são suficientes. Por outro lado,o esforço em incentivar a adoção de animais abandonados ainda é muito recente e feito por instituições sem muitos recursos financeiros e sem suporte para divulgação do trabalho feito. Apesar de se tratar de entidades que promovem o bem estar de outros seres vivos que não sejam diretamente os humanos, o retorno é para toda a sociedade.Sendo assim,esse projeto procura aliar o conhecimento do design, que possui a capacidade em aliar as questões racionais e emocionais, para reestruturar e pensar de forma criativa as restrições e problemas acerca do assunto da adoção de cachorros e guarda responsável. Então, como foi feito? Através de pesquisas e coletas de dados, percebi que, para essas ONGs se promoverem e se manterem financeiramente, uma alternativa é doação (que é mais difícil), ou venda de alguns produtos. No entanto, ainda foi observado que esses produtos são extremamente simples, na maioria das vezes não são graficamente explorados e não geram um desejo de compra. O público são aquelas pessoas que já são, de certa forma, sensíveis à causa, que não se importam em comprar algo que não vão usar de fato, desde que estejam ajudando uma instituição de proteção animal.Dessa forma, foi criada uma linguagem gráfica capaz de refletir os valores dos animais de rua, gerando um valor estético e emocional. A ideia é transferir esse conceito para alguns produtos que passariam a ter valor mercadológico, atendendo as necessidades das ONGs de proteção animal de forma efetiva, através da venda dos produtos que chamem atenção das pessoas para o consumo consciente e, assim,aumentar as chances de adoção.

New York City, NY – NYC #popscope

2016-05-12T00:00:00Z

When was the last time you looked at the craters on the moon, the rings around Saturn, or the four moons around Jupiter? #popscope — which stands for “pop-up telescope” — brings free astronomy nights to the public. When the skies are clear, we “pop-up” in different neighborhoods to promote community-building through science. We aim to 1) encourage social interactions that challenge norms and erode spatial boundaries, 2) promote science literacy by providing exciting views of the night sky, and 3) contribute to public discourse over how public spaces are used and allocated. #popscope was started in Ottawa, Canada in February 2014 and now also has a presence in Baltimore, MD; Philadelphia, PA; Jacksonville, FL; and NYC. Paramount to our philosophy is inclusivity, which means the homeless man walking by gets the same invitation to see the moon as does the business woman walking home from work. #popscope is highly mobile: we bring science to the people by visiting NYC's diverse neighborhoods that often vary by race and class. To make our gatherings as successful as possible, we work with community leaders to bring telescopes to neighborhoods in an inclusive, safe, culturally sensitive, and socially aware manner. We've started partnership conversations with community members in Bed Stuy and Bushwick as well as with teachers in Sunset Park and Borough Park. We use social media to announce the location and date of each event. A virtual community complements our in-person gatherings and extends #popscope’s reach. Users are able to learn about upcoming astronomical events, post questions, and share astronomy-related articles and photos. The night sky has inspired and brought people together from the days of Stonehenge to the age of the Hubble Space Telescope. We believe it will also inspire and bring people together in The Big Apple! Follow NYC #popscope on Facebook and Twitter

Sydney – FoodFaith PlantingSeeds interfaith/cultural garden

2016-05-11T00:00:00Z

FoodFaith was set up last year as a not-for-profit organisation with the support of leading faith and sustainability organisations. The major aims of FoodFaith are to foster social cohesion and engage people with food sustainability. FoodFaith's cornerstone initiative is the Planting Seeds community garden which has been set up with the support of Lane Cove Council which provided some land in their new Hughes Park in Burns Bay Road, Lane Cove. A volunteer horticulturist designed our fabulous community garden in the shape of a flower with each "petal" planter box dedicated to food plants that have significance to different groups. For example, we have plants that have special spiritual and cultural meanings to Indigenous Australians, Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims, Jews, and Christians. Everyone comes together at least monthly to tend, water and harvest together and each group takes it in turn to lead a workshop and/or discussion on their knowledge and practices. The garden also provides local community beds and allotments. The idea is to plant seeds for fertile common ground. We had our working bees on the weekend and attracted over 40 people with locals from neighbouring buildings, and representatives from many different faith groups and other groups such as the Lane Cove Sustainability Action Group. Lane Cove Council has assisted us with just over $1,000 which is helpful but we are still needing funding for functional compost bins. Please see below. We think the project is awesome but are keen to make it even more so! Thanks for your consideration.

Rotterdam – Plastic Circle in Rotterdam

2016-05-11T00:00:00Z

Plastic Circle contributes to Rotterdam's circular economy by fishing plastic in the Maritiem District. Children are involved with creating awareness of the true value behind plastic as a raw material. Plastic Circle will change Rotterdam's attitude towards plastic during several open festivals. The plastic soup that children will fish wil be molded into new playground attributes.

Oklahoma City, OK (Inativo) – Class Matters Inc.

2016-05-10T00:00:00Z

Class Matters Inc. is a mobile not for profit that provides engineering education to at-risk mid-high school students. The current project include teaching of aerodynamics and engineering design and electronics. Specifically, the students will design robotic cars with the arduino as the operating system.

Singapore – Dive without Barriers

2016-05-09T00:00:00Z

I intend to introduce scuba diving in the pool as a form of therapy and leisure experience for people with physical disabilities like spinal cord injuries and amputations. Diving provides total weightlessness and freedom of movement underwater, things that are difficult to achieve on land for people with disabilities. Also because one can adjust a person's buoyancy underwater through scuba gear, I believe there can be a great sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. I intend to provide opportunities for clients to try out diving in a 5m pool and gain skills in a 4 session programme (2 hrs each time). Throughout the 4 sessions, our instructors will help clients fine tune their buoyancy and use adaptive ways to move underwater. Upon completion of the sessions, they will receive a completion certificate and can now enjoy being able to dive in a pool with supervision. They now then have the choice of whether to pursue trying out a Discovery dive in the ocean or to go for the full open water dive certification course. Regular sessions for leisure will be held whether clients who have completed the programme can take part in underwater sports and obstacle courses while in scubagear. I am looking to link up with a local Rehab hospital to introduce some of their patients trial diving in a pool and I will get volunteers for the project as well. I am still looking into the financial costs of the project and it will currently be pro bono since Im just doing it for my passion for diving. If it is successful, I intend to also introduce the programme to other populations; people with autism, elderly.

Awesome Without Borders (Inativo) – Citizen Bridge

2016-05-09T00:00:00Z

The first citizen-built and longest temporary bridge in New York City history, Citizen Bridge is a floating pedestrian bridge to reclaim the city’s waterways as public space. As a 1400 foot span from Brooklyn to Governor's Island, Citizen Bridge is designed to create an intimate experience of being with the water, rather than seeing it from the shore, above from a bridge, or in transport by boat or ferry. Citizen Bridge is about the collective power of citizens to reshape their cities, from the waterline up. Where large pieces of infrastructure are instruments of political will, Citizen Bridge is an act of community goodwill. The bulk of the work on this project has been volunteer-based with over 200 individuals—from kids to writers and boat captains—giving their expertise and time to help the project advance. Between the changing climate and expanding city population, the waterways present a unique opportunity now. With increasingly urgent predictions especially in coastal cities like New York City, water will impact our future in many ways. As populations rise, personal space and public space will decrease. The waterways are not viewed as a resource yet they a space and place to turn to that’s free to everyone. Citizen Bridge is the bridge to that potential. Because of current waterways usage, Citizen Bridge can only be installed for 24-hour span. However, we aren’t doing all this work for a single day: we aim to return year after year. Inspired by NYC’s Summer Streets program that closes 9 miles of Park Avenue to weekend automobile traffic, Citizen Bridge is aiming for Summer Waterways, where locals and tourists alike can have new experiences on the waterways, free from large commercial marine traffic. And because the climate change challenges facing New York City aren’t unique, and citizens all over the United States and beyond have become disconnected from their waterways, Citizen Bridge also aims to travel to waterways beyond Brooklyn.

Sarnia (Inativo) – Sarnia Historical Society

2016-05-07T00:00:00Z

2 projects: Oral Project: This project will work to collect, preserve and share the stories of everyday life in Lambton County as told by the people who lived them. The project will focus on collecting a minimum of 50 stories. Once the stories are collected, part of each interview will be transcribed and both audio and written versions will be deposited with the Lambton County Archives. Stories will also be featured on the Sarnia Historical Society website and copies of the transcriptions will be made available to the Lambton County Historical Society. Sarnia Fire Book: The Sarnia Historical Society has embarked on a year-long plan to research the 175-year history of Sarnia’s Fire Department. The goal is to produce a new book telling the proud story of Sarnia’s Bravest.

Liverpool – 'Roughly Speaking'

2016-05-07T00:00:00Z

My 'Roughly Speaking 'project, the Nightscape series highlights some of the most vibrant accounts given by local homeless rough sleepers, specifically showcasing their unique interpretations of the city at night as recorded in my sessions held with rough sleepers at Liverpool’s Whitechapel Centre in spring 2016. Liverpool’s homeless men and women have a distinctive connection with the landscape of the city. This relationship with the street provides them with a fascinating and unique perspective of the place and its people. With their stories being often overlooked, Roughly Speaking gives voice to some of the city’s most knowledgeable residents and provides a visual platform for them to promote their diverse experiences of city life. LightNight 2016 has agreed to exhibit my posers city-wide which will redesign our existing image of Liverpool by shining light on it from the unique perspective of a rough sleeper. The posters will be displayed at multiple city centre locations for a two week period, and so everybody should get the chance to experience them. This project is being carried out by LJMU student Conal McGuire in partnership with one of Liverpool’s leading homeless support charities, The Whitechapel Centre, whose work helps individuals find a route out of homelessness and enables them to make a positive change to their lives. One of the key outcomes is to raise funds for the Whitechapel Centre to develop local homeless services, people are encouraged to donate direct on their website. Please click on link to LightNight 2016 digital brochure which publicises 'Roughly Speaking' exhibition on 13 May 2016 http://www.lightnightliverpool.co.uk/?s=Nightscape#roughly-speaking-nightscape

Oakland, CA (Inativo) – The How Spirit Moves Us Project:

2016-05-06T00:00:00Z

The How Spirit Moves Us (HSMU) Project is a community based arts project focused on using performance art to celebrate the histories of struggle, resistance and resilience of Black Queer and Trans (QT) folks. By creating spaces to highlight experiences of QT Black people to come together through art, HSMU seeks to share strategies for self healing and liberation and create interactive opportunities for QT Black folks to imagine our most outlandish freedom dreams: to envision what our society could look like when we get free We are specifically applying for our Calling on Spirit (COS) Healing Arts workshops. The Calling On Spirit (COS) Healing Arts Workshops seek to build community spaces for Queer and Trans Black folks to heal from trauma through empowering arts practices to restore a sense of agency and self love. Supporting participants in developing artistic skills in a variety of mediums (including writing, music and dance) and create work that highlights the struggles, resistance and healing practices of folks in our communities. Each workshop series will culminate with an event highlighting pieces by workshop participants as well as a few guest performers. The event will highlight both artistic and community organizing movement work that seeks to uplift and empower Queer and Trans Black people in Oakland. In addition to performances, the event will also include guest speakers from community organizations. 2016 Workshops include Monthly Calling on Spirit a Queer& Trans Black Writers Group Calling On Spirit- Moving in Greatness Dance Workshop Calling on Spirit- Lift Every Voice Music Workshop We currently seeking funds for our Spring COS Moving in Greatness Dance Workshop. Over the 9 week workshop series, participants will focus on the idea of creating safe haven and the constructs of race in America through developing pieces for performance and mentorship by guests artists.

Yerevan – SplitCycle

2016-05-04T00:00:00Z

In recent years, cycling has become one of the most common ways of transportation in the world. There are many problems and issues associated with bicycles and e-bikes preventing their further advance. First of all good bikes are expensive and maintenance of the many parts of a simple bicycle can be very problematic and disturbing. We want to make cycling experience more affordable, user-friendly and enjoyable. We tend to substitute all the mechanical parts with smart technology inside the hub of the wheel, permanently sealed and not requiring any intrusive maintenance by the owner. More specifically, we want to supplant the conventional bike drivetrain with innovative hybrid technology, which will not only allow the bike to perform in only-electric mode, but also provide paddling assist when needed. The technology will also provide significant performance boost allowing faster acceleration and top speed up to 80km/h. Help us develop and produce the technology to make cycling experience better for everyone. We already have all the CAD drawings, blueprints and computer algorithms and need a financial support to produce the first functional prototype.

Oklahoma City, OK (Inativo) – Adult Summer Camp

2016-05-04T00:00:00Z

ADULT SUMMER CAMP! Why should kids have all the fun? For one week this summer, June 20-24, Current Studio wants to offer art day camps for adults age 21 and over. On Thursday evening, campers can invite friends and family to stay late at Current Studio for an happy hour where campers can show off their work. The primary goal for Adult Summer Camp is the same as it is for all Current Studio programming: COMMUNITY BUILDING, in this instance, centered around art making activities. The secondary goal is to provide low pressure, affordable, attainable art making opportunities for artists of all skill levels. Additionally, this is a fun and interesting way in which adults can skillshare in making. Finally, Adult Summer Camp may be an ideal version of a staycation for metro area adults during a down economy. We polled gallery visitors last week and suggestions of art making techniques people want to learn included: lithography, 3D printing, pottery, collage work, weaving, screen printing, photography, watercolor, illustrator, neon, product photography, installation art, mixed media, wood carving, abstract watercolor, performance art, drawing on the right side of the brain, pop up books, welding, working with stone, gold leafing, plein air painting, air brush, graffiti, paper making, woodworking (instruction and safety), industrial design, puppets, bookbinding, jewelry, printmaking, stained glass. We will explore as many visble options as we can in one week, selecting six to eight for the week.

San Francisco, CA – Neighborhood Seeds

2016-05-04T00:00:00Z

I want to distribute for free 200+ hand-painted seed packets with indigenous seeds in them that require little to no tending. The packets would be filled will seeds that would naturally be found in each San Francisco neighborhood ecosystem. For example, white yarrow which is great at preventing soil erosion, would be in the packets for the Sunset District. The packets themselves would be made out of re-purposed paper and would be hand-painted with the plant images. Each packet would also include a brief history of the species in relation to the neighborhood and tips for planting. There would be a hashtag and some contact information for folks to send pictures of their plantings. All this would be culminated into a map that I would update on a website as people report their use of the seeds. The purpose of the project is to provide people with another way of interacting with their neighborhood and an easy positive way for them to contribute to changing it. I want to celebrate the small triumphs of beauty and everyday scrappiness that have made this city what it is.

San Jose, CA – CommUNITY at Work

2016-05-03T00:00:00Z

After giving a tour to some visitors, a little girl asked a question that pierced my heart. She said, "can I go into the library? I replied, not now it's closed to the public but there's the Martin Luther King library. She replied its too big and far from my house. I was speechless and couldn't answer her because every library should be open. Our vision started back in 1978 to establish an organization to impact every life AACSA comes in contact with. Since the Inez Jackson Library was established in 1981, . Our awesome project is to kick off the renovation of the Inez C. Jackson Library located at our center. The library has been dormant for well over 10 years. This awesome project will lay the foundation for cleaning up and organizing historical magazines --books, laying new hard wood flooring being donated by Home Depot, and painting a mural of hands of all the volunteers on the walls of the library. Our project will invite the overall community of students from San Jose State University, high and middle schools, seniors, city and county government leaders to "CommUNITY at Work day" renovating a library once vibrant and and open to re-open, for a kid looking to read a book in a save space and or a senior to come and read to kids. Although nook and phones have replaced books, we as a society have a responsibility to preserve libraries and books.

Awesome Without Borders (Inativo) – CO/LAB Theater Group

2016-05-03T00:00:00Z

CO/LAB Theater Group is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing Creative Opportunities without Limits And Boundaries, offering individuals with developmental disabilities a creative and social outlet through theater arts. Since our inception, we have created a true community and navigated carefully planned growth, expanding from one pilot class serving 13 people to a full schedule of seven on-site classes and numerous off-site workshops in partnership with organizations such as AHRC, Heartshare, YAI and the JCC of Manhattan. As NYC's primary theater arts organization for individuals with developmental disabilities, we serve 200 individuals annually through our programming. CO/LAB operates two core programs: our on-site Acting & Musical Theater Ensemble classes, and off-site residences and workshops. CO/LAB’s on-site classes and performances train actors in fundamental acting techniques, helping them develop self-confidence and self-awareness, practice essential social skills, play with their individual voices, and work together as an ensemble. Each series of classes culminates in a public performance based around the semester’s theme. Classes are limited to 14 people and are led by two CO/LAB Teaching Artists and volunteer Supporting Artists, resulting in an impressive and inclusive 2:1 participant/support ratio, which enables strong peer-to-peer relationships between the participants and the supporting team. Most notably, we have made a conscious choice to call our program participants “actors” because we believe in the importance of treating them like equals and with respect. We rehearse in professional studios and perform in professional venues, and in doing so we send a message to the rest of the world that our actors have art to share. Blurring the line between “ability” and “disability,” CO/LAB removes the limits of what individuals with developmental disabilities can achieve artistically and in their everyday lives.

Lusaka (Inativo) – Streetwise Craft Co and Street Kid Outreach

2016-05-02T00:00:00Z

Streetwise is an organization that does two things: 1. Reaches out to vulnerable children on the streets by providing meaningful interactions coupled with a feeding program and medical assistance, 2. Operates a fully locally sustained workshop that aims at bringing those same kids into the shop to make arts and crafts and furniture. Streetwise currently provides more than 80 meals a week to these vulnerable children at two locations, with plans to open a couple of more points of contact in the city of Lusaka. We are able to identify kids with urgent medical needs and bring them to clinics in they, with money earned in the craft shop. Our future vision? To be able to get more Zambians on board with volunteering or working full-time with these youngsters with the goal of bring meaningful, long-term life change. How? Bring them into the workshop. Make fun stuff. Generate Income. Send them to school. Help them enter the work force as rehabilitated , competent young people. Future Projects? We want to bring in some of the youngsters to make shoe shine boxes. Some of the older street kids have been physically and mentally battered by drugs. They can earn an income with portable shoe shine boxes. We will approach the City Council and local malls to allow us to pop-up shoe s stands. We also want to create a street art initiative with these same boys, as a way of not only enhancing the appearance of the community, but also creating self-esteem in these young individuals. We also hope establish a fund for educating at-risk children in the compounds, as well as creating a community center where we could teach literacy, art classes, and whatever else people can teach who have a skill, time and a heart for the poor.

Atlanta, GA – "Dance Through It" Foster Care Awareness Concert

2016-05-02T00:00:00Z

Every day in Georgia, 33 children are victims of confirmed abuse or neglect; 200 incidents of child abuse and neglect are reported daily; and 39 children died from abuse and neglect in 2013. On any given day, about 8,000 children are in the foster care system. During the 2015 fiscal year, 7,148 children came through the foster care system. Refining Fire - Atlanta Inc. will host "Dance Through It" Foster Care Awareness Benefit Concert, which will be held on May 29th at 4pm during Foster Care Awareness month to shed light upon the foster care epidemic in Atlanta metro area. Several dynamic artists throughout Metro Atlanta will be featured at this exciting and empowering event. It will be a night of worship through dance and powerful testimonials from those directly impacted by the Georgia foster care! There will be over 100 youth who are dancing during the event. The concert will be held at the beautiful Porter Sanford III Performing Arts Center, 3181 Rainbow Dr. Decatur, GA 30034.

Santa Fe, NM (Inativo) – Literacy Volunteers of Santa Fe

2016-05-01T00:00:00Z

Our mission is to provide tutoring to adults in reading, writing and speaking English to strengthen our community, families and workforce. Here in Santa Fe there is a tremendous need for this service: according to the 2010 U.S. Census, 34% of adults in Santa Fe County are functionally illiterate. That means that they read at the 6th grade level or below. Here are some national facts about people with low literacy rates: • 43% live on or below poverty levels • 15% are unemployed • They comprise 75% of state prison populations • They add $230 billion to health care costs annually • Teenage girls with low literacy skills are 4 times more likely to become pregnant People with low literacy skills face impossible odds and challenges gaining meaningful employment. They are more likely to be out of work, incarcerated, or hospitalized. The lack of job opportunities can only perpetuate poverty and make access to quality health care more difficult. On an emotional level, the inability to read and write is embarrassing, frustrating and shaming. Helping people to read and write can make a substantial difference in their lives and in the lives of their families. Adults who learn to read and write can make significant gains in finding and keeping sustainable employment, have better access to health care, help with their children’s school work and participate more fully in their communities. All of our tutoring is done by volunteers. We currently have 140 tutors. Increasing that number is key to reaching and helping more students. Tutors are required to take a 20-hour course which costs approximately $1,000. Last year we conducted 5 sessions and trained 52 new tutors. This year we want to have 6 sessions and train at least 60 tutors. A $1,000 grant would allow us to do this and take a step forward in eradicating illiteracy and its accompanying problems right here in Santa Fe.

Paris (Inativo) – CAP ou pas cap ? Comprendre et Agir à Paris !

2016-05-01T00:00:00Z

Chaque jour, des femmes et des hommes de tout horizon lancent des initiatives citoyennes et créent des solutions locales concrètes : coopératives alimentaires, habitats participatifs, monnaies locales, etc. Ils montrent que chacun de nous a le pouvoir d’agir et construisent un autre monde possible. L'association CAP ou pas cap ? Comprendre et Agir à Paris ! a trois missions : 1. permettre à chacun de découvrir les actions solidaires de son territoire et de les rejoindre ou de développer de nouveaux projets citoyens ; 2. accompagner ces solutions locales afin de favoriser leur mise en réseau et leur développement ; 3. les promouvoir auprès des élus pour inspirer les politiques publiques de demain. Pour ce faire, l’association met en œuvre 3 actions : un Observatoire des alternatives citoyennes franciliennes, une Fabrique d’initiatives citoyennes, et une Plateforme web qui permet à tout internaute de découvrir les alternatives, comprendre ces nouvelles formes d’engagements, et de co-construire de nouveaux projets citoyens.

Melbourne (Inativo) – The Day Dream Program

2016-04-29T00:00:00Z

The Day Dream Program is a new school holiday program developed for young carers - young people who are put into the position of caring for their brother or sister with a serious illness or disability. These incredible young people spend many hours and/or days accompanying their sibling who is sick in hospital or attending doctors appointments often over the school holidays. This exciting initiative will be run by Little Dreamers who currently support young carers through Dream experiences and an online Dream Coaching Platform. The Day Dream Program will put focus on the 'well child' in the hospital and remove the added stress on the parents and other family members during the school holidays. The program will cater for children aged 5-12 years. This program will be piloted in the key children's hospitals in Melbourne, and Ronald McDonald Houses in 2016 (they have already expressed interest for the June/July holidays). This year programs will be run over 3 half days each week of the July and October school holidays (with the aim to continue and extend into other locations and states in 2017). Workshops will include mindfulness, arts and crafts, exercise, dance, drama and music; run by volunteers with help from high profile facilitators including sports players, musicians, entertainers and actors. All workshops will be run in the on the ward and/or in the Ronald McDonald Houses. There will be up to 30 places in the program each day, with snacks included.

Dubai (Inativo) – Mothers Against Terror Extremism & Radicalization

2016-04-29T00:00:00Z

The MATTER mission unites Muslim mothers (although our mandate focuses on Arabs and Arab diaspora, mothers of all nationalities and religions are encouraged to come together and join us) to share knowledge, insights, and challenges and to provide moral support aimed at affecting positive outcomes whether it be effective methods of teaching children tolerance, acceptance, and non-violence, introducing kids to causes that help victims of terrorism –even including bullying and peer pressure, and other every-day challenges facing mothers. Mothers are best suited to eliminate possibility of such occurrences, yet mothers need support too and it's proven that mothers benefit by strong peer support networks of friends with common circumstance. By not allowing children to isolate themselves, mothers can insert themselves into any questionable circumstance and deter extremist ideology from growing and leading to that slippery slope that may lead a child to a point of no return. Most critically, the imperative for motherly involvement is at the basis of Islam wherein the belief is the family is the foundation for all else. Engaged mothers make a difference. As one prominent Muslim mother explains, “Extremists try to divorce kids from their family, their objective is to become your family.” ****Current Situation & How You Can Help**** Some statistics may help. http://tiny.cc/mez98x According to experts at the Global Security Institute: 64% of family and friends knew of a person’s intent to engage in extremist activities yet said/did nothing to counter Personal grievances can be an indicator of ones propensity toward violence and extremist behavior While “at risk” often described as disenfranchised, angry, and socially isolated youth represent great danger toward radicalization, the “uncommitted” segment, defined as youth who are seeking identity, acceptance and purpose pose an equal threat.

Awesome Without Borders (Inativo) – Y2Y: A Bold Experiment (documentary film)

2016-04-28T00:00:00Z

While all homeless populations are vulnerable, young adults are especially at risk. Service providers report that many unaccompanied homeless youth feel safer sleeping outside or in abandoned buildings than in adult shelters where they are at high risk for exploitation, exposure to harmful substances and diseases, robbery, and physical injury. Y2Y (Young Adults Uniting to End Homelessness) is embarking on a bold experiment that will begin with the creation of a student-led, young-adult homeless shelter in Cambridge, Massachusetts, staffed by hundreds of volunteer Harvard students. In year two, Y2Y’s effort in Cambridge will be replicated by a university in another city where a large number of homeless youth are at risk. And in year three, a third young-adult homeless shelter will be launched by a third university, all with the help of Y2Y, based here in MA. Blueberry Hill Productions has exclusive access to document Y2Y’s triumphs and obstacles over the next three years. The main characters in the story are compelling and thoughtful, the interaction of homeless young adults and idealistic university students is inherently charged, the challenges they will face together are huge, and the translation of the Y2Y model from Cambridge MA to other cities across the country is totally unpredictable. The documentary film Y2Y: A Bold Experiment (working title) will be dramatic. It will be beautifully shot (by DP Austin DeBesche), and directed (by Laurie Kahn) with a skilled eye. The filmmaking team will have the same respectful approach for which Laurie Kahn’s other films are well-known. Most importantly, the film will amplify the impact of Y2Y’s work. The film will be a tool for change, potentially inspiring dozens of universities in the US and abroad to create and operate peer-to-peer homeless shelters for young adults.

Newcastle – Helpful Love

2016-04-28T00:00:00Z

Hi! I'm Kim - dreamer, creator and founder behind the Helpful Love vision. Helpful Love is an online community of awesome vendors who provide unique, alternative, helpful gift ideas. It came about following the most tragic of circumstances... my friend lost her 3 year old child to a common cold. I felt so incredibly helpless. Thousands of dollars worth of flowers wilted away in their garage, as their husband had hay fever. Of course, they appreciated the gesture, but I felt that it was a waste and wanted to do more. I searched for something "helpful" and ended up jumping online and had a delivery of groceries turn up on their door step. It got me thinking, the world needs a one stop shop of quality, caring vendors who provide love, support and assistance during sad times. Then it made me think, it would work for happy times too! A new baby, a birthday, a loss... imagine, one community who could offer things like cleaning, lawn maintenance, massage, home cooked meals, fruit and vege deliveries... and so Helpful Love was born! I hand picked vendors and approached them individually, and offered to promote them free of charge until such time as I created a way to offer a Helpful Love Gift Voucher that could be redeemed with all vendors! From 1 July, the Helpful Love online store will launch, which we are super pumped about! I have plans to take on the world, but starting here in my home town of Newcastle first!

Chicago, IL – Free stamps and envelopes on tax day

2016-04-26T00:00:00Z

Last year, due to some unforseen circumstances, I wound up having to mail off my taxes right on the due date, April 15. In a rush to get to the Central Carrier Annex downtown, I neglected to bring stamps, thinking I could purchase them there. However, when I arrived, I was greeted by a nearly hour-long line to get to the stamp vending machine (see image). It was total chaos. Due in part to touch-screen displays and lack of familiarity, each individual order took 30-60 seconds to process (or more if you used a credit card). Yet everyone was purchasing an individual stamp. When I got to the front of the line, instead of buying a single stamp, I decided to buy two books of 20 stamps and pass out the remaining 39 stamps to the folks behind me standing in the line. Not only did it clear out pretty much half the line, it put a lot of smiles on a lot of faces, on an otherwise stressful day. This year, I've already filed my taxes, but I'd still like to do something similar on a grander scale. With the help of a few volunteers (Awesome peeps welcome to help as well), I plan to hand these supplies out to anyone that needs them at the Central Carrier Annex, until supplies run out.

Boston, MA (Inativo) – Outliers Robotics at New England FIRST Championshi

2016-04-26T00:00:00Z

We are a community robotics team that draws from ten different towns in Southern Maine who do not have access to a robotics team. In 2015, our rookie year we won our first two competitions and even went all the way to the World Championship. This year we have already received the Innovation In Control Award from FIRST, sponsored by Rockwell automation. FIRST, For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, strives to gain interest from grade school students in science technology engineering and math. Involvement in FIRST competitions has allowed members of our team to learn leadership, project management, fundraising, and has also connected students with scholarship opportunities and resources for furthering their education. The Outliers Robotics Team respectfully requests $1,000 toward our participation in the New England FIRST Championship in Hartford, Connecticut. Only the top sixty teams in New England can participate in this championship. Our participation will give us the opportunity to compete at the World Championship in St. Louis, MO in April. If we won the World Championship we would be the first team from Maine ever to win and the first team in six years from New England. Our participation helps to increase New England's presence in the fields of robotics and technology. Because we draw students from ten different towns who do not have access to robotics teams we serve an important function to multiple communities. Our outreach efforts have included exhibitions at the Portland Art Walk, Computer Aided Designing (CAD) workshops for robotics teams who do not have access to CAD classes at their schools, and a demonstration to cultivate interest in STEM fields at a week long elementary and middle school aged day camp in Lewiston Maine (see attached photo).

Washington, DC – DC Youth to Flint

2016-04-26T00:00:00Z

DC Youth Leaders from Black Swan Academy (BSA) are heading to Flint, Michigan to hand deliver 400 cases of water and wipes to families and children. . During their active investment in a Civic Leadership out-of-school time program, youth identified lack of clean water in low-income communities a problem and led efforts to find partners, collect water donations and now, arrange for a road trip to support the residents of Flint. We at BSA, believe community service and advocacy such as this allows our youth to find their greater purpose in this world and births positive life outcomes. With your help, 20 young people will travel to Flint, April 29th-May 1st with water and the will to stand in solidarity with the local organizers and residents. With DC residents experiencing similar conditions with their water not too long ago, once we return, youth will canvass low-income neighborhoods in DC to inform residents of Home Water Quality and distribute Lead Testing Kits.

Stockholm (Inativo) – Human library on rails

2016-04-26T00:00:00Z

How come the conventional culture in subways is one where we don’t meet our fellow commuters? That is one question April's awesome foundation grant winner asked herself. When confronting commuters on the subway and locals from the city with this question, two things are often raised: 1. It’s definitely a place where interesting conversations could take place with people you usually don’t meet 2. It’s awkward to start a conversation with a complete stranger, within a context where the norm is not to talk to each other. This project aims to challenge the above, by creating a temporary space where an alternative culture can emerge, one that’s based on the value of human kinship: human library on rails. The starting point of human library is that everyone has a story to tell. What if one morning you step on the train, to find the wagon filled with people engaged in meaningful conversations? Instead of ads hanging from the windows, there are colourful signs with powerful questions and conversation topics that we all can relate to. How will the human library on rails affect the commuting culture in Stockholm? How will it affect the people who have been part of this experience?

Kingston – community harvest Kingston

2016-04-25T00:00:00Z

We are a small community-based food security project. We use a 4500 square foot donated piece of property on elliot street to grow organic food for a Wednesday afternoon Market we hold on Weller. We sell the organic produce at very low prices to those in the North End. we try to encourage using food from the garden by providing information and recipes and demonstrations when we can.

Jumbos (Inativo) – RecycleHealth #ShareTheHealth

2016-04-25T00:00:00Z

We started RecycleHealth based on a theory that those who could most benefit from wearable activity trackers are the people least likely to purchase them. You may not be surprised to hear that Fitbits and other wearables are most purchased by and marketed to younger and healthier demographics. You may recall seeing commercials filled with fit people in their athletic wear running down the street, checking out their steps on their wrist devices. One study of over 5,000 people found that 1/3 of people stop using their wearables within 6 months, either because they upgraded or didn't find it of value. We want to collect those used devices and give them a second life with underserved populations. Low-income households, minorities, and seniors are some of the groups that may not know about or be able to afford wearables, but that are most likely to suffer higher rates of health conditions, like obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, and frailty. They may derive great benefit from wearables, if given a free one, to help them learn their baseline activity level and the impact of changes in behavior. RecycleHealth collects used devices to give to these populations, and, by providing surveys to people, measures the impact wearables have on fitness motivations and behaviors in these community. Our hope is to improve health and wellness in these groups, and eventually inform public health programs, such as those related to obesity and fall prevention. To date, we have collected over 200 used devices and are proud to have our postage-paid mailing labels at Macy's flagship store in NY by the Fitbit display. We have appeared in 16 press articles, have multiple student volunteers, and are prepping studies in more than seven community sites. Please check out our website to learn more.

Alaska (Inativo) – South Peninsula Syringe Exchange

2016-04-25T00:00:00Z

A group of community members and local agency representatives are developing a plan for a Syringe Exchange Program for the Homer area. Studies have shown that exchanges reduce transmission of viruses such as HIV, Hepatitis B and C as well as other bacterial infections. Studies also demonstrate that syringe exchanges do not encourage or increase the use of illegal drugs, and in many cases show actual reduction in injection drug use. (See City of Homer Resolution 16-008 supporting the establishment of a Syringe Exchange Program in Homer.) Recently South Peninsula Hospital agreed to host the syringe exchange program in their training and education facility on Pioneer Avenue. This is an ideal location as it is very accessible, even for those without transportation. It is secure and somewhat separated from other businesses and activities that may feel jeopardized by this project. On Monday 4/11/2016 Homer City Council held a work session to discuss the burgeoning opioid and heroin addiction epidemic in our community. Three main focus areas were identified: prevention, recovery and harm reduction. A syringe exchange program will be the major contributor to harm reduction within the population of community members that are currently using injecting these substances. We plan to open for a 3 or 4 month pilot project by June 2016, with the intention of developing into a long-term project. Based on the data from exchanges elsewhere we expect to see a reduction in associated infections, both acute and chronic. Additionally other programs have driven a decline in addiction as they connect those using drugs to resources that support their recovery. Eventually we hope to create an environment in our community that empowers individuals to manage harmful addictions and ultimately through prevention and education will reduce the numbers starting on the path to addiction.

Oahu, HI – It Starts Here: Earth Summit 2016

2016-04-23T00:00:00Z

Our Earth Summit will bring together students from all over the island for the purpose of solving Earth’s issues. Private and public school students alike will be brought together in order to collaborate and share ideas and action plans to tackle issues such as sustainable fishing, deforestation, habitat loss, endangered species, food waste in Hawaii, and many more. We believe that every student has valuable and unique ideas that have the potential to change the world. With this Earth Summit, we will provide a platform for these ideas and allow students to collaborate with others with different or like-minded ideals. We are hoping that the It Starts Here Earth Summit 2016 will be the beginning of an annual tradition and in future years we want to be able to host students from schools around the continental United States. We have already received word from teachers in other states and countries wanting to attend our Earth Summit in 2017. The Earth Summit 2016 will have great impact on the students and educators of Oahu. We will raise awareness about many issues facing our planet and islands through workshops and collaborative sessions. We also aim to connect students from every Ahupua'a on Oahu to each other and to those around the country through communication about problems that affect us directly here in the Hawaiian Islands and issues that are present globally.

Oahu, HI – Moiliili Japanese Cemetery Beautification Project

2016-04-23T00:00:00Z

The Awesome Foundation grant for the Mōʻiliʻili Japanese Cemetery Beautufication Project has been … Awesome! It provided the impetus and the start-up funds for a community-wide participation that has been highly visible in the media, and well appreciated by the families having gravesites and neighbors. Families and other caring people have given generously of monetary donations and their time and labor. We have created a strong and attractive 556 foot native-stone wall, stone bench seating, washing stones for cleaning vases and arranging flowers, and lovely garden spots throughout. There is gravel throughout the cemetery to forestall erosion, increasing safety of footing, and which is also very attractive. The many plumerias, manila palms, and desert roses which we planted are flourishing, and they are beginning to provide welcome shade and color. There is even a small community vegetable garden. We are so grateful for all the over 100 volunteers who have, in recent rains, come out to complete the spreading of the gravel. We will encourage the service groups from Kaimuki High School and Iolani School, as well as the Young Structural Engineers group, to continue to come out and maintain the beauty of the improved cemetery by removing fallen branches, leaves, and rubbish. We will also continue to translate the biographical data on the tombs from Japanese to English placing all on the moiliili.net website, so that family information can be easily read. We see the results of our more than 2 years of beautification work—families have been bringing many more flowers on special days and obon and many community neighbors are enjoying the park-garden.

Ottawa – Ottawa in Colour

2016-04-22T00:00:00Z

April’s Awesome Ottawa award goes to Jason Cobill and Maxime Gauthier-Kwan, to support the development of an adult colouring book showcasing Ottawa through the eyes of local artists. “The artists will have total creative control in choosing the aspects of Ottawa that they think are most beautiful,” explains Jason. “The book will cover some of the standard tourist highlights like Parliament Hill and the Rideau Falls, but the drawings will also reflect the artists’ pride in their neighbourhoods, as well as festivals, green spaces, and favourite hangout spots.” “"We've assembled an amazing group of artists to work on the book,” says Maxime. “Members of a local urban sketch group, animators, illustrators, comic book artists, and more. The drawings so far are really incredible and we're so excited to show them off.” You can follow progress on the book, which Jason and Maxime are calling Ottawa in Colour, at ottawaincolour.com, as well as on Twitter and Facebook. They expect to have it in stores before Canada Day. Jason and Maxime are web professionals at the University of Ottawa.

Amsterdam (Inativo) – BeeBelt

2016-04-21T00:00:00Z

It 's not going well with the bees! Bee populations are declining in and outside the cities, while bees are amazing creatures! Next to that, they are key for the pollination of our crops and flowers :) Our idea is to help the bee a little. We want to make the greyest play of Amsterdam, the 'Ring' (A10) a paradise for bees! The idea is a follows: on Earth day we want to drop volunteers on gas stations on the Ring. There we will give away small packages of flower seeds, organic and specially selected for bees. We'll ask drivers to throw these packages out of the window while they are in a traffic jam. Or of course their fellow passenger can throw the package into the slope. Safety first! Together we make the Ring a flower paradise and help the bees!