Awesome Foundation - Projects

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 (Inativo) – "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.

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.

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.

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 – 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 – 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.

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.

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!

Baltimore, MD – Baltimore: A History, Block by Block

2016-04-21T00:00:00Z

For the past five years I have been working on a project titled Baltimore: A History, Block by Block. It is an extension of my graduate thesis at MICA, where I photographed every building on Old Town Mall (formerly Gay Street) in East Baltimore, researched the history behind the neighborhood, how it declined, and what is being planned for its future. Currently there are ten main streets in Baltimore that I am photographing. Using a 4x5 view camera and Fujichrome Velvia slide film, I photograph these streets, building by building, block by block. So far I’ve documented approximately 75 city blocks (including Old Town Mall) with about 525 images. Some streets I’ve only gotten a couple blocks and more for others. I’ve photographed every building on Howard Street from Lombard to Read Street with the exception of a few larger modern buildings. I’ve also documented every building on West Baltimore Street (the subject of this exhibition) from Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. to Fulton Avenue. I plan on finishing the photography component of this project hopefully by this summer or whenever I run out of the stock of film I purchased for the project. I have approximately 200 sheets left, which I want to ration out to streets I’ve photographed the least, including Greenmount Avenue and Pennsylvania Avenue. I will also be researching the history of individual buildings and blocks as well as overall neighborhood history and finding historic images of what these places used to be. There are a lot of changes happening in Baltimore and in each of the neighborhoods I’ve been photographing. My goal is to leave you not only with a sense of the condition of our city, but also a feeling of urgency to see that it is improved and preserved and that the rich history behind the architecture and the community is not lost, but rather embraced.

Miami, FL – Celebrations4Kids by Duffels4Kids

2016-04-21T00:00:00Z

There are, on average, 2,000 children in foster care in Miami-Dade County, with more than 150 coming into foster care each month. Many of these children go to group homes, where normal activities such as birthday parties no longer happen. Celebrations4Kids hopes to provide a solution. Teens from pre-selected group homes will enjoy a party complete with pizza, cake, ice cream, balloons, donated entertainment and a duffel bag to call their own. Duffels4Kids will also provide extra incentives/gifts for the teenagers in the group home who are improving academically.

Miami, FL – MOV-ES in the PARK

2016-04-21T00:00:00Z

We noticed a growing dearth of affordable and fun opportunities for families and young people living and working around Downtown Miami to interact with one another. We found that the greatest equalizer for all people is great music and a wonderful movie. So we devised a plan to create a movie and silent disco, open to all of the city's residents. We pick a popular film, provide each attendee with wireless LED headphones to hear, and excellent music. Each headphone has three channels: two will play music from the DJs, while the other play sounds from the movie. On certain nights, we will also have a themed activities that goes along with the movie, like a hip hop night with a b-boy / b-girl introductory class. We also would like to have food trucks in the space to provide food for attendees. We already have the permits from the city's parks & recreation department, and did a trial run this past February. So far, the response has been really great but we recognize that we need to expand this concept further. We've suspended the function for April because of Ultra Festival, but will resume in April.

Minas Gerais (Inativo) – Oficina da Vizinhança

2016-04-21T00:00:00Z

A Oficina da Vizinhança é uma oficina comunitária com equipamentos de marcenaria de grande porte e biblioteca para empréstimo de ferramentas em geral. Seu objetivo é prover uma estrutura de organização comunitária sustentável que favoreça a melhoria de qualidade e eficiência de iniciativas autônomas como a auto-construção, mutirões comunitários, pedreiros, carpinteiros, marceneiros, eletricistas, bombeiros, entre outros que precisem de nossas ferramentas para trabalhar, seja para si, para comunidade ou para renda. O foco do projeto é colocar em contato os moradores do aglomerado Morro das Pedras e os de outras áreas da cidade promovendo uma rica troca de conhecimento. Buscamos isso dando a oportunidade de acessar e pegar emprestado equipamento pesado e de ponta em troca de uma doação mensal compatível com o que o usuário tem no bolso. Este projeto nasceu de uma parceria entre o grupo História em Construção - Morro das Pedras, O laboratório Lagear - UFMG, o CRAS - Morro das Pedras e a construtora Odebrecht- empreendimento Parque Avenida.

Newmarket – 94 Air Cadets Pipe and Drum Band

2016-04-21T00:00:00Z

94 Newmarket Optimist Royal Canadian Air Cadet Squadron has been a fixture in the Newmarket area for over 50 years, giving youth the opportunity to learn valuable skills, such as personal development and leadership, aviation, drill, survival training, and music. The opportunities in the cadet program are endless. Each year, cadets are able to attend CFB Borden for flying opportunities, and can apply to summer training for courses ranging from 2 to 7 weeks. Some cadets even have the chance to get their pilot’s license – and all before the age of 18! 94 Squadron is proud of their Pipe and Drum Band, Drill Team, Marksmanship Team, and Effective Speaking Team. Cadets are also given the opportunity to participate in biathlon, and orienteering. These teams allow the cadets the chance to hone specific skills, outside of the regular training nights. Cadets give back to their community, by participating in Remembrance Day ceremonies, and other community service activities, including working with local veterans groups such as the Newmarket and Bradford branches of the Royal Canadian Legion. The Squadron couldn’t function without a dedicated combination of staff and volunteers, as well as a wonderful group of cadets who give their all to ensure they get the most out of this incredible program. While the Squadron receives some funding from the Department of National Defence, the bulk of the funding is received through fundraising by our dedicated cadets, who participate in fall and spring tagging sessions, and selling lottery tickets.

Antigonish, NS (Inativo) – Spreading Kindness, one letter at a time!

2016-04-21T00:00:00Z

We need more opportunities to spread kindness! More opportunities to brighten someone’s day! What would it be like to find a random letter with positive thoughts and a message that made you smile? Would it give you a spark? Would it make you want to pay it forward with more kindness? This is our goal of the “Spreading Kindness, one letter at a time” Project. Our project seeks to team up with an already established business and kindness ambassador called “The Love Letter Library”, to carry out random acts of kindness and love through leaving anonymous letters and in our case leaving them throughout Antigonish and surrounding communities. The Love Letter Library has already created a fantastic community of people who are already spreading messages of kindness and our project seeks to continue this campaign in our community. This idea was initially used with a group of local grade 8 girls who accepted the challenge of spreading kindness and dropped a few letters in their school and community. This process had a profound effect on them as well as those who found the letters. We want to be able to make a change in our community by spreading messages of kindness and at the same time allowing others to take part. The group of girls as well as myself would take the first step in creating anonymous messages of love and kindness and distribute them around our community. We would also place a blank card and envelope inside the love letter to allow others to take part in the movement. The random acts of kindness movement already has a connection to social media with #stopdropandloveletter and we want to connect this to the Antigonish community with a Facebook page as well as Instagram account to allow people to see the kindness they are creating themselves. We are excited about this opportunity to partner with the Awesome Foundation to continue to spread kindness!

Tallahassee, FL (Inativo) – Nightfire @ Cascades

2016-04-20T00:00:00Z

Nightfire is a new concept for family friendly entertainment in Tallahassee. Nightfire will combine local artists and performers in a unique setting that is unlike anything seen in Tallahassee before. Nightfire will introduce the Tallahassee community to the many fire dancers and performers who call our city home through a unique ritualistic performance that will include African and Caribbean dance and drums. The concept is aimed at bringing Tallahassee residents and families to the new FAMU Way area commonly known as "under the over". This area consists of the new plaza under the overpass at FAMU Way and South Adams Street. The area can be accessed by the FAMU Way trail from the west or the new Cascades Pedestrian bridge from the East. In the backdrop for the perfomance will be the brand new Lake Anita, named for former City Manager Anita Favors-Thompson. Lake Anita is the perfect setting with its natural amphitheater and light displays. "Night Fire is going to something completely new and unique for our community. Its the perfect melding of our cultural assets and talented performers with the infrastructure investments we are making in the Downtown area. Families, friends, and neighbors can all utilize the amazing new additions of FAMU Way, Cascades Park, and the new connector bridge as a way to plan a great evening on the town. Patrons will be treated to a sensory experience unlike anything they have seen in Tallahassee before. I can't wait for Summer to get here so we can roll this out. Night Fire will be something you won't forget!"-Jay Revell, NightFire founder Nightfire is currently in development for a summer 2016 inaugural performance. The Nightfire team is working with the city staff to secure a date that will be announced soon.

Pittsburgh, PA – Doors Open Pittsburgh

2016-04-20T00:00:00Z

Doors Open Pittsburgh is a free, 2-day event, giving you "behind-the-scenes" access to parts of the many iconic buildings of Pittsburgh, that are rarely, if ever opened to the public. Doors Open Pittsburgh allows you to explore these buildings - theaters, private clubs, hotels, residential, adaptive reuse, government buildings, sacred places, artist spaces, heritage sites and cool office spaces -in a way that is not typically available to the public. This may include standing on stage at Heinz Hall, having your picture taken at the Mayor's desk or discovering an underground bank vault! No advance reservations, or tickets, are required. Simply go to our website, read each site description and decide on the sites you want to visit, map it out and go! You will be greeted at the entrance of each site and ether be given a guided tour, or be allowed to self-explore! The event will take place October 102, Saturday-Sunday, 9a-4p. While living in Chicago for the past several years, we went to the event there and enjoyed it so much so that as we were planning to move back to Pittsburgh, I started making plans to develop this event for Pittsburgh, launching in 2016. Since that time, I have learned that many other US cities have this event: NY, Denver, Sand Diego, Milwaukee and Baltimore. I have leaned on many of them for guidance. In the past 18 months, I have secured partnerships with the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation, Architect Institute of America/Pgh Chapter and The Design Center. Because the event footprint in 2016 will be "downtown", I have also been able to earn the support of the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership and the Pittsburgh Community Development Corporation. As for the organizations/buildings that have committed, that list includes the Mayor's Office, County Government Buildings, Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, most downtown hotels, The Pennsylvanian, couple of architectural firms, several hotels, Dollar Bank...many others in progress!

Bend, OR (Inativo) – Empowering Clerks Network - Oregon Office

2016-04-20T00:00:00Z

The Empowering Clerks Network is an organization dedicated to empower people by issuing various official documents, such as Certificates of Recognition. It was started by Ori Alon in 2014 with the goal to bring joy, humor and compassion to people through the power of paperwork. Some of the services we offer: Forgiver's Licenses, Joy Permits, Open Carry Permits for Musical Instruments, Certificates of Recognition, True Friend Diploma's, Apology Decrees, Free Play Tickets, Refurbished Report Cards and Happiness Insurance cards. The goal of The Empowering Clerks Network is simple, give people a moment to deeply reflect on their life while doing some thing with humor. Often, these moments become momentous for the person for whom the paperwork is being issued. Conversations start and grow. Peace and compassion is spread. First in the moment the paperwork is being issued and again later when the receiver of the paperwork puts their documents on display. The ECN runs on a pay-it-forward system. All services are offered for free but are given a suggested donation price. All donations are then given to a non-profit of the on-duty clerks choice. In the past this money has gone to Syrian refugees + a non-profit helping the people of Flint with their water + health. As the head of the Oregon division of the ECN, I would like to expand my reach. I would like to create a mobile cart that can house the ECN at public events. This cart will be able to be attached to a bike and pulled to where the people are! In Bend, with so many various festivals, it is important to be available in a variety of places. And with summer approaching now seems like the perfect time to do this. This funding would allow me to expand the network of clerks. I would like to train and certify new clerks in order to have a bigger presence. This would mean setting each up with their own ECN tools which include embossing stamps, ink stamps, laminated credentials, and a a variety of paperwork.

Gloucester, MA – Preserving Historic Gloucester Garb

2016-04-19T00:00:00Z

The AHS is seeking funds to preserve 19th and early 20th century men's, women's, and children's clothing and accessories found in steamer trunks in the old firehouse. The clothing was worn by ordinary villagers--fishermen's wives innkeepers, merchants, servants--and by wealthy visitors who flocked to Gloucester in the summers. After being stored for decades in an unheated building, the fabrics have badly deteriorated. The clothing is under threat of destruction. We aim to catalogue and clean as much as we can, save examples and photos to share with the public, and place the rest in acid-free archival storage boxes for safekeeping. I am reapplying after two rounds in which I presented slide shows, but this time I would bring samples of the clothing to show. Thank you for your consideration.

Beaverton & Beyond, OR (Inativo) – The Magic of Immersive Summer Theatre

2016-04-19T00:00:00Z

This summer the Experience Theatre Project will be staging our first play, A Midsummer Night's Dream, at the Round in Beaverton. This production will be offered free to the public. The Round is a wonderfully accessible location to all Beaverton and Washington County residents. The images of dreams, love and magic, coupled with the poetry of the bard and the midsummer, outdoor setting, will promote goodwill and appreciation for live theater and the Bard. We hope that this show is the first of an annual series of free Shakespeare in the Round productions. The production will include original music, live musicians, professional dancers and actors, and enthusiastic children who enroll in our theater's summer fairy camp-who will get the opportunity to perform in front of a live audience for the very first time. Although the notion of producing A Midsummer Night’s Dream in midsummer is not new, producing an immersive version of this classic Shakespeare piece outdoors to Washington County residents will expose a new generation of theater goers to classical literature under modern-day direction. Our production will have a very immersive quality not seen on the west side. That is, most traditional theater companies perform their shows on a stage, with a fourth wall that is familiar and traditional. Our production will utilize its unique space at the Round by directing actors to move among and around audiences, as if the watchers are important to move the action forward instead of simply passively watching a show. This style of direction will set our production apart from other Shakespeare productions, and hopefully inspire Washington County residents to return for another show or share their experience with their friends and family. The production opens June 24 and runs 7:30 pm Fridays and Saturdays, Sunday matinees at 2 pm through July 10. We will also have a special evening show Sunday, July 3 at 7:30 pm in celebration of Independence Day. We plan to use the funds for a permit/liability insurance, costumes, props, set materials. I am the Artistic Director of this 501c3 nonprofit. I founded this theater company to bring professional, immersive, imaginative, and innovative theater to Washington County. We break the familiar fourth wall and bring a theatrical experience to the audience member. We host monthly comedy nights to raise funds for our kids summer camp program and our very first mainstage show, A Midsummer Night's Dream. The project will make Washington County awesome in that it has not been done before - the city is bending its rules (city codes) to allow us to bring this production for three weekends in a row to The Round. The live music, costumes, and dancing will make for a spectacular production, and Washington county residents of all ages will be able to attend for free. Ever since I saw the Round at Beaverton, I thought the space would be perfect for a free outdoor Shakespeare production. A Midsummer Night's Dream performed mid-summer seemed to be the perfect choice for the first ever theatre production in this space, and the first production of our theater company. It has magic, humor, and beauty in its folds. We hope that families with curious children, couples, and single people who reside in the Beaverton/Washington County area will come see the play. We believe attendance will number approximately 140-200 people per show, or serve approximately 5,000 Washington County residents of all ages in total. Our success will be measured by attendance, media reviews, and exit polling post-show. Want to Help? The Experience Theatre Project is looking for community members to help with: ushering, running their sound and light booth, postering, helping table at events, in-kind donations, and of course, getting the word out about their show. Contact: Alisa at the Experience Theatre Project · alias(at)experiencetheatreproject(dot)org · 844-387-7469 www.experiencetheatreproject.org - www.facebook.com/experiencetp - twitter.com/etheatreproject

Boulder, CO (Inativo) – Community Fruit Rescue

2016-04-19T00:00:00Z

Community Fruit Rescue is a coalition dedicated to harvesting and distributing the surplus urban fruit growing throughout Boulder, CO. We aim to reduce food waste and greenhouse gas emissions, decrease conflicts with wildlife, strengthen our community and increase equitable access to healthy, hyper local food. We coordinate harvests throughout the city, connecting volunteers with homeowners wanting to donate fruit. 1/3 of the bounty is given to shelters, food pantries and schools, 1/3 is shared with volunteer harvesters and 1/3 goes to the homeowner whose trees we’ve harvested. Hundreds of thousands of pounds of incredible fruit grows nearly effortlessly in cities throughout the world. In Boulder, tangy apples, luscious pears, juicy peaches and savory plums can be found piled beneath trees creating a mess for homeowners, an attraction for bears, and a wasted opportunity for our community. Meanwhile, hungry, homeless and low-income populations lack access to healthy and affordable food, while those better off drive to a supermarket to buy food trucked in from across the globe, often produced and transported with practices that guarantee a heavy environmental and social toll. We think it makes more sense to help our community members become aware of the amazing food that already grows all around them, to gather with their neighbors to harvest the collective bounty, and to ensure that – rather than the fruit laying in waste in someone’s yard – the bounty is shared with all in our community, especially those with barriers to accessing fresh, healthy, local food. That’s why we organize neighborhood harvest events, where trees bearing large amounts of fruit are harvested by neighbors and friends and their children in the course of a fun afternoon, providing fruit to take home by all the participants with plenty of extra to share with food banks, shelters and schools.

Rio de Janeiro (Inativo) – Dagaupodear no Ponto

2016-04-18T00:00:00Z

DAGAUPODEAR no Ponto é uma intervenção urbana que vai conectar dez pontos de moto-táxi de Santa Teresa, moto-táxi Oriente, moto-táxi Monte Alegre, moto-táxi Chaminé, moto-táxi Santo Amaro, moto-taxi Pedro Américo, moto-táxi Estrela, moto-táxi Fallet, moto-táxi Francisco Muratori, moto-táxi Benjamim Constant, moto-táxi André Cavalcanti através de uma exposição de dez fotografias uma em cada ponto, que retrata as paisagens de sete comunidades ao entorno de Santa Teresa, Fallet, Fogueteiro, Navarro, Beco, Cajueiro, União e Jorge da Silva. As fotografias serão impressas em cartazes lambe lambe e fixadas numa parede selecionada pelos mototaxista dos pontos, junto as imagens constará um mapa com informações sobre a localização das nove outras fotos expostas nos pontos de moto-taxis que fazem parte do circuito. A intervenção propõe um identificação dos mototaxistas e das pessoas que circulam nesses pontos com as comunidades fotografadas, dando ênfase a importância desse transporte nas favelas e promovendo um intercâmbio cultural entre os moradores de Santa Teresa e os moradores das comunidades apresentadas na exposição. As imagens que serão expostas fazem parte do trabalho fotográfico "Dagaupodear", que foi realizado nas comunidades citadas ao longo de 6 meses. "Dagaupodear" propõe um díptico cuja a imagem central é o capacete e o ombro do moto-taxista, capaz de unir as diferentes paisagens e formando recortes das "paisagens permitidas" das comunidades em Santa Teresa, Centro do Rio. O moto táxi, personagem coautor desse projeto define o que é paisagem na comunidade e se faz presente no processo de "permissão" da captura da imagem, percorrendo ruas, becos e vielas e colaborando num constante e euforico movimento de poder e não poder fotografar, de tirar e guardar a câmera. As imagens nesse projeto reúnem as vivências, a relação e a figura do mototaxista com a paisagem, projetando personificações urbanas únicas das comunidades estudadas. O apoio financeiro da Awesome será utilizado para a impressão, a instalação das fotos e para a curadoria e assistência nas escolhas das imagens e local de instalação que os mototaxistas dos dez pontos de moto táxi vão fazer antes da impressão das imagens. ---- DAGAUPODEAR no Ponto is an urban intervention that will connect ten moto-taxi stands in Santa Teresa: moto-taxi Oriente, moto-taxi Monte Alegre, moto-taxi Chaminé, moto-taxi Santo Amaro, moto-taxi Pedro Américo, moto-taxi Estrela, moto-taxi Fallet, moto-taxi Francisco Muratori, moto-taxi Benjamim Constant and moto-taxi André Cavalcanti, by exhibiting ten photographs, one at each stand. These will portray scenery in seven Santa Teresa favelas: Fallet, Fogueteiro, Navarro, Beco, Cajueiro, União and Jorge da Silva. The photos will be printed as street posters, pasted on a wall chosen by each moto-taxi driver, together with a map showing the location of the other nine photos that are part of the circuit. The intervention aims to connect moto-taxi pilots, people who use the service and the photographed favelas, emphasizing the importance of this mode of transportation in favelas and fostering a kind of cultural exchange between the formal and informal parts of Santa Teresa. The images exhibited are part of the "Dagaupodear" photography project, carried out in the above favelas over a six-month period. "Dagaupodear" presents a diptych featuring a central image of a moto-taxi pilot's helmet and shoulder, uniting different scenery and views of "permitted scenery" in Santa Teresa favelas. The moto-taxi, a project coauthor, defines what is scenery in the favela and appears in the process of "permission" as the image is captured, traveling down streets and alleyways, collaborating in a constant and euphoric movement of being able to photograph and not being able to photograph, of putting the camera away and taking it out again. The project's images gather together the life experiences, the relationships and the figure of the mototaxi pilot amid the scenery, projecting unique urban personifications of the favelas as they are observed. Awesome's financial support will be used to print and install the photos and for curation and other help from the pilots at the ten moto-taxi stands, in choosing the images and installation locations. before the posters are printed.

Awesome Without Borders (Inativo) – Ensemble Companio

2016-04-18T00:00:00Z

Ensemble Companio is a chamber choir comprising 28 voices based in the Northeast United States in our 5th year of operations. What makes us interesting and different is that we are all 20/30/40somethings with crazy awesome careers who live up and down the east coast (from Philly to Boston) and we rehearse once a month for an entire weekend in a different city each time. We help with childcare and try to offset member travel expenses and basically reinvented the rehearsal model for community choirs, which has allowed working parents and working non-parents alike the ability to continue singing at a point in their lives/careers when most fall out of the funnel. We have law partners, tech entrepreneurs, nonprofit execs, medical professionals, civil servants, PhD scientists, and more who all disappear one weekend a month to sleep on couches and air mattresses and rehearse for 12 hours because making music matters this much to us. It's innovative enough that we're presenting on this unique model in June at the national Chorus America conference (cue nerdy band camp jokes here.) I think most of us would agree that singing is what keeps us sane. We've grown our budget from $1500 to $12,000 over the last 5 years and have become a sustainable organization. But it doesn't leave us much wiggle room for special projects outside our normal operations of rehearsals and 3 concerts. Specifically, we want to record our first studio album this year as a way to mark our growth as well as to have high-quality tracks to send in for regional and national competitions/conferences. We'd also like to record this year since it is the last year our founding conductor will be with us.

Seattle, WA – Unity Totem Pole

2016-04-18T00:00:00Z

Our Chamber of Commerce is the first and only Chamber that is combined with a Sovereign nation. And we take that seriously. Since the high school shooting at Marysville-Pilchuck High school, October 24, 2014, we have continued to work to unite the two communities of the City of Marysville and the Tulalip tribes. One way we would like to do this is with a Unity Totem Pole. A totem pole is symbolic of a story to its people. We would like to have the native totem carver create a story with a totem pole about the courage, strength and unity of our community through a very tough time. It will include an Elephant (strength, affection, loyalty and wisdom), a Falcon (new beginnings, adventure, passionate and leadership) and Giraffe (Communication, intuition, attaining the unreachable and seeing the future), a Wolf (loyalty, perseverance, success and intuition) and a Frog (New life, Communicator, connection to the water element). And we will be inviting the carvers to do their meticulous art work in front of the community at our July Festival so people can watch, learn, ask questions and feel a part of this historic piece unfolding in front of them over a 4 day period. We will proudly display this finished totem in our Visitor Information Center for all to see. Our VIC gets approximately 400 visitors each month. And we will hold an open house to tell the story of how we came together in the past and how we plan to pursue new ways to unite in the future.

New York City, NY – Cello Without Walls

2016-04-18T00:00:00Z

In his project, Cello Without Walls, Jacob Cohen conducts music workshops and live concerts for teens and young adults in jail on Rikers Island. Jacob has been volunteering on Rikers for the past year, inviting young people to recite poetry, freestyle rap, dance, sing and make art together. Besides reducing stress in a notoriously violent jail, Jacob’s program has helped young people leaving the justice system find programs in education and mentoring after their release. Young people in jail on Rikers Island (held automatically in the adult system at age 16) are some of New York’s poorest and most under-served residents. They often spend months in jail, often without any actual criminal conviction, enduring trauma both inside and after their release. Cello Without Walls brings Jacob into two of the most stressful and difficult areas of the R.N.D.C. complex, which houses inmates ages 16 and 17: Mental Observation housing, where youth are held after suicide attempts or if they have mental health issues/diagnoses; and T.R.U. Housing, where youth stay after disciplinary problems (formerly solitary confinement). Jacob has unescorted access in R.N.D.C., meaning he can move around the jail on his own, with his cello, and can play in numerous areas of the facility. Jacob has touched the lives of hundreds of inmates. He has been, and increasingly pushes to be, deployed in housing that houses the most troubled of inmates. He truly believes his music and philosophy have had a transformative power – inmates are making music and rapping with guards, and vice versa. It has literally helped build friendships and break down proverbial walls. Our Awesome Foundation grant will allow Jacob to continue his work within Rikers while he prepares for the next phase of his project. He is hoping to extend the program to, if permitted, consistently capture video and audio, distributing content and stories of the experience within the jail, and ideally expanding the program to other facilities.

Austin, TX – Performance-In-A-Box: Storytelling for Seniors

2016-04-18T00:00:00Z

Performance-In-A-Box is a therapeutic drama initiative for residents of Austin nursing homes and assisted living facilities. It is designed to assist Activity Directors in bringing drama activities to their facilities and getting residents of all cognitive levels involved in theater games, storytelling, dramatic performance, and creative improvisation. Activity Directors will have access to one of two 'Performance-in-A-Box' kits and a drama facilitator who will help lead the activities with residents. The program can be tailored so that it suits both higher-functioning residents and those with memory impairments. Specific activities will be available to those with Alzheimers and other forms of dementia. One important part of the program is recording stories. Using the StoryCorps Memory Loss Initiative model, interviews with residents with be recorded and uploaded to the National Archive, and made available to residents' families. A Moth-style event called "Seniors Telling Tales" is also in the works,

Ann Arbor, MI – Youth for Flint: A Volunteer Force for Good

2016-04-15T00:00:00Z

The Flint & Genesee Chamber of Commerce is host to three major youth development programs that are changing the landscape of Flint and Genesee County. These programs, called YouthQuest, TeenQuest, and the Summer Youth Initiative (SYI), collectively serve over 3,000 Flint-area youth each year, and are tied together by a strong thread of volunteerism. This huge contingent of youth are all impacting the community in different ways, providing everything from aid for the homeless to blight elimination. For example, in YouthQuest, a free afterschool program for 2,000 K-12 students, participants have organized Youth Advisory Councils, whose main focus is to plan and launch student-driven volunteer initiatives. Council activities are currently taking place at 15 different school sites and many projects have been undertaken. Students have completed cancer awareness projects, provided aid to veterans, donated toys and food to local animal shelters, provided hygiene packages and blankets to the homeless, revitalized school infrastructure, volunteered at local children's hospitals, organized anti-bullying campaigns, and much more. Older students in TeenQuest and SYI, programs that provide pre-employment training and paid work experiences to youth, are volunteering in ways that strengthen the city and build capacity for local nonprofit agencies. Just in 2015, students partnered with the city of Flint to eliminate blight in 8 neighborhoods that demonstrate the highest need. Furthermore, participants worked for various local agencies and service providers. For these organizations, teens have packaged food bundles, completed building maintenance, and stuffed backpacks for local schoolchildren. In total, the programs have combined for over 5,000 hours of service valued at nearly $112,000. We believe that with additional funding we can increase the number and types of these projects, essentially mobilizing a volunteer force that impacts the community in important ways.

Awesome Without Borders (Inativo) – Hope House

2016-04-11T00:00:00Z

When the movie Born Into Brothels won the Oscar for Best Documentary and exposed the world to both the troubling circumstances for children from Kolkata's red-light district, as well as the incredible potential to affect change for them, the filmmakers knew they had an opportunity to leverage their success and build a project that would make a lasting impact for the impoverished community. The result of their vision: the Hope House. Hope House is safe, fun, and productive campus where young girls from Kolkata's red-light district will come to live and grow into empowered, autonomous women. Our vision is to create generational change by breaking the cycles of poverty that force young women to sell their bodies, and by doing so allow them to alter the course of their future, their family's, and in time, the whole community. The Hope House project is 100% built upon trust from the community. Without their support, we could never expect families to volunteer to send their daughters to grow up away from home. Conscious of this pivotal foundation, we have worked with local partners to operate a free health clinic, providing much needed services to the community, and we have opened a small business laundromat that hires women from the neighborhood, providing them with a safe alternative to making money on the streets. While the clinic and laundromat remain modest in size as we focus on construction of the Hope House, these two auxiliary Hope projects have incredible potential for broader impact within the community.

San Francisco, CA – Gotta Give Us Hope

2016-04-08T00:00:00Z

Trans people like me are all over the media right now, and that’s pretty freaking revolutionary. That said, most of the stories about us are the same— they’re all about mega famous people coming out, the process of transitioning, and/or super real, super gloomy statistics (there is nothing awesome about 41% of the trans community having attempted suicide). I want to combat all this sameness, gloom, and doom by driving across the country and interviewing trans adults about their happiness, hope, and resilience. I’m going to record oral stories, encourage interviewees to make and share art and writing about hope, have interviewees show me around their cities and talk about how they’ve found and made kick-ass trans lives there, and photograph the whole thing. Then I’m going to turn this all into a book and blog so trans folks and those who love us and those who are just curious about us can learn about how awesome our lives can be. Being trans is one of the most spectacular things of all time— you get to understand every aspect of being alive from so many different perspectives and points of view that sometimes I feel like we’re all actually made of magic— but it can also be pretty scary and lonely. I make interview-based work about bodies and happiness. I’ve made everything from group performance projects to zines to workshops to documentary theater pieces to blogs. I’m ridiculously, energetically hopeful, and I’m constantly trying to figure out how to use that to help lift up voices in my communities that maybe haven’t had the same luck I have.

Singapore – Poets on Permits

2016-04-08T00:00:00Z

'Poets on Permits' is a documentary on migrant workers in Singapore, and their poetry. Read between their lines. Their poems speaks volumes about their lives in Singapore and lives they have left behind. Poets from Bangladesh, Philippines, India, China and Indonesia took part in the annual Migrant Worker's Poetry Competition, held last year at the National Library. Each poet had composed original poetry in their unique styles and recited them with feeling and gusto. The pulse points of their poetry both moved me and impressed me, as the sparkling creativity embalmed deeper themes of home, loneliness, family and love, falling madly in love with the garden city, on female foeticide etc. The topics were as diverse as their personalities. For 'Poets on Permits', five captivating personalities representing the five diverse countries, are sharing their personal stories, and views on the local migrant worker life. (It was really hard to pick only five!) We have completed filming - both interviews, recitals and supporting visuals. The vision, for all their stories to intermingle with their poetry recitals on camera. Visually, the poets were situated in fantastic settings during their poetry recitals, a place which tallies with their amazing flights of imagination. Also, outworn visuals that stereotypically present their daily lives have been avoided. In this story, they are people, poets and then migrant workers. All five personalities are unique in their own ways, and it will be impossible not to fall in love with their thoughts, passion and drive. With this documentary, I hope to lift weary perspectives on migrant workers in Singapore. Sharing their stories through their poetry will feature their talents, and also bring us closer as a society - realising that at the end of the day, we may have different challenges but our goals are the same - of home, love and happiness.

San Francisco, CA – LYFT for Seniors

2016-04-08T00:00:00Z

NEXT Village SF is anti-isolation. We helps seniors to age in place by providing volunteer support for things like help with grocery shopping, carrying groceries up to their apartment, rides to the doctor, physical therapy, companionship, etc. We also work to reduce isolation by hosting 80 social, cultural, and educational events each year. We would like to front load our LYFT fund so that we can say YES to whatever our members want, instead of sticking to transportation requests that are connected to a medical event. We have 250 members- 80% live alone, less than 2% drive. Your world just gets smaller and smaller when walking downhill to catch a bus is no longer feasible for you, or walking that big hill home, or when you feel like it's not ok to ask for a ride to go somewhere that seems unnecessary. Last year we provided 216 rides... a challenging thing to do in SF. (It's a mystery... There are so many cars, and so few drivers). We created a first in the nation partnership with LYFT so that we could arrange friendly rides when we cannot find a driver. The majority of our members do not yet have smart phones, and therefore, can't participate in the online sharing economy. Since LYFT is an app, we contact LYFT, speak to the driver so they know we would like them to show a little extra TLC, and pay for the ride and the tip. We want seniors to be able to go where they want to go when they want to go. We don't think it's unreasonable to ask for a lift to Macy's to window shop, or to go to your favorite grocery store instead of the corner one because your favorite is too far to walk.

Rotterdam – Broodbroeder

2016-04-07T00:00:00Z

In some areas in Rotterdam a remarkable amount of bread wastes can be found at random places on the street, parks and even on top of waste baskets. Bread waste attract rats and other vermin. Some people do not just throw their spare bread into the garbage due to religious reasons. Bread may simply not thrown away. Broodbroeder (Bread Brother) now provides a solution without disrespecting one's religious beliefs. Volunteers collect bread wastes at central places a couple of times per week with a carrier cycle. Making compost out of the bread waste satisfies everyone!

Liverpool (Inativo) – Mosquito Diaries

2016-04-05T00:00:00Z

The Mosquito Diaries is an interactive exhibit by the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) that will be displayed at the Everyman Theatre for Liverpool Light Night, an arts festival expecting 2000 visitors. The exhibit will use games, craft activities, live mosquitoes, & live scientists to present research from LSTM on mosquito biology and malaria disease transmission. Malaria causes 438,000 deaths a year and infects millions more. Global efforts have decreased malaria cases, but insecticide resistance threatens progress, & recent outbreaks of Zika and dengue make mosquito biology a vital and current topic to talk about with the public. The exhibit aims to inspire the next generation of biologists, highlighting the importance of scientific research in the fight against malaria, & promote an awareness of mosquito-borne disease and travel health. The exhibit will have 3 take-home points: 1. “Mosquitoes transmit malaria”. Demonstration of live mosquitoes, together with the unfamiliar sight of the aquatic larval life stages, will spark debate and about how the insect’s blood feeding can transmit diseases. A mosquito mask making activity will get visitors to think about how the antennae and biting mouthparts are used in human finding and feeding. 2. “Bednets and biting”, will show how insecticide treated bednets protect people from bites from the nocturnal malaria-transmitting mosquito. Videos of mosquito flight tracks around bednets will demonstrate their protective effect. Visitors can compete in a timed buzz-wire game, mimicking a mosquito’s flight path when locating and navigating around a bednet. 3. “The issue of insecticide resistance”, mosquitoes are adapting to the widespread use of insecticide by becoming resistant to these chemicals, threatening disease control. This will be illustrated using the computer game “Resistance” in which visitors conduct an insecticide resistance test on virtual mosquitoes, whilst completing multiple choice questions.

LA South Bay, CA (Inativo) – Project Fuzzy Friends

2016-04-04T00:00:00Z

Simple. The mission is to give out as many fuzzy friends as we can, for free! Stuffed animals help kids tremendously and provide multiple benefits. Which is why our goal is to give out as many stuffed animals to those kids that need it most. I,e homeless shelters and hospitals. All right here in Los Angeles/South Bay. There are thousands of awesome causes and charities around the world. But our goal with Project Fuzzy Friends, is to create an easy, fun, and inexpensive way to help others, specifically kids. Research shows a stuffed animal is 1) a distraction from pain 2) provides feelings of safety and comfort, and 3) helps people control emotions. I heard about awesomefoundation a while ago, and this motivated me to get something going. I think this is a great way to help and give back. I would like to start the project by giving these stuffed animals away locally. (I just applied to the L.A chapter as well. But both LA and LA/South Bay are local to me.)

Sydney – The Super Pollinators - Aussie Native Bees

2016-04-04T00:00:00Z

There are more than 200 species of native bees in Sydney area, vital for pollination of crops and biodiversity function. I am an environmental educator offering incursions into primary schools to spread the buzz about Aussie Bees. In the 1.5 hour workshop, kids learn about the bee species that live in their area, each build a bee hotel for solitary native bee species (to take home), get to view a collection of preserved local insects (including bees) under a magnifying light and receive (where available) a free native plants to grow near their bee hotel. They will learn about the importance of pollination and the role of the introduced honeybee. I also discuss the threats to the honeybee worldwide which amplifies the need to better provide for our Aussie Native Bees. My delivery of the workshop is via an awesome presentation in which I have sourced the most mind blowing bee images that have kids captivated. As a former art director (magazines, tv adverstising) I make sure it rocks. The presentation also covers the different quirks of the native bees which combined is essential for maximum pollination success. The beauty of this workshop is that kids feel empowered - they are able to take their beautiful bee hotel home, sharing their new knowledge with family and friends - the result being that kids are educating the community and will make better environmental decisions as adults. The workshop also meets the NSW school curriculum outcomes - detailed in the flyer. I am launching Kids Connecting Nature this year commencing with the Super Pollinators workshop and aim to roll out other biodiversity workshops as I grow. My second workshop will be "A Hollow Is A Home' - teaching kids about the 303 hollow dependent species in Australia and having the children build nesting boxes for microbats. I have big plans for Kids Connecting Nature and I hope 'The Super Pollinators' is the beginning of an exciting (and greener) future.

Awesome Without Borders (Inativo) – Vism

2016-04-04T00:00:00Z

VISM strives to foster a sustainable culture of service and social responsibility in university students by connecting them to skill-based volunteering opportunities with nonprofits. Students develop their professional skills and talents through real world application, while nonprofits gain access to high-achieving talent and increase their capacity for social impact. VISM creates a movement in which university students are able to take charge of their personal and professional growth while nonprofits thrive off the passion of skill-based student volunteers. VISM would be the first online platform leading the movement of skill-based volunteering for university students. How it works (basic): Nonprofits post skill-based projects, students apply to projects aligned with their values/skills they desire to develop/have. Both parties agree to work on the project together. More good done (more efficiently and effectively) in the world! VISM focuses on: 1. instilling a long-term commitment to service in university students 2. develop young professionals for future success 3. increasing the capacity and effectiveness of nonprofits so they can grow Student benefits: connect with nonprofits that share their values, develop self-efficacy and professional skills, take control of their learning Nonprofit benefits: save resources, discover new talent and build relationships with students/ universities, share their cause with masses We are currently a team of 6 university students. Vism has been invited twice to the Clinton Global Initiative University (2015,2016). Established in 2005 by President Bill Clinton, CGI U is an annual conference that brings together university student leaders together to make a social impact on their campuses, communities, and world. Student leaders are selected for their innovative Commitments to Action.

Paris (Inativo) – Festiwall- Festival d'art urbain au fil de l'eau

2016-04-04T00:00:00Z

Les 21 et 22 mai 2016, l’association De l’amour et des murs!, en partenariat avec la galerie d’art urbain The Wall et la mairie du 19ème arrondissement de Paris collaboreront autour du 1er festival d’art urbain parisien: le Festiwall. Les berges du Canal de l’Ourcq et du Canal Saint-Denis seront alors rythmées par les performances artistiques d’une vingtaine de street artistes (Stew, Jo di Bona, JBC, Iza Zaro, Beerens…). Le Festiwall a pour objectif de rassembler un public très large autour d’un art qui ne cesse de s’enrichir. Organiser ce festival dans le 19ème fait sens et encourage la reconquête de l’espace urbain dans un quartier populaire aujourd’hui en pleine mutation. La bourse de l’Awesome Foundation Paris contribuera à l’atelier créatif à destination des enfants organisé par le street artiste Toc Toc, ainsi qu’à la fresque participative à destination du public. On may 21-22, 2016, the organisation De l’amour et des murs!, in partnership with the gallery The Wall, and the 19th arrondissement of Paris, will set up the first Parisian street-art festival : Festiwall. The embankments of the Canal de l’Ourcq and the Canal Saint-Denis will host perfomances by 20 street-artists (Stew, Jo di Bona, JBC, Iza Zaro, Beerens…). The goal of Festiwall is to bring together a large audience around an art that is growing richer and deeper. Implementing the festival in the 19th arrondissement will contribute to the re-appropriation of the urban territory in a popular neighborhood that is undergoing profound mutations. The Awesome Foundation’s grant will contribute to creative workshops for children – organised by the street artist Toc Toc – and to the collaborative fesco.