Awesome Foundation - Projects

Louisville, KY (Inativo) – Steam Exchange

2015-12-29T00:00:00Z

The Steam Exchange wants to launch the 2015-16 school year of weekly Youth Vision Committee meetings! The Youth Vision Committee (YVC) is a group of 8-10 mostly middle school youth who live, worship or learn in the Smoketown neighborhood and choose to spend an hour and a half of their Friday nights becoming community art leaders. Members maintain their group budget, learn a variety of artistic processes, and lead community art projects. Youth are empowered to use art as a tool to develop leadership skills in their community. Last school year, the Steam Exchange led 31 YVC meetings and YVC members led 3 community art events, teaching adults and peers how to screen print. For one of these events, YVC partnered with Bridge Kids International to host a screen-printing party at Zephyr Gallery. The YVC taught over 50 community members of all ages how to screen-print. YVC youth gained clear sense of pride and empowerment and 100 bags were printed for incoming youth refugees. YVC members became expert screen printers and tried their hands at bookbinding and pinhole cameras. 60-70% of participating youth do not have other access to visual art programming. Meyzeek Middle School has 2 art teachers for 1,100 students and the recent closing of the Presbyterian Community Center has left no other community art programs in the neighborhood. Now that the YVC has been established for one year, many of the students have developed skill and confidence in several media. YVC youth have the tools needed to see their own idea to fruition. In the past, the Steam Exchange organized the events that the YVC youth participated in. However, during our November-January session, the YVC members will work together to create their own project that will positively impact the Smoketown community. This will provide the youth with a whole new level of leadership, empowerment, and ownership.

Lusaka (Inativo) – Tishange Mbewu - Urban Agriculture

2015-12-22T00:00:00Z

“Tishange Mbewu - Urban Agriculture in and for the ghetto” is a project of organic bag gardening in Bauleni compound (Lusaka) aiming at empowering vulnerable women. The bag gardening technique is adapted to slum context: it is cheap and done with reused materials, it requires few water and no ground soil, it provides vegetables on doorstep. A 1m3 bag gives the equivalent of a 5m2 cultivable area. 7 bags cover the needs of a 6-person family for a week. The organic vegetables will help diversify the diet and improve nutrition, but they can also be income-generating. Our objective is to empower women, through training on gardening techniques, health/nutrition and entrepreneurship. A hundred beneficiaries will be trained over a year, spread in twenty-person batches. Each group will follow a four months training program and benefit from the project team support. Thus, women will also break the vicious circle of isolation and feeling of powerlessness. In line with what is already being implemented by the association, the community will also be sensitized to the protection of environment. The main activities are the training and the support in materials (manure, earth, stone…) and advice. The project will also conduct experiments to adapt the techniques to Bauleni's context and develop a network of experts on urban agriculture in Lusaka, in order to spread this innovative gardening technique beyond the direct beneficiaries and Bauleni. The project is implemented by In&Out the Ghetto, a Zambian NGO working on social field since 2012 and aiming at developing the community and empowering the youth. An organic gardener will join the team of experienced social workers as technical manager. "Tishange Mbewu" means “we plant a seed” in chinyanja. We believe that, amongst the seeds which will be planted for this project, many will help feeding the families, but some will also flourish in people’s mind, in order to empower them and broaden their perspectives.

Pittsburgh, PA – Mobile Dyeing Class by the SCFC

2015-12-21T00:00:00Z

The Steel City Fiber Collective will be a makerspace for fiber arts and crafts. Think TechShop but cozier! Pittsburghers will be able to rent space and equipment for knitting, crochet, dyeing, spinning, weaving, and fiber preparation. We will host classes and events for the fiber art community. The Collective will bring collaboration and interaction to typically solitary activities. We believe in the ability of fiber crafts to bring greater well-being to a fast-paced urban environment. Our classes and equipment will be accessible to all ages and skill levels, from kids to seniors at an affordable price. Although several yarn and fiber stores exist in the area, they do not have the space or time to offer in depth learning experiences. We already have a working relationship with yarn shops and guilds in the area. An Awesome micro-grant would provide the funds to buy equipment for a mobile dyeing workshop. With the dye equipment, all we need to hold a dyeing class is running water! We could start providing classes to the Pittsburgh fiber community before we secure our permanent space. After we find our space, we can continue to use the same equipment.

Chicago, IL – The Music Box

2015-12-21T00:00:00Z

The Music Box is a hand-crafted mobile music workshop and production studio. The Music Box will travel to different communities, schools, and organizations throughout Chicago, but mostly focused on areas of the city where there is less access to music education and arts activities. Participants will be invited to play, record, and arrange sounds, melodies, and rhythms - regardless of their skill or performance level - using the Music Box's hands-on equipment and instruments to amplify their innate gifts and creativity. The Music Box will hold recording and amplification equipment, as well as various electronic and acoustic instruments, including many found or hand-made ones. The Music Box will also be equipped with a solar-powered generator and solar panels, to minimize environmental impact and increase mobility. The purpose of the Music Box is to make art more accessible by making it mobile and bringing it to the places where alternative arts activities like the Music Box can have a huge impact. Additionally, by utilizing public community spaces and targeting areas of the city where there is little public investment, I hope the Music Box will also help cultivate safe public spaces for creativity. Lastly, in order to promote the value of inclusive music-making, I plan to release a music project comprised of recordings and arrangements generated by the Music Box's appearances.

Boulder, CO (Inativo) – Boulder Dance for Parkinsons Project

2015-12-21T00:00:00Z

I teach dance to people who have Parkinsons Disease. Ages range from late fifties to 93. All Boulder people. There is no cure, but movement and quality of life are key. And social interaction, that seems to lift spirits as well. I need to continue this program through 2016. I create and lead custom classes, first seated, then out on the floor targeting specific issues facing People with Parkinsons. Why Dance? It develops flexibility, instills confidence. It breaks isolation. It's Fun!

Newmarket – Robofest - Affordable Robotics Competition

2015-12-21T00:00:00Z

This year, the Ontario Government has offered $$ to elementary schools to offset the purchase of a robot kit for their school in an effort to promote Science and Technology. Unfortunately a) Teachers do not have the training to use them and b) That $$ cannot be used for getting students to attend robotics events (a great motivator to learning). Existing Robotics events in the GTA are expensive, overly complicated, and beyond the reach of many schools. The NHS High School Robotics Club would like to host a low-budget high-energy robotics competition for children. Our students would assist teams in mentoring for the competition, and would run the competition. The competition, which will likely follow the Robofest philosophy, does not require teams to purchase fancy mats or tournament equipment. The competition will also force students not just to 'play' with their robot technology but actually work and think in a STEM fashion (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) I have had experience hosting robotics events in the past, and look forward to giving this opportunity to students and help to teachers. The website link is to our team website. Information about the Robofest philosophy can be found at http://robofest.net/index.php/about. Thank you for your consideration.

Awesome Without Borders (Inativo) – OUT OF MY HEAD

2015-12-20T00:00:00Z

We’re making OUT OF MY HEAD, a feature documentary about the neurological disease migraine. Here’s why: It’s huge. Over 300 million people are affected by migraine worldwide, 36 million in the U.S. It’s economic. In Europe alone the United Nations estimates that 190 million workdays are lost to migraine, costIng $155 billion Euros per year. It’s a women’s issue. 75% of people who get migraine are women. Is that why it’s a closeted, misunderstood disease, or why there’s very little government funding for research? It’s painful and debilitating. Some people experience hallucinations, some have stroke-like symptoms, some endure crippling pain and are bedridden for days. Its victims also suffer the psychic pain of isolation, stigmatization, and fear and anxiety induced by the total unpredictability of the disease. But migraine is more than just a disease, and that’s why it makes for a fascinating film. Migraine’s intense pain and peculiar manifestations have had a remarkable impact on creativity and culture. From Alice’s utterances in Lewis Caroll’s Alice in Wonderland to Patti Smith’s epic poem Birds of Iraq, the work of artists influenced by its symptoms has elevated migraine from simply a disease to a kind of metaphysical interloper, affecting our perception of the world. In our film, you will be deeply affected by the portraits of our migraineurs, and intrigued by the remarkable investigations our neuroscientists are pursuing in an effort to understand how migraine works, as it permeates our culture. In November we ran a Kickstarter campaign for $92,000 to begin editing our film, which reached goal in two weeks and exceeded all our expectations. Over 850 people responded, meeting near 140% of goal. We have been deep in editing for several months and are now raising funds to do pick up interviews, wrap up editing, and complete the film.

Oahu, HI – Shakespeare's Lovers and Madmen

2015-12-18T00:00:00Z

At UH-Manoa's Dept. of Theatre and Dance, we are planning an outreach program that will perform scenes from Shakespeare's plays that deal with themes of love and madness. Many of the scenes will be from some of his best-known plays, like Hamlet, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, Twelfth Night...in many ways, this is a Shakespeare Sampler, or a Shakespeare's Top Ten. I have found that this type of program is very successful at introducing middle- and high-school students to the works of Shakespeare, especially using fight scenes. Nothing quite holds a student's attention like swordplay. Through carefully (and safely) choreographed fights, actors can utilize the spectacle of combat and combine it with the power of language to create riveting drama or comedy. It is this duality that we can demonstrate the power of Shakespeare's works--great language said by fascinating characters doing extraordinary things. I believe that language is dying out in our all-too-visual world. Today's generation is reared on Vines and sound bites, and their ability to discern between the nuance of words is dwindling quickly. Shakespeare's vocabulary topped 30,000 words--the average American today has between 8,000 and 15,000, a huge loss. Using Shakespeare's works as a way to open a door to stories and the words that create them is an essential tool for any educator. But sometimes students can still be turned off just by the fact that it's Shakespeare. In my experience, using these scenes of confrontation, of high emotion, can create a chance for students to say, "Hey, I can relate to that." You would think that the university would be able to fund such a small request as we are making. The reality is that they can't, or won't. We are left to raise all of our funds--we are totally dependent on the kindness of others who believe that the arts are vital.

Miami, FL – D.I.Y. Daughters

2015-12-17T00:00:00Z

DIY Daughters is a biweekly workshop for women ages 16+ hosted at The Bridge in Miami, FL. the workshops cover everything from mechanics to plumbing to first aid. The main objective is to teach women skills that can help them to become more self sufficient in their daily lives. The reason we make the workshops female only is to create an environment free from distraction and intimidation. All workshops will be hosted by women for women. Though we will host some co-ed segments that I believe will be fun and educational for everyone, like "how to gut a fish" or a knot tying class. We want to create a new way of thinking where women feel like they can handle any situation that is thrown at them, because they can! With knowledge comes power and that's what we're about. D.I.Y.D. is as much a movement as it is a class. We want women to call upon themselves and feel like no field of work or education is out of their reach.

New York City, NY – Swale

2015-12-17T00:00:00Z

"Swale" is a sculptural floating island containing a public food forest that will dock at various piers around New York City’s harbor in 2016. Unlike industrial agriculture, food forests are naturally regenerating and grow to be stronger and more plentiful each year—making them one of the most resilient means for sustainable food production. Despite these benefits, food forests have been off-limits in public in NYC for more than century out of fear that a glut of foragers may destroy an ecosystem.   Built from repurposed shipping containers, this floating sculpture will stretch 50 feet across and will feature walkways, and an edible forest garden utilizing purified river water. After construction of "Swale" is completed in June 2016, the work will begin its journey, docking at each pier for one month at a time. AwesomeNYC's grant will underwrite a series of educational/community workshops taking place at locations in the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Staten Island.   In collaboration with local schools/environmental groups, Swale’s team will offer educational programming such as permaculture workshops, participatory budgeting, and design charrettes to each borough’s students and residents. Why We Think This is Awesome While the scope of this project is grand, our funding will be serving a smaller but more immediate need. Through their workshops, the Swale team will be helping to educate the next generation of New Yorkers about both food issues in this city as well as what it means to have big, audacious ideas and to make them happen in this world, promoting Awesome for years to come. Says project creator Mary Mattingly: Through “Swale,” I hope to help shift the perception of food from a private commodity to a public right. As we face a precarious future marked by the unprecedented impact of human life, "Swale" will underscore the role of art in aiding the collective reimagining of the public sphere, as well as its potential for proposing solutions to the challenges that lie before us. I strongly believe that art is integral to imagining new worlds. By reimagining the public sphere, "Swale" can challenge power dynamics between corporate food production, deregulation, privatization, and a widening inequality connected to social and food justice. It can strengthen collaborative ways of working together, being together, and supporting each other. I believe that the democratic process involved in co-designing a public space can be a road map for larger-scale community design projects. These projects allow us to reimagine the cities in which we live in profound ways. Mary will be holding a workshop for teens in collaboration with MoMA in the Spring of 2016 and her work will be on exhibit at Light Work from January - March 2016.

Miami, FL – Celebracion de Abuelos (Akerman)

2015-12-17T00:00:00Z

Greater Miami's senior citizens, many of whom live on limited fixed incomes, can benefit from cost-savings measures that make their homes more affordable. These include: (1) resolving accessibility issues (such as the installation of ADA ramps for wheelchairs); (2) addressing energy-efficiency upgrades (e.g. replacement of traditional lightbulbs, high-flow toilets & showerheads with more efficient models); (3) installing fruit & vegetable gardens for fresh, affordable produce at home; and (4) landscaping the homes with trees that produce shade, saving on cooling costs. The ABUELOS Foundation (aka Grandparents Foundation) has been formed by Miami leaders with extensive construction/renovation/sustainability experience to ably assist seniors with these important activities that they themselves cannot afford to undertake. The organization has selected Miami's Shenandoah neighborhood (located immediately south of Calle Ocho, or SW 8th Street) in Little Havana to launch its inaugural event, Celebracion de Abuelos (aka Celebration of Grandparents). This will take place on Saturday, March 5, 2016, and will include a series of improvements to 3 homes on a block in the neighborhood. Applications for the homes (via nomination or self-nomination) are presently being collected, via the local voluntary, neighborhood & merchants associations & through the City of Miami. Our organization has secured donations of energy-efficiency items & funds via Miami City Commissioner Francis Suarez's Poverty Initiative Funds, Miami-Dade County's Sustainability Office, the Home Depot Foundation, and others. All funds & donations secured to-date will be used for the renovation projects themselves, which will be performed during the first week of March, concluding on Saturday, March 5th. The funds sought from the Awesome Foundation would be designated for a celebratory portion of the program, intended to allow the seniors to engage with the multi-generational corps of volunteers.

Antigonish, NS (Inativo) – WONGS DRAGON MURAL RESTORATION ON MAIN ST

2015-12-17T00:00:00Z

I am an artist designer residing in downtown Antigonish. I have much experience in the painting of murals and scenic art in the theatre. I have always enjoyed the mural painted by Kate Brown G.on the side wall of the former WONGS restaurant. The mural was painted 30 years ago and has become an iconic landmark on main st. It is is however in need of a face lift. There is permission from the current property owner,the Town of Antigonish and the artist to restore this delightful work of art. I would be supervising the ACALA group "views from the bench:first voice creativity collective".This is a very keen group of individuals who use creativity to learn new skills and thus achieve self-esteem by participating in projects like I am propsing. As this project would be in an extremely high profile location it fits their mandate perfectly. Discussion has already taken place to either photograph or video daily to show the progression at high speed upon completion. As a person on the "Main" daily,I have seen countless tourists take pics of this fading mural...think of the impact of fresh vibrant colours bringing this mural back to life. ..for visitors and town folk alike! To insure the stability of the paint ,3 coats or UV protectant clear coat would be applied.As the first mural of its kind painted in the town,it has historic importance, so this will ensure the mural will be enjoyed for future generations and add to our growing list of murals in the downtown core. Obviously work would not commenced until the spring.

Austin, TX – Our Taco House Co-op

2015-12-16T00:00:00Z

In August 2014, Robert “Bobby” Vasquez, the longstanding owner of the Tamale House on Airport Boulevard, passed away. Vasquez’ death led to the sudden closure of the Tamale House, a renowned breakfast taco destination for locals and tourists alike, leaving behind an Austin icon and putting longtime employees out of work. Raquel, Shirley, and Maria spent the bulk of their working lives at the Tamale House, more than 30 years of employment combined. Finding themselves unemployed for the first time in years, the three women talked about starting their own Tex-Mex restaurant. During this time, Shirley met a member of a local cooperative business, who suggested they talk with Cooperation Texas, an organization dedicated to developing and supporting worker-owned cooperatives, about starting their restaurant as a worker co-op. Cooperation Texas began working with the former employees of the Tamale House in October 2014 through its Cooperative Business Institute (CBI), a training program designed to equip participants with the skills, knowledge, and resources needed to start and manage a worker cooperative. Raquel, Shirley, and Maria have received in-depth training on the cooperative business model through the CBI and are now in the process of finalizing their business plan for Our Taco House — bringing back the fast, affordable, and authentic Tex-Mex food familiar to old customers in the form of the first worker-owned Tex-Mex Co-op in the Lone Star State! Cooperation Texas will be working closely with Our Taco House until the moment their doors open and beyond to ensure the creation of a successful Tex-Mex co-op. As members of the co-op, workers at Our Taco House will have a direct say over key decisions that affect their lives, share the profits and losses equitably among themselves, and enjoy the dignity and security that comes with having an equal ownership stake and a voice in what will ultimately be their business.

Rockport, MA – Toad Hall Connect

2015-12-15T00:00:00Z

Toad Hall Bookstore, which strives to be a community institution and not just a bookstore, is in desperate need of a functional, upgraded website. We've been making good strides in planning events for the community like author visits and story times, but we need a way to communicate and connect with Rockport. Our current website is clunky and unattractive and doesn't allow for us to send out mailings, field questions from customers, or sell books! As most of you know, Toad is in financial trouble. Like all independent bookstores, sales and foot traffic are declining. Our hope is that with a new website our reach will expand to Rockport residents, Gloucester residents, and our active summer tourist customers.

San Jose, CA – LightMeUp

2015-12-14T00:00:00Z

This program seeks to put lights on the bikes of riders in San Jose and surrounding areas who do not currently have lights. We believe that putting lights on these bikes is the best way we can prevent collisions with cars. San Jose Bike Party gets between 500-4000 riders each month, many of them youth without proper bike lights. We believe that our event attracts many of the at risk riders, which will allow us to easily reach the target audience for this program. San Jose Bike Party volunteers will distribute and install these lights.

Ottawa – Bike Brite Ottawa

2015-12-14T00:00:00Z

December’s Awesome Ottawa award goes to Philippe Dessaint-Ash, to support his distribution of free bike lights to other cyclists in the city. “As an avid downtown cyclist,” explains Philippe, “I find it incredibly important that all commuters share the road responsibly. Over the past three years, I have personally handed out about 2,500 bike lights to cyclists. I generally ride around downtown at night, and when I spot a cyclist without lights I approach them and hand them one or two.” “The process of handing out lights is a ton of fun,” Philippe continues. “Cyclists love getting lights, and I truly believe that receiving the light encourages people to be more mindful of their impact on the road. And of course, it helps with improving the visibility and safety for of cyclists and commuters in general.” “I begin planning and saving money in the early months of winter,” says Philippe. “With the $1,000, I should be able to purchase between 700 and 900 lights to hand out in 2016.” Philippe is a program officer at Employment and Social Development Canada. You can follow his project on Facebook and Twitter.

Santa Fe, NM (Inativo) – Buddy Benches

2015-12-12T00:00:00Z

According to an estimate by the U.S. Department of Justice, every seven minutes a child is bullied in the United States. Buddy Benches promote inclusion by giving kids a safe space that helps eliminate loneliness and foster friendships. At the Boys & Girls Club in south Santa Fe, when our kids go outside to play each day, they are screaming and balls are flying. Sometimes, if you look around the playground, you might find that some kids aren't joining in on the fun. A Buddy Bench can provide a welcoming place to sit if you are new to the Club, if you want to make new friends, if your friends aren't at the Club that day, or if you want to play something different than what your friends are playing. At the Boys & Girls Clubs of Santa Fe/Del Norte, we provide a safe place for kids to be during out-of-school time. The Club where we are proposing to place the Buddy Benches is in a neighborhood where we are the only after school and summer program available to kids ages 5-18. Currently, 56% of children in Santa Fe reside in this area where there is limited outdoor recreation space and age-appropriate programming. Physical fitness is an important component of our programming. Our goal is for all of young members to participate with an 80% improvement rate of their knowledge of healthy habits, increase the number of hours played outside in a safe environment with other children of all ethnicities, colors, and creeds in order to enhance their ability to interact positively with others and engage in positive relationships.

Seattle, WA – Unloop MAKEday

2015-12-10T00:00:00Z

Unloop MAKEdays will bring fun and educational robotics workshops to incarcerated people in Washington State prisons. Unloop is a startup social enterprise that aims to enable people who have been in prison to succeed in careers in technology. Roughly 8,000 people will be released from Washington State prisons this year. Of those, over 2,400 will return to prison within three years, at an annual cost of ~$33,000 per inmate. This system disproportionately impacts people of color, places an unnecessary tax burden on WA state taxpayers, and tears at the social fabric of our communities through stigma and ostracism. Our vision is to provide the training, experience, and support that people leaving prison need to launch successful careers and transform their lives. Unloop MAKEdays are full day events intended to bring the tech community and the prison community together through technology and learning. We will host fun and educational workshops inside prison to: 1) inspire in currently incarcerated people an interest in technology, 2) facilitate a conversation about mass incarceration with tech professionals, and 3) create a forum through which personal and professional relationships between tech professionals and prisoners can be formed. Our first three MAKEdays will be held in three Washington State prisons: Washington Corrections Center for Women (WCCW), Monroe Corrections Center (MCC), and Clallam Bay Corrections Center (CBCC). Teams of professionals and prisoners will complete projects and solve puzzles using the "Affordable Educational Robot" (AERobot) developed by Harvard researchers controlled through a drag and drop programming interface. For more information on Unloop and MAKEdays, check out our website at www.un-loop.org or like us on facebook (https://www.facebook.com/unloopwa/).

Chicago, IL – Thresholds: Illusions for the Senses & the Mind

2015-12-09T00:00:00Z

Experience your own senses like never before...shattering the mold of the traditional magic performance, an unforgettable evening of impossible visions, scents, tastes, feelings, and sounds awaits you. I will be presenting a performance of “Thresholds” at the Museum of Contemporary Art on January 26. This one-of-a kind immersive experience takes the audience on a physical journey throughout the MCA, with elegant magic designed for each of the primary senses in five distinct spaces. The program will be integrated with the museum’s upcoming exhibition “A Conjured Life.” This unique performance experience is composed of a distinctive blend of magic with an elegant feel, and explores ideas based on my studies in psychology, science, and art. Highly-interactive, audience members collaborate in creating the performance, including making crucial decisions, possessing seemingly impossible knowledge, and navigating and unlocking each new space. An viewer’s thought-of scent becomes a reality, a member of the audience is able to surmise my thoughts, and walnuts carry an unexpected surprise, as the performance progresses to an astonishing conclusion. The entire audience also collaborates in a series of custom-designed experiments and experiences created to awaken the senses and to educate on obscure sensory information as the show transitions through the magic effects. These mass participations include the audience being able to hear illusory words and making an image on their handbills vanish and reappear at will. Having the opportunity to perform a solo show at the MCA is a lifelong dream come true, and I am working around the clock to give visitors the most unique, memorable experience possible. This is unquestionably the most important performance of my career to date. I am striving to create the most innovative event I can, and use this as a catalyst to take my career to the next level.

Sydney – Femme Fatale

2015-12-09T00:00:00Z

"Femme Fatale" is a playful, magical and ever-so-slightly sinister theatre production created by an all-female company that seeks to challenge our perceptions of women. The production has been programmed as part of Sydney's Old 505 Freshworks Season this January, and provides a strong opportunity to reach significant audiences based on the Old 505's large following. We believe this work is extremely important (and rather unique) in presenting a story created wholly by and about women. The under-representation of women in theatre and media is extremely topical, as exemplified by the recent formation of the Women in Theatre and Screen initiative in Sydney. leftofcentre theatre co. believes that in order to challenge the status quo, female voices (both the voices of creative artists and those of female characters) must be given opportunities to be heard and seen, and thus, normalised. We seek to create social change through entertaining, engaging, thought-provoking theatrical experiences. Praise for previous work includes, “A brilliant piece of social activism… This type of theatre must be supported in order for it to thrive. And when it’s this enjoyable to watch, I can't see why you wouldn't...I returned from The Genius Project with renewed hope and unshakeable faith in the future of our society’s artists." (Upstaged Reviews, "The Genius Project" 2015). This is what we seek to achieve with "Femme Fatale." The production is stylistically arresting, showcasing a magical, mythological landscape, yet its story and voices are thoroughly contemporary. "Femme Fatale" gives the female figures of genesis mythology (Eve, Pandora and Lilith) the chance to re-tell their own stories, drawing contemporary parallels to the way women are viewed today and thus challenging common perceptions of women. The play pulls apart notions of 'the crazy woman,' 'the devil woman,' 'the good girl,' and of course, 'the femme fatale,' to reveal the complex human figures behind them.

San Francisco, CA – LuminoKinetic Artist / Engineer

2015-12-09T00:00:00Z

I have been experimenting lately with enabling viewers to see the normally unseeable, such as the path of a point upon a fast movingmulti-axis machine, the beautifully complex movements of fluids, or solid objects seemingly changing shape or passing through one another. I seek to the best of my abilities to refine my sculptures and execute them well in durable materials, and present them without disguise to the viewer. Lying behind to the functional output of these projects is the physical object that makes it all happen... the "machine". It's design and construction of these consume the bulk of my energy. An old aircraft designers maxim goes "if it looks right, it flies right", which nicely captures a fundamental and near- magical human power: creation. Creation is the ability to intuit what's overbuilt or underbuilt; it's seeing in the mind's eye how stresses flow and how a little changes can improve functionality; it's pulling from memory separate things and envisioning them combining to make a new thing. Creation, being central to humanity and the key to human progress, deserves respect. Time, money and thinking are well spent on the creation process, and the payoff is rightness and beauty in the resulting artifacts.

Gloucester, MA – Composting at O'Maley Innovation Middle School

2015-12-08T00:00:00Z

Our idea is to establish a composting system in the cafeteria at O’Maley in partnership with Black Earth Haulers. Trash removal at O’Maley has gotten very expensive. In addition, many students are uninterested in eating school lunch and are just throwing it out. Our plan will reduce trash costs and provide costly compost for free as well as establishing a sustainable garden at O’Maley that will educate and feed the school, students and staff alike. The system will be one bin for each grade’s lunch with a small bucket in the kitchen for cooking scraps. Black Earth will take away our bins weekly and in return bring us compost which will benefit the school’s gardens and get everyone at the school more involved. We will be educating everyone on what is and isn’t compostable at school wide assemblies and short videos to view in homeroom (Black Earth’s bin’s also have helpful signs that inform students about what can be composted). Amazingly, many students at O’Maley didn’t even know we had a school garden. With the help of Backyard Growers, we hope to create more planting and harvestings days schoolwide providing fresh produce for everyone to enjoy. Along with Black Earth Haulers and Backyard Growers, our school chefs and faculty member Caitlin Sumner (8th grade science teacher) are on board. With the support of many, a well devised plan, and $1000 we can make this idea into a reality.

Gloucester, MA – Class Clowns

2015-12-08T00:00:00Z

There is a group of at-risk students at O’Maley that needs special help. Students in this group continue to vex teachers with their off-task and disruptive behavior.There is a pressing need for an intervention that engages and supports them by giving them an experience of risk-taking, perseverance and success gained in a non-threatening activity. We are proposing to use safe circus skills (juggling, diablo, devil sticks and/or spinning plates) to help these at-risk students focus and improve their self-efficacy -- their motivation and persistence toward success. The Class Clowns Grant would be divided, with half the funds used to purchase a small collection of circus equipment (outlined below), and the other half to hire a circus education specialist to work with the target students and their teachers for several sessions, until the students can undertake self-directed learning and practice. We would like to bring circus activities to the at-risk group to help them build physical skills, self-efficacy, and positive social interactions. Using times when students are in their behavior support room as well as time after the afterschool academic help, students would be giving short instructional sessions plus time for practice, giving them opportunities for small successes and positive experiences associated with school. At-risk students would be encouraged to stay after school for academic support in order to gain time for practice afterwards. They would be able to earn time out of the classroom for these activities by positive classroom behavior and effort, instead of being removed from class for disruptive, unsuccessful behaviors. This proposal has 3 parts: (1) to purchase a small set of circus equipment for student use; (2) to hire a circus education specialist that would provide basic instruction and encouragement; and (3) to administer a short evaluation to the participants and to staff for feedback on the effectiveness of the project.

Awesome Without Borders (Inativo) – The Handi Project

2015-12-07T00:00:00Z

Liverpool (Inativo) – Wool never walk alone

2015-12-07T00:00:00Z

I applied last month with an idea to help the homeless, and after pitching I realised i needed to think outside the box. Winter is coming, and we have hundreds still living on the streets of Liverpool. I'm starting a project which will involve collecting scarves for the homeless which will be tied around trees across the city for homeless people to help themselves to. As well as providing warmth, the project will provide a visual treat for people, and will organically change as scarves are taken and new scarves are left.

Washington, DC – Up Top Acres

2015-12-04T00:00:00Z

Up Top Acres designs, installs and operates commercial rooftop farms. We establish agriculture as a fixture of urban life by farming on underutilized rooftops and by offering the following services: •Design, Installation and maintenance of greenroof rooftop farming systems. •Fresh vegetables and local honey marketed through farmers markets, Community Supported Agriculture and local restaurants. •A living classroom and community gathering space for educational programming and farm dinners. •A venue for private gatherings such as farm dinners and tastings. •A tool for building owners to comply with stormwater regulations, earn LEED credits, and reach their sustainability goals while turning a profit. •Job training for residents in urban agriculture, greenroof construction, business development and more We convert neglected spaces into viable sources of income and environmental safeguards, transforming a societal and environmental drain into a valuable commodity. Our rooftop farms are built into a 'green roof' system. This allows developers to comply with stormwater regulations, and at the same time, we lease rooftop space from developers, adding rentable area to the building while providing savings on regular maintenance costs associated with standard green roofs. The farm system functions as a green roof, generating up to 16 LEED credits and fulfilling mandatory environmental regulations through stormwater retention, energy conservation, heat island reduction, and habitat preservation. We're currently operating three rooftop farms, totaling 10,000 square feet, that provide produce to local restaurants and residents and have plans of opening another 20,000 square feet next year. Up Top Acres will be a model for the rest of the city and subsequently, the rest of the country for how to maximize the use of its urban space and integrate intelligent city planning with effective business practice and and proactive community engagement.

Portland, OR – The Numbers Community Studio

2015-12-03T00:00:00Z

The Numbers Community Studios The Numbers Community Studio is a program that will give underserved communities the opportunity to learn how to record vocals, produce instrumentals, and create music. The community studio will function as a makerspace in which participants will collaborate to expand their knowledge on production software and recording equipment. We will partner with members of the music community as well as novice learners to get a broad range of expertise. Our goal is to give those in the community passionated about music a chance to pursue their interests. There are many schools in the area with limited funding for arts and music programs. They usually do not implement a curriculum that engages students who are interested in other aspects of music creation. This program is important because it is the only one offered in east portland, a place where artistic creativity has often been overlooked. We already started operation at the Rosewood Initiative, a community space located on the border of the Portland/Gresham. The studio is open to members of the community of all-ages but is focused on reaching those between the ages of 16 to 25. As of right now we are available Wednesdays from 4pm to 6pm but we are hoping to be open more days of the week. We are hoping with this grant we will be able to get better recording equipment in order to get the best sound for our music and have it stationed in the studio. We have been sharing our personal equipment trying to build momentum.

Boston, MA – WEATHER IS HAPPENING

2015-12-03T00:00:00Z

JUST A FYI A DIFF WEBZONE IS CURRANTLY BEING WORXED ON BUT THATS IT THATS THE URL. I WAS FEAT. IN FUSION AS BOSTONS BEST WEATHER SERVICE http://fusion.net/story/191686/boston-weather-energy-being-from-another-realm/ & I AM PLANING ON CONTINEWING THAT TRAD IN2 THE FUTURE. IM HEER 2 STAY 2 HALP BOSTON & PERHAPS THE WORLD THRU THAIR CLIMACTIC APOCALYPSE, ENCOURAGING PPL 2 FOARM PERSONAL REL8IONSHIPS W/ THAIR WEATHER LORDS & REPENT THATS WAT IT IS, REPENT 2 UR WEATHER LORDS STOP UR POWERS & OLIGARCHS FRUM DESTROYING UR PLANET. SO ON THE DAILY I GIV THE WEATHER 2 BOSTON NO GAMES SO THAY CAN NO WAT 2 XPACT & MY WEATHERPPL R THXFUL 4 THAT 1. I COVRRD SNOPACALOPSE 2015 & WIL B HEER AGAIN 4 UR WINTER 2 LAT U NO THAT WEATHER IS HAPPENING & WAT KIND OF WEATHER IT IS SO U CAN GO THRU UR DAY W/ THE APPROPRO AMOUNT OF FEAR & REPENTANCE U CAN CHACK OUT OTHR WEB PRESENCES ON FB TWITTR OR TUMBLR HTTP://FACEBOOK.COM/WEATHERISHAPPENING HTTP://TWITTER.COM/WEATHERISHAPPEN HTTP://WEATHERISHAPPENING.TUMBLR.COM TAIK A LUK & TRY 2 COME UP W/ BETTR WEATHER U WOANT FIND IT UR CORPORATE WEATHER PPL R ALL UNDR DURESS THAY CANT TELL U THE TRUTH, THAY CANT TEILL U ABOUT UR WEATHER LORDS. U HAV 2 REACH IN2 UR HEART, XCEPT WEATHER IS HAPPENING AS UR WEATHER SERVICE, SEEK UR WEATHER LORDS & REPENT

Melbourne (Inativo) – Unique walking tours of Melbourne

2015-12-03T00:00:00Z

We're delivering unique, edgy walking tours of Melbourne focussing on the inner suburbs where walking tours are currently not venturing. We aim to give visitors a real sense of what it is to be a local and provide locals an insight into their beautiful city. We explore areas that some locals don't even know about and where tourists will be able to take photos and hear stories that not all visitors get to hear. Visitors will walk away knowing how the locals love and why this is the most liveable city in the world. Our guides are experiencing, or have experienced homelessness in their life and are in public housing and unemployed. We're aiming to provide long term sustainable employment, whilst supporting them to integrate back into society, the private rental market and help them achieve their personal goals. We want to create a non-judgmental environment where labels and stigma do not exist and feel that having our guides in these roles provides a platform for this to happen. We also aim to be competitive and provide walking tours that are commercial with quality products. Our USP is that we deliver tours in areas that are diverse, culturally rich, historical, modern, fun, arty and where the locals actually live. We see our tours as holistic and therefore giving an all round view to satisfy all interested. With the guides' experience to add, they can tell stories that are otherwise untold, show areas conventional tours do not and finally give a true local perspective of Melbourne living through people that really know it best.

Rotterdam – Browery - Brotherhood trough beer

2015-12-02T00:00:00Z

Beer is a remarkable product, It has the unusual trait of bringing people together. From this thought the 'Browery' came to life. Everyone knows there is a craftbeer trend going on. But aside from drinking all those special beers form professional breweries the Browery is all about brewing your own! Without the hassle of buying all the materials and learning how to brew by yourself. Browery invites people from Rotterdam to their event to learn how to brew beer. We like to experiment with strange flavours, extraordinary ingredients and forgotten recipes. It can't be crazy enough. We love to collaborate with people with creative idea's about beer, so we can come up with beers the world has never tasted. Join the Browtherhood!

San Antonio, TX – Katie's Jar - Taking Vending Machines to the Dogs

2015-12-01T00:00:00Z

Dog parks at apartments are becoming a must have for all of the new complexes. I want to bring Doggie Vending Machines to the dog parks around town. I've found a small cool (as in keeps food cold) vending machine, formerly used to vend sandwiches. We are going to give it a doggie makeover and stock it with dog treats, tennis balls, toys, and other pet products. Oh, and we can put stuff for humans in there too - water and goodies from bakeries.There are so many possibilities! We tested the dog treats in the Parlevel vending machines at Geekdom and they did pretty good. People responded to them and I got a lot of positive feedback on the idea.

San Antonio, TX – The People's Nite Market

2015-12-01T00:00:00Z

Our project is a night time farmers market that we just launched in the heart of the city at La Villita. We want to provide the city with a central hub that gives access to healthy, affordable produce and different cultural food options. We welcome urban and rural farmers to sell their produce at our market and are able to take food stamp cards. We provide the community as well as visitors with an array of international foods such as:Mediterranean, Ethiopian, Native American, Puerto Rican, Latin Fusion and authentic Mexican. We intend on adding Brazilian, Indian and Hawaiian foods to the market later in the season. In addition, we provide a space for artists to showcase their handmade products. We have a handmade sandal maker, vintage clothing, paper mache Mexican influenced artwork, apron maker, jewelry artists and soap makers. we would like to feature different entertainment acts like Bollywood dance, Brazilian Capoeira,Ballet Folklorico, Flamenco and even break dancing but would like to be able to pay entertainment. We have free health screenings and fitness classes sponsored by the Metro Health Mobile Fit Van. We provide a funk disco zumba class. There are also several services such as threading, henna. massage and bike repair. If Seniors want to attend and need assistance in shopping for produce or need help taking items to their cars we have personal shoppers and assistants to help them. (College Volunteers) We are a family friendly and pet friendly event.

San Antonio, TX – CO|LAB

2015-12-01T00:00:00Z

CO|LAB is a start-up collaborative co-working space for creatives. At CO|LAB a member will have 24/7 access to a shared work space with desks, tables, a lounge area, a conference table, unlimited WiFi, a kitchenette, complimentary coffee and tea, a cyclorama studio for photographers and videographers, two vanity make-up stations, storage space, rentable props, rentable studio equipment, a printer, office supplies, & a projector.. The space is a hybrid co-working space / maker space. CO|LAB started with the intent of providing a space where creatives can collaborate. A place where amazing ideas are born & creative projects are formed. While there are other co-working spaces in town, none have catered to the creative industries. CO|LAB is a great physical platform for creatives to work, network, collaborate, teach, share, & to receive feedback from one member to another. It will also be a great resource for individuals or companies needing creative services. In our current membership we have a very diverse set of skills. We have photographers, videographers, video & photo editors, graphic designers, web developers, writers, fashion designers, a make-up artists, a back-end marketer, a 3d animator, a painter, & a social media marketer.

Awesome Without Borders (Inativo) – The Bad Date Coalition

2015-12-01T00:00:00Z

The Bad Date Coalition is a social action group committed to improving safety for people involved in sex work by creating and coordinating the Bad Date Book, connecting and educating sex workers who are in need of support or who are working in social isolation, and increasing public awareness to the myriad of issues that people involved in sex work face, as well as facilitate communication without judgment or assumptions. The Bad Date Coalition was established in 2004 out of a need to address the high levels of injustice and violence faced by sex workers and to bring like minded people together to work for change. Currently, the coalition is comprised of over 100 members representing current and former sex workers, frontline workers, activists, students, social service workers, shelters and other supporters.

Austin, TX – RE Source

2015-11-30T00:00:00Z

On February 12 and 13, 2016, Forklift Danceworks will present RE Source, a free, immersive dance performance showcasing the elaborate services of Goodwill of Central Texas’ massive recycling center. Featuring Goodwill employees as the performers, RE Source will weave together choreographed movement drawn from the employees’ everyday work, recorded interviews, warehouse equipment and machinery, live music, and a one-of-a-kind set and lighting design. Since 2001, Forklift Danceworks has produced unique performances for capacity audiences ranging from 500 to 3,000. Beginning with months of research in which choreographers embed themselves in the subjects’ workplace, dances are designed together with the employees and inspired by the grace of their everyday work. Past performances have featured firefighters (In Case of Fire), electrical linemen (PowerUP), trash collectors (The Trash Project), arborists (The Trees of Govalle), the Austin Symphony conductor (Solo Symphony), blind individuals and their guide dogs (Sextet), and professional and college-level baseball players (Play Ball Kyoto and Play Ball Downs Field), among many others. As with all past performances, the goal of RE Source is to tell the stories of community members who often go unnoticed and underappreciated, particularly our civic workforce. By celebrating the extraordinary in the ordinary, Forklift gives performers and audience members the opportunity to see and appreciate each other in new ways.

Washington, DC – CODE + YOGA

2015-11-30T00:00:00Z

Code+Yoga will be a 2-week camp for kids that teaches them basic teachings of mindfulness and yoga along with digital literacy and coding skills. We hope to create the next generation of mindful leaders prepared for future economic demands. Through hands-on project-based learning, kids will work alongside supportive instructors and mentors, encouraging outside-the-box thinking to make new ideas come to life while incorporating practices of yoga (posture, movement) and meditation (breathing, patience, awareness.)

Paris (Inativo) – JE SUIS COULEUR, NOUS SOMMES COLORISMO

2015-11-30T00:00:00Z

Chez Apprenants Visuels nous croyons au potentiel des personnes avec autisme et nous utilisons l'art comme un outil de sensibilisation sociale. JE SUIS COULEUR, NOUS SOMMES COLORISMO est la première exposition que nous organiserons à Paris dans laquelle des artistes avec et sans autisme partagerons l'espace dialoguant à travers la couleur. Une démonstration où l’accent sera mis sur le talent et la diversité, où nous changeons à travers l'art le regard des spectateurs et nous mettrons en lumière une thématique trop souvent trop invisible à nos yeux. At Apprenants Visuels we believe in the potential of people with autism and we use art as a tool for social awareness.I AM COLOR, WE ARE COLORISMO is the first exhibition that we are organizing in Paris, and in which artists with and withour autism will share the space and exchange through color. The emphasis will be put on the diversity, and we will try to change through art the way the public perceives people with autism and their talent.

Twin Cities, MN (Inativo) – Bring the Frogs Back to Frogtown!

2015-11-29T00:00:00Z

It's been a long time since the music of frogs was heard in Frogtown. We want to change that. In St Paul’s most diverse and poorest neighborhood, environmental degradation has accompanied urbanization. The life-filled marsh that gave the neighborhood its name has long since been paved over, and the frog chorus has been silenced. Frogtown Green, a resident-led, volunteer-powered neighborhood group, proposes to renovate a scummy pond in a barren parking lot, to create urban aquatic habitat and a venue for an outdoor, frog-themed percussion concert featuring drums and marimbas. Around a new retaining pond on the grounds of a busy outdoor immigrant market, we will create an urban ecology education and concert venue that uses a beloved community totem—the frog—as a metaphor for neighborhood revitalization. Hmongtown International Marketplace's large retaining pond, installed in 2104 by the local watershed district, currently serves simply to filter parking lot run off. Our one-of-a-kind project will beautify it and suggest a richer function, as a venue for environmental education and arts enjoyment for the hundreds of people who visit and work in the Marketplace. (See an aerial view of the marketplace and pond, at: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Hmongtown+Marketplace/@44.9610366,-93.1088114,124m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!3m1!1s0x52b32ab26c7e039d:0x2bd068ffc8e504ae By installing trees, benches, wetland and aquatic plants, and by offering educational and artistic programming around the retaining pond, our frog project will tell a new story: of a healthy, interconnected community.

Edmonton, AB (Inativo) – Edmonton World Health Organization Simulation

2015-11-27T00:00:00Z

We would like to organize a 3 day conference and simulate the World Health Organization for participants. This means participants will be able to 1) Choose a country, 2) Represent that country as a delegate and 3) discuss and debate global wide issues of reproductive health. At the end of the conference, resolutions will be drafted and sent to the ACTUAL World Health Organization for consideration by real world leaders in global health, to be implemented. The primary purpose of the simulation will be EDUCATIONAL but also an opportunity for raising awareness on public and global health issues that effect Canadians and people all across the world. We will also host a "crisis committee" in which participants will be exposed to a crisis topic somewhere in the world and will have two hours to work with other countries (delegates) to come to a solution.

Newcastle – Suicide Incorporated

2015-11-26T00:00:00Z

Suicide Incorporated is a Comedy Drama that explores the issues surrounding suicide- particularly the shocking number of young men that take their lives. Further details will be announced early in the new year, stay tuned! The production will be produced by James Chapman, a Newcastle actor, writer, director and producer who has recently founded 'Knock and Run Theatre'. [Insert title here] will be staged in Newcastle in the middle of 2016 and will most likely run for a one week season between Thursday and Sunday. The production will employ 6 actors, a director, a lighting technician and a sound technician all of whom would take a share of the profits and any remaining money in the budget that wasn't already spent on venue and equipment hire.

Amsterdam (Inativo) – Traffic Light Charades

2015-11-26T00:00:00Z

When facing a red traffic light as a pedestrian, you two options: 1. Ignore the red light and cross just cross the road. 2. Wait for the red light an get bored. Ignoring a red light is not really safe, so pedestrians are forced to wait and get bored. Actually, an ANWB research (http://ow.ly/UOEri) pointed out pedestrians experience waiting for a traffic light as the second most annoying thing. Since we want people to have an awesome life, without being bored and/or annoyed, we invented "Traffic Light Charades" (TLC). TLC uses the fact that a crosswalk with traffic lights will in many instances have people waiting at both sides of the street. Also, you can almost always see those people. Why don't we ever interact or play with them? Remember the game "Charades" (Dutch: Hints)? We would like to apply this game to traffic lights. People one side of the street communicate a message to the people on the other side of the street by miming the message. The object/person/verb that they have to communicate is posted on the traffic light one side, and on the other side there is a sign indicating that they are part of TLC. They can start once the light turns red, and their time is over when the light turns green. Everybody "wins" when the message is transferred within this timeframe. They can then celebrate together while passing each other on the crosswalk, which is awesome. You might wonder, why is this awesome? Well, (another) research (http://ow.ly/UOEaX) tells us that interaction with fellow citizens will make pedestrians significantly more happy. Also, it will give people an incentive to wait for the green light, which will prevent injuries. We want to apply this game to several crosswalks across Amsterdam, differing the difficulty and the character of the message to the average waiting time and the amount of pedestrians. We hope to tell you more about our plans in real live.

Newmarket – We need Buddy Benches

2015-11-25T00:00:00Z

Walking thru my sons school yard... I noticed a bench on the pavement with bright paint around it. I asked my son "is that the only place to sit around here lol" And he said "no, that's the buddy bench! When someone feels lonely or they have nobody to play with, they sit there and people ask them to play" Wow. Amazing. I then told him how awesome that was and asked if he has ever used it? He said "yeah, when I was new I sat there and someone came to me and asked me to play. I felt happy. And now when I see kids on it, I ask them to play with me... We all do". What a fabulous idea for a school yard. Wondering if this is something in every school yard? If not, I want to fund raise to get a "buddy" bench for every school in York Region. I will make it my mission!

Orlando, FL – You Matter!

2015-11-24T00:00:00Z

Several years ago, I started holding up signs that said "Thank You" when people did kind things for me in traffic. The other side said "Sorry" for when I did something like pull out in front of someone. About a year ago, I started holding up a sign at intersections that said "YOU MATTER" on it. It came out of the desire to have people know that their lives are important because for many years, I didn't feel that my life was worth much. After Robin Williams died, I started having "YOU MATTER" cards printed up at Vistaprints and now I send them anonymously (I hated that I had to "out" myself to all of you). I leave them everywhere I go and give them to friends to give out. Joanne Grant saw them and told me about your grants. I would love to receive a grant to be used for paint and a stipend for the artists who paint them. Joanne is going to help find buildings in Orlando whose owners will allow us to paint on them. With everything happening in the world, this message could not be more timely. I would love for someone to see it and change the way s/he lives his/her life. I hope you will see the worthiness of this project. Thank you for serving on this board. YOU MATTER!

Stockholm (Inativo) – Time 4 Streetball

2015-11-24T00:00:00Z

In the heart of Stockholm just next to the famous building “Skrapan”, a Street ball tournament has taken shape. But maybe we shouldn’t just call it a Street ball tournament because it’s so much more than that. DJs, photographers, dancers and street artists are also there to make it become more of festival of awesomeness. Imagine yourself walking down the street to be surprised by pumping music, super talented athletes and simply a whole lot of activity where there’s usually nothing. We simply had to call that awesome!

Sarnia (Inativo) – message massage

2015-11-23T00:00:00Z

Not a teepee. Not an igloo, Not a gazebo, Not an arbour. Made of poly pipe, and held together with phentex yarn, this mound shaped house that leaks will compel passersby to write a message about anything to anybody. The benefit? Nothing much really. Just awesome fun. The location? Probably and hopefully near the BWBridge French fry trucks. The timing? A few weeks in summer 2016 The publicity? Oodles for the Awesome Foundation The supervision? Not always but sometimes. Trustees are welcome to hand out AF cards. The message? Anything to anybody.

Alaska (Inativo) – Amtgard

2015-11-23T00:00:00Z

With some help from a couple enthused individuals, I have started and been running a LARP (Live Action Role Play) group in Homer. We use a system called Amtgard, which is an international organization (we are the sixth group to start in Alaska), really focused on safety. Amtgard is a corporation, with a complicated legal system of its own, however it lacks the funds for financial aid to new groups starting. We have been doing our best here, making what we can. The point of the creation of LARP here in Homer was that I noticed the youth here have almost nothing to do. I noticed a drug problem among the youth, and decided that we need something to distract the youth. So far, it has been working great. We have an average attendance of 33 people, and meet every Saturday for battles, and every Friday at the Homer Public Library for crafting days. The people involved really enjoy it, and there's things to do for everyone. There are leadership opportunities, which teach good skills for the future. There are combat elements for those who enjoy sword fighting. There are crafting opportunities for people interested in the arts. There are fantasy aspect for people who really just need to escape from the world once a week. LARP is like reading a book. You can dive into it and release from reality, but in the end you come away with more knowledge than before.

Miami, FL – Fifty for Families

2015-11-20T00:00:00Z

During the Holiday season, that means helping feed hungry families by providing nutritious foods to take home and share when children are out of school and hot meals are not available. The need for meal distribution in our community is high with over 1000 youth in Overtown, over half of these youth are living in poverty. 20% of the families in Overtown make less than $15,000 a year. In Homestead, the socioeconomic landscape is similar with 53.9% of residence making less than $15,000 a year. Our "Fifty 4 Families Program" helps to provide 250 families with food baskets filled with a complete Thanksgiving dinner at a value of $50 to prepare a meal for a family of four. Our distribution is divided evenly among four centers in downtown Miami, Homestead, and North Miami. This vital hunger prevention program provides families in need with support at a time when resources are especially limited due to school closure and reduced work hours. Due to our longstanding commitment as a safe space in our communities, this program has high participation and often the need exceeds our ability to give. We have been providing this service to the community for over a decade. Generous contributions of canned food from the community aid us in providing some items however the need greatly outweighs our current donations. We are in need of $2,500 to feed 250 of our families. The Awesome part about this project is that it allows our families to connect with additional services upon food pickup. We continue to build upon established community relationships to empower families to take charge or their financial and physical health. We offer registration for additional economic, education and health services during this holiday project to prevent families from having to rely on these services for multiple years. Our goal is to offer long lasting solutions in addition to immediate hunger relief.

San Francisco, CA – Smuggling Nature: Walking Poems Across Golden Gate

2015-11-20T00:00:00Z

The city of San Francisco is not separate from what we call "the natural world." By using my own two feet, and by writing and reciting poems, I will remind residents of this fact, hopefully inspiring them to find their own connections between the place they call home and the encompassing environment. Every day for a month, I will walk from the heart of the city to the Marin Headlands, write a poem based on what I find there, then return to the city, reciting my poem to strangers on the street. These poems, along with soundscape recordings made in the field, will become part of an interactive website, what we might think of as a digital version of my sidewalk recitations. When the month is over, I will take this project far beyond the Bay Area, sharing it with a nationwide audience via magazines and literary journals. Smuggling Nature: Walking Poems Across Golden Gate is a gift. It's the gift of the world, a world that is always available to us, always right here. It's the gift of a world that is both under our feet and spreading endlessly outward in every direction.

Oklahoma City, OK (Inativo) – Food For All food truck

2015-11-19T00:00:00Z

MadePossibleBy.us is a Social Action Community established to connect people around making more good together. We work with Partners: the brands, businesses and organizations that share our mission to do more good together. Our partners value the ideal of "Do Right. Make Good. Be Real." and aim to demonstrate, with action, their investment in community in ways that matter most to all of US. How we Work: We focus on sustainable solutions for social good voted on by you, activated with brand partners and made possible by all of us. Together we all share and discuss possibilities that advance the well-being of people, the planet and the pursuit of happiness. The most favored are voted up. We all agree to share and discuss further with friends to make them even better Your MadePossible team curates the top ideas into project concepts and aligns with best suited brand partners We build the possible concepts into tangible projects and make create real outcomes ALL together Our launch project is the Food For All food truck in partnership with area businesses to benefit the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma.

Kingston – Tim's for Turnaways

2015-11-19T00:00:00Z

WE ARE READY TO GET AWESOME! We are frontline workers at In From the Cold Emergency Shelter (IFTC). IFTC is a 29 bed facility for adults experiencing homelessness. Our Awesome project is to supply Tim Horton's gift cards to clients turned away from the shelter in the colder months when we are full.

Tallahassee, FL (Inativo) – Girl Scout Leadership Experience

2015-11-18T00:00:00Z

The Girl Scout Leadership Experience program will focus on girls in grades kindergarten through fifth at Springwood Elementary a Title 1 school in Leon County, Florida. Partnering with this school will provide girls with access to the Girl Scout Leadership Experience at no cost to the parents in girls only safe space with a fully trained, background checked volunteer leadership team. According to the Florida Department of Education, there are approximately 2,000 low-income girls attending Title 1 schools in Leon County. Our goal is to serve at 45 girls at Springwood Elementary through our Girl Scout Leadership Experience Program. Through our program, we build girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place. Monies will assist 45 girls in grades K-5 at Springwood Elementary in becoming members of the Girl Scout Leadership Experience at a cost for $15 annually per girl and receive grade-level appropriate books from the Journey series ($7 per girl). All members of the troop will also have a chance to participate in the #1 Youth Entrepreneurial Program in the world, also known as the Girl Scout Cookie Sale. Participation in this sale empowers our girls while teaching them 5 key life skills (goal setting, decision making, money management, people skills, and business ethics.) Participation in the Cookie Sale also provides the troop with sustainability. The profits earned will purchase memberships for the following year(s), uniforms, curriculum, and entrance into our many low-cost events or even our resident camp.

Minas Gerais (Inativo) – Às Margens

2015-11-18T00:00:00Z

Às Margens, um coletivo que estimula reflexões sobre o lugar dos rios e das pessoas na cidade, trabalha em três eixos: 1. Intervenções em nascentes Pouco existe de rastro de cursos d'água e de nascentes na cidade. Para descobrir e mostrar esses pontos, mapeamos minas e bicas. Para medir a qualidade dessas águas, temos projeto de material didático de análise físico-química. Para explicitar os resultados das pesquisas e evidenciar a presença das nascentes, propomos lambe-lambes, instalações interativas e um parklet-praça que traga água de nascente, hoje descartada, para o convívio da população. Estamos desenvolvendo uma metodologia de intervenção para recuperação de nascentes, trabalhando numa nascente em terreno da Escola Municipal Jardim Felicidade. O objetivo é ativar comunidades, potencializar encontros e momentos de organização, decisão e intervenção no espaço público. 2. Captação de histórias Acreditamos que uma coletânea de histórias de quem cuida e usa água de nascentes e em espaços públicos, além de resgatar imaginários e vivências, potencializa o surgimento de ideias de um futuro mais carinhoso com nosso recursos hídricos. Entrevistamos cuidadores de nascentes com objetivo de mostrar como cada um contribui; mapeamos espaços públicos onde o elemento água é importante e desenvolvemos uma interface para captar histórias. As histórias serão traduzidas e compartilhadas por diversos meios (histórias em quadrinhos, leituras para ônibus, documentários etc.). 3. Imaginário Para potencializar transformações na cidade, vemos como necessária a formação de redes e a conexão de projetos com interesses comuns. A pesquisa de iniciativas relacionadas à água na cidade, em desenvolvimento numa plataforma online, além de fomentar o diálogo, potencializa a criação de novos imaginários. Com o mesmo objetivo, propomos algumas vivências e situações para fantasiar sobre paisagens com águas na cidade, como derivas fluviais e praias na beira de rios e lagos. Facebook: www.facebook.com/coletivoasmargens