Awesome Foundation - Projects

Sarnia (Inativo) – Music For The Soul

2014-06-06T00:00:00Z

I am developing a hip hop music workshop that focuses on the character ethics model and teaching superior life and social skills.Hip means to know and hop means to act so at the very basis of hip hop is the power of knowledge with the motivation to act. I want to develop a ten week session and will be piloting the program during Act II at Rebound where I will be volunteering this summer.My project would have a holistic feel to it covering the four dimensions: physical, spiritual, mental, and emotional development and continuous assessment of thoughts and feelings. Music reaches the most people in the fastest way and breaks down their defense mechanisms opening up themselves for change and growth. My program would inspire people to use music as a way to not only cope with life but thrive!

Philadelphia, PA – 3B Brae's Brown Bags

2014-06-05T00:00:00Z

I'm 10 years old now, but I began what is now a public charity when I was 9 years old last July 2013. The charity is called 3B Brae’s Brown Bags and the mission is to help provide homeless and low-income people within our community by giving them “to-go” bags which provide them with clean water, healthy snacks, a message from me and a list of contact information to services who can provide them with further assistance. As of this date I have packed and delivered over 1,200 brown bags. Sometimes I can't hand the bags to people directly, like when I deliver to school districts with students in need, but when I can hand them to people I like doing that because I like meeting people and talking to them. I have learned sometimes people need a little bit extra, too. So I made a kid bag which always includes a book. A work force bag which always includes toiletry items and a winter bag which includes gloves, scarves and/or hand warmers. The three specialty bags still include the original items, too. I have gotten other groups involved, too. The Delaware Collegiate 4-H, UD Food Science Club and Delaware Chapter of Alpha Phi Omega have hosted bag packing events for me. There have also been two girl scout troops who have helped me get donations of toiletry items and healthy snacks. I have been invited to talk to groups about what I have been doing and help to raise awareness. Earlier this month I was invited to legislative hall and given the privilege to go to the floor and speak. I let senators and house representatives know my ideas for helping people with food insecurity, I also let them know about Brae's Brown Bags. They gave me a standing ovation. I explained that we need to stop ignoring people. I explained many people are in a hurry and need to slow down and offer compassion. Brae's Brown Bags offer nourishment and when you put food in the mouth of someone in need you also put hope in their heart.

Washington, DC – Kingman Park-Rosedale Community Garden

2014-06-04T00:00:00Z

KPR Garden is viewed as a neighborhood improvement--down to the soil itself. We have the soil tested and each year our lead levels, among other contaminants, continue to drop. So what we plant is healthy for the earth and us. Since we are located close to the Anacostia River, our garden helps to retain stormwater and cut back on pollutants flowing into the river. DDOE data states three billion untreated gallons of water flow into the Anacostia each year. We always plant extra vegetables outside of the fence for neighbors who are not gardeners to enjoy. We recently were awarded with 14 trees that will continue to beautify the area. We hold annual Halloween parties for the entire community that include candy hunts, games, and scarecrow making. We've held Easter Egg Hunts, barbecues, and other events for the neighborhood. We have donated some of our bounty to local charities and last year to a restaurant for a fundraiser. As our garden grows, so does the community engagement. Unfortunately, we do not own this land. We have been working with the city to purchase it and we are closer than ever. This massive undertaking has really tied up our funds, which is primarily dues- and grant-driven. For a number of families the $140 annual dues are difficult to manage. We currently have 10 plots where gardeners have requested subsidized dues or a payment plan. We would like to use this grant from The Awesome Foundation to help out these gardeners in times of financial hardship. Our neighborhood is a mix of younger and long-established families. The average median income surrounding the garden is about $60,000 and the cost of living is much higher than the average, according to city-data.com. The closest local schools report 99 percent of the student body receive free or reduced lunches. Many of these children and their families are unaware of what healthy food choices are, nor are they aware of how to make them. This grant would help to foster that community education.

San Francisco, CA – Superheroes at Angel Island

2014-06-03T00:00:00Z

Superheroes at Angel Island will consist of a set of operations on Angel Island State Park, for what is called the Department of Illegal Superheroes– a researched-based project disguised as an agency created based on the recognition that “the country's current immigration policy must be applied to all, including superheroes.” Featuring an island-wide series of site-specific installations that will include superheroes whose immigration statuses parallel those of migrants formerly detained there, along with present-day detainees elsewhere in the United States, the operations will engage socially relevant issues embedded in the island’s historical importance, particularly that of the Immigration Station.

Liverpool – The Magpie Project

2014-06-02T00:00:00Z

Magpies (like scousers) often get a bad press! Folktales abound about these birds stealing shiny objects - merely opportunist courtship behaviour with an aim to attract a mate! The term 'magpie' is often used for those of us who collect pretty or unusual things too, & I want to celebrate this whole concept of 'magpie'. Imagine tiny, shiny jewelled finds in the crevices of pavements and walls, inviting further searching, becoming a fascinating trail & a magpie requiem. The 2014 Liverpool Street Art Festival has provided the catalyst and the approval to develop this creative idea into a form of street art along Jamaica Street in the Baltic Triangle, an up & coming place for flirting! Small, delicately balanced groupings of sparkly beads, shiny buttons, and diamonté jewels will be inset into the pre-existing small cracks in pavements and buildings with smooth resin forming a 'magpie' trail along the street to those social places where we meet others. I want the project to make people smile, question our preconceptions about magpies and use up the 'bucket load' of costume jewellery my mother left me in her will, as homage to her and others magpie ways here in Liverpool!

Atlanta, GA – Goodie Hackathon For Under-Served Communities

2014-06-02T00:00:00Z

Goodie Hack, the Idea Hackathon Series for Social Good in Under-Served Communities, brings techies and non-techies together for a day of brainstorming and developing web and mobile apps to make awesome purpose-driven organizations who serve under-served communities even more impactful. The Atlanta Q2 2014 Goodie Hack will allow ten (10) purpose-driven organizations to present a list of the top 4 non-financial challenges to achieving their mission. After learning have to generate an app idea using Lean Startup, 70 software developers and business professionals will break up into teams. They'll have five (5) hours to come up with an idea and/or start to develop an app that solves their assigned organization's problem. At the end of the five hours, the idea teams pitch their apps to a panel of non-profit leaders, startup founders, and investors. Not only do the organizations get really cool ideas to make them better, but they also get to expose their mission to more awesome people who may volunteer with them in the future. Additionally, the awesome participants get a quick taste of the tech startup life, and may even use the Goodie Hack experience as a launch pad to their own life as an entrepreneur. We believe our communities already have all of the resources in place to solve the majority of problems, but the ecosystem isn’t very efficient. Our goals are to help the organizations already working on education, health & wellness, economic, safety, and environmental issues, and connect to each so their collective impact is greater. We’ve even coined the hashtag #NoNewNonProfits

Austin, TX – Third Coast Visions: Mobile Geodesic Dome Gallery

2014-05-31T00:00:00Z

Third Coast Visions is a 30-person art collective that produces a monthly showcase in downtown Austin as well as a busy schedule of live performances and festivals. Says member Chancellor Roberts: “Art can be a catalyst for transformation and spiritual enlightenment. We hope to aid this cause.” Third Coast Visions is in the process of building a portable geodesic dome to serve as a mobile art gallery for the collective’s work. The Austin Awesome Foundation’s $1000 grant will be used to fund the dome’s waterproof cover.

New Orleans, LA (Inativo) – Girls Rock New Orleans

2014-05-31T00:00:00Z

Girls, transgender, and gender non-conforming youth should have the same opportunities as their male peers, but that’s not always the case! Girls Rock New Orleans uses music education to empower youth and promote social and gender justice. We are committed to bringing together a racially and socioeconomically diverse group of campers and volunteers and to creating a safe, non-male-dominated space. Our inaugural camp is taking place this summer, during the first week of July, with 35 campers and approximately 30 volunteers at the Waldorf School of New Orleans. During this week each camper will learn to play the guitar, bass guitar, keyboard, drums, trumpet, or trombone. Campers will be grouped into bands of five (each camper with a different instrument) with which they will practice daily to write and an original song. No musical experience is necessary to attend rock camp. We believe, and have experienced at other camps, that campers are fully capable of writing amazing songs in 5 days! In addition to instrument instruction and band practice, campers will engage in two workshops each day. Workshops include Music Herstory, Self-Defense and Self-Esteem, Band Merch (screening printing shirts/patches, and button making) and DIY show booking and promotion, Experimental Instruments and Sounds, and more that are still being developed. Each day we will host a lunchtime performance by local female or female-identified musicians, ranging in genre. These visiting musicians will expose our campers to different types of music and role models. Girls Rock New Orleans is inspired by Rock n’ Roll Camp for Girls, founded in Portland in 2001, and is a member of the Girls Rock Camp Alliance, an international organization of rock camps. In our future we seek to become a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and expand our programming year round into after-school education.

Ann Arbor, MI – A2 Summer Fest Tuesday Bike Nights

2014-05-30T00:00:00Z

We are in contact with A2 Summer Fest and want to make every Tuesday of the event Bike Night. We will offer free bike valet and have mobile repair stands set up for participants to receive minor maintenance. We think this will be a great way to promote biking and bike safety. The timing is also great because the City of Ann Arbor is rolling out a bike-share program in April so this could be a great service for those riders too. We will be targeting families, millennials, and our Sonic Lunch clientele which is a diverse demographic. We will promote the service on social media and our website. A2 Summer Fest will promote it too.

Ann Arbor, MI – Permaculture Tool Share

2014-05-30T00:00:00Z

Our local community group AMPY is working to establish a large-scale agroferestry project/nursery at Dawn Farm (just South of Ypsi). We are planting thousands of trees (100 of each when possible) to trail what works here in our local ecosystem. Each of these tree species is functional as either a food or material crop. We want to establish many jobs and small industries from our 'permaculture food forest' through education, demonstration, and research. Long-term we will use this nuresry as means to reclaim and restore farm land across the county. We plan to entering into land-lease agreements with local farmers and bring annual farmland back into perennial production and restore fully functioning ecosystem services, like CO2 sequestration.

Toronto – ArtBox

2014-05-30T00:00:00Z

We applied for last month's Awesome grant with a proposal for a concept we called ArtBox, which would see a reclaimed shipping container turn into an Art House for use in local parks. However, we've made a few changes to this concept over the past few weeks! The biggest change is that we now want to use a *bicycle* to pull our ArtBox, which would be smaller than originally proposed, and housed on a custom built bike trailer. A wonderful bike-powered moving company in Sweden is our inspiration (see www.theatlanticcities.com/commute/2014/03/bicycle-powered-moving-companys-sales-pitch-were-just-faster/8701/ for an image). This ArtBox would be ridden to and staffed over the course of the summer, and offer FREE art experiences to children and families. The ArtBox would contain all the needed arts supplies - paints, papers, presses etc - all purchased/donated through the two local arts-supply stores in our neighbourhood. During the off season, our ArtBox would simply be stored in a garage until the beginning of the next summer season. This community is the perfect place for the inaugural ArtBox to reside, with both a dense familial demographic and vibrant residential and commercial artistic pulse. We are very excited about the potential of this project. In an era of arts funding being slashed, and children receiving little to no opportunity to experience art - painting, printmaking, sculpture etc - the ArtBox could expose hundreds of kids to the magic of art every year. Our ArtBox could ridden to ANY local park and used during ANY arts festivals. Imagine the possibilities!

Melbourne (Inativo) – Bosom Buddies

2014-05-30T00:00:00Z

‘Bosom Buddies’ aims to reduce the stigma associated with breastfeeding in public through grassroots community engagement, social-media outreach, peer-to-peer support and a mobile website/app. Cafes, shops and other relevant establishments will be enlisted to publicly indicate their support for breastfeeding mums. Venues will be featured on the website/app, provided with novel marketing collateral and assisted to educate their staff on this issue. The website/app enable mums to locate participating venues and form social connections in real time. The launch dovetails with the release of ‘Lactaboobiephobia’, a short documentary exploring social attitudes towards breastfeeding in public (funded via Pozible: http://www.pozible.com/project/177443 and currently in production). Strategic online and offline activities will develop awareness of the project, promote participant venues, drive traffic to the website/app and stimulate conversations around breastfeeding in public. The project will be piloted in the City of Melbourne in 2015, then replicated in other municipalities in Victoria and nationally. Why? Back in the day, extended families lived together and women learnt about breastfeeding by example. Nowadays, people get offended at the mere sight of a baby being breastfed in public and this contributes to our low breastfeeding rates. Mothers have a legal right to breastfeed anywhere, but fear of negative responses lead many to stay home, use formula when out, or hide in ‘discreet’ places like toilets or parents rooms. This leaves mums feeling marginalised and compounds the problem that breastfeeding is not visible within our society. By increasing access to welcoming venues, fostering community support and enabling social connections, the project will create a more inclusive social environment for breastfeeding mums. Ultimately, more mums will be supported to reach their breastfeeding goals and more babies will receive an optimal nutritional start.

Orlando, FL – National Dance Day Orlando

2014-05-29T00:00:00Z

National Dance Day Orlando will host its second annual celebration that aims to educate, inspire, and promote the Orlando dance community. This event has been specially designed to promote progressive development of dancers, celebrate the diversity of Central Florida's dance professionals, and further connect the Orlando dance community. Many large cities across the nation host free community-wide events on this day and get recognized on Fox's So You Think You Can Dance. Last year's Orlando event pulled in an estimated 500 participants throughout the day. With the success of last year, I believe the greatest benefit for our dance community involves growing this year’s educational experiences. A larger number of free dance classes will be offered at First United Methodist Church of Orlando during this year’s NDDO event. I desired a downtown location with classrooms that had views of the new Dr. Phillip’s Performing Arts Center to provide a unique ambience for the attending community. I have chosen three rooms that will offer different dance classes every 90 minutes. Instructors and performers of professional Orlando-based dance companies will share different styles of dance with the attending dance community throughout the morning and afternoon. The church facility also features a large common area, which would serve as a waiting/warmup area for dancers and their parents while classes are going on. In this space, our NDDO guests would be able to meet one another, discuss classes, technique, and prepare to enter their next workshop.

South Shore – Lunenburg Community Garden

2014-05-28T00:00:00Z

The team at the Lunenburg Community Garden made a great pitch on May 28th and managed to convince the 10 Trustees of Awesome that the first Awesome Grant should go towards the purchase of Awesome Soil for the new Community Garden at the Lunenburg Academy Site.

London, ON (Inativo) – Garden Mothers - Planting Seeds

2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

Our business focuses on three key areas: Lifestyle, Education, Lifestyle. We believe in eating as a community, loving oneself, and growing in even the smallest ways. We are here to enact change through a creative and sociological drive process of discovery, food production, and community building. This summer, Planting Seeds Landscaping is piloting the Garden Mothers Project. The goal of this project is to improve low-income mothers’ access to nutritious foods, to allow for greater self-sufficiency and sustainability, and to combat the effects of poverty in day-to-day life. It is a valuable opportunity to learn, grow, and make meaningful connections in the process. We have created an in-depth and experiential programme that provides women with the space, knowledge, and expertise to work with edible plants in order to become more self-sustaining. Weekly programme activities include visits to organic farms; learning how to identify local edible plants and their various uses; learning about self-sustainability; participating in urban gardens; visiting water buffalo; cooking and nutrition classes; learning to make cosmetic and healing creams from local plants, and more. Participants will also have the option to put their new skills to long-term use by engaging in our co-piloted educational organic farming project, where they will be allocated plots of growing space their own use Through this program we not only develop participants’ skills and knowledge, but we also foster an environment that promotes self-care and personal healing. Our safe and inclusive environment allows participants’ growth to parallel their gardens’. Furthermore, this program establishes important connections between organic farmers, local businesses, and London residents. This community building aspect is integral to the creation of a healthy and vibrant London.

Nairobi (Inativo) – Y-FI Africa 48 Hour Film Challenge

2014-05-26T00:00:00Z

Y-FI Africa is a non profit initiative whose mission is to inspire the next generation of African filmmakers. We are doing this through launching filmmaking clubs in high schools. Since 2012, we have launched clubs in the following schools; Precious Blood, Riruta, MaryHill High School, Thika High, Chania Boys and Gaichanjiru High. Combined, all the schools have produced over 10 shorts films, some of which can be viewed on our YouTube channel www.youtube.com/yfiafrica. Our vision is to launch these clubs in high schools throughout Kenya and eventually, Africa. Our goal is to create avenues in schools where youth who have an interest in filmmaking can develop and nurture their skills so that they are well positioned to take up opportunities in Kenya's and Africa's growing film and video content industry. To reward and enhance continuos learning and development of our current students, we are planning an exciting challenge for them in august 2014 dubbed The 48 Hour Film Challenge! The idea is to bring all the students together at a venue in Nairobi, divide them up in groups, assign a mentor to each group and then present a filmmaking challenge that they must accomplish within 48 hours. They must then present their final video/film for a screening ceremony, after which the competition judges will award the winners in different categories. We see this an excellent opportunity to expose the young aspiring filmmakers to industry standards by partnering them with seasoned filmmakers as their mentors in this challenge, propelling them much closer to their dreams of working in the film industry. By limiting the challenge to 48 hours, the students will be under immense pressure to complete their film. This process will demand of them (and thus develop) high levels of discipline, team work, leadership, critical thinking, organizational and execution skills. We would be delighted to partner with you in this project.

Sydney – Arena Calcetto at The Rocks

2014-05-25T00:00:00Z

Arena Calcetto is a unique and live installation of six timber towers housing bespoke fussball tables. Originally created for the Australian Pavilion exhibition ‘Formations: New Practices in Australian Architecture’ (Venice Biennale 2012), the installation is touring in Sydney city from 2013-2014. Arena Calcetto creates a temporary and site specific arena where the public can enjoy a competitive game of fussball. The work presents the extraordinary collaboration of hundreds of individuals, showcasing custom made fussball teams by architects, jewelers, industrial designers, graphic designers and football aficionados. Each table acts as an outdoor gallery for these individual pieces, by displaying two unique fussball teams. Arena Calcetto has been exhibited at Paddington Reservoir Gardens (collateral event for Art & About 2013), Pirrama Park Pyrmont (featured on the point during NYE 2014 celebrations), and will land in its third and final site in the historic district of The Rocks from June - August 2014. This upcoming exhibition is planned to coincide with the 2014 World Cup, so audiences can play fussball in parallel with live broadcastings of the World Cup matches. Arena Calcetto will instigate a collaboration between participants, local businesses and visitors to The Rocks, with collateral events such as pop-up fussball tournaments, artist talks and a walking tour to visit the towers in four sites including First Fleet Park, George Street, The Rocks Square and Playfair Street. This installation will create a unique and site-specific intervention within the historic harbourside area, combining football, art and interactive public installation during its two month display. Archrival has over 25 fussball team designs, and showcases new combinations of the teams at each venue. As outdoor public artworks, we need financial support to keep these teams maintained to exhibition quality, and to allow for the creation of new teams by our collaborating artists.

Miami, FL – Pink Tank Project

2014-05-24T00:00:00Z

My partner is Eleazar Delgado, a Miami-based artist who grew up in Venezuela. Right now there is a horrible genocide happening and the dictatorship isn't allowing information out of the country to get to the International community. I propose a public art/performance art method to get the community informed, engaged and active to start humanitarian efforts. There was an incident when one of the military tanks in a storage yard was painted pink by a protestor, an awesome act of public art in its own right. It put the idea in my head to have small toy pink tanks with a QR code that will lead to a web site with information and ways for people to connect and help. These tanks would be left out, almost like a "free art Friday" sort of find. Prominent public places are to be the goal and I also have the support of my good friends from Front Yard Theatre, a performance group that stages in public & unexpected places, Their part is to have pop up shows at various events and city epicenters to engage the captive audience.

Miami, FL – Catalyst Miami/ The Butterfly Project

2014-05-24T00:00:00Z

The Butterfly project is an organization that provides support and advocacy for victims of Domestic Violence and Sexual Abuse. The idea is to bring awareness of domestic violence and sexual abuse so the community learns to recognize the signs and take action. The idea is to create a mural that victims of domestic violence can participate in. This will use art therapy as a way for self-expression and empowerment, helping the victims to recover and the community to learn..

Miami, FL – TrepTransit

2014-05-24T00:00:00Z

TrepTransit - Raising the bar one stop at a time Focused on open skills sharing and community problem solving, The goal of TrepTransit is to foster the creation of relationships and connections in the Miami entrepreneurship community. Providing access to experts, and offering the opportunity to both share and learn from experienced founders, and those just beginning the startup journey, TrepTransit aims to connect everyone for 60 minutes on the third Monday of every month in a metro mover car starting at Goverment s. While enjoying Miami’s skyline, and public transit system, the goal of TrepTransit is to promote a free-wheeling exchange of ideas, discussion, and knowledge. This first goal is to allow companies to ask questions about current issues they are facing, and get meaningful answers from experienced operators. It’s like having your own Board of Directors, but instead of the board room, in the MetroMover. The second goal is to share knowledge from a variety of subjects that are relevant to business regardless of stage. With the goal of skills sharing, an expert on a relevant subject or vertical market will share his/her knowledge. The ultimate goal of this exchange is to allow participants to consider new ideas, encourage discussion, and adoption of best practices, especially as it applies to entrepreneurs (Treps). The benefit to the community is clear, as we move towards a knowledge economy, and nurture a startup culture, the key is sharing information. Information around creating, running, and funding startups of any kind is especially important, and this information typically lives in human experience. Creating an experience that allows an attendee in a relative short amount of time, sixty minutes to listen to a story, or learn from a question facilitates one of the most powerful types of learning, and allows us to share collectively our past experiences while teaching new entrepreneurs how to avoid common pitfalls.

Connecticut – The Wave

2014-05-23T00:00:00Z

The Wave, a traveling, interactive, public art project celebrating water, was inspired by the March 11, 2011 magnitude 9.03 earthquake in Japan. My partner in the project, fellow CT artist and architect, Elena Kalman, and I were awed by how the tsunami literally connected us all to one another: this enormous wave originating across the world and traveling from continent to continent before washing up along the western coast of The United States at our own ‘front door.’ The Wave represents how dramatically we are all connected, regardless of our nationality, religious preferences, race or other artificial divisions, by our mutual dependence on water, one of the fundamental requirements for life on Earth. In addition to the theme of our ‘connectedness’ and the universal nature of water, The Wave also emphasizes our individual and community responsibility to protect this vital resource in all of its locations.Individuals coming to a Wave site cut pieces of recyclable, polycarbonate film into ‘wave-like’ shapes of their own creation. As they do so, they are encouraged to recognize their own vital connection to water and are contributing to an ever-growing, dynamic wave in brilliant colors, calling attention to the beauty, power and essential nature of water. Each new piece is added to the complete installation, which grows in length and volume as it travels from site to site. The black parachute cord that we use to join all of the individual ‘Waves’ to one another, highlights how this Wave is being created, piece by piece, connecting individuals, communities, states and eventually, an entire nation, to each another. To date, The Wave has been installed in 10 indoor and outdoor venues in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland and New York City over the past year and a half. We have just returned from an installation/event at the National Aquarium in Baltimore, MD for World Oceans Day on June 8th, 2013.

Connecticut – The Trail Angel Project

2014-05-23T00:00:00Z

WHAT: The Appalachian Trail (AT) is the country's longest marked trail, running from Georgia to Maine. Every year, hundreds of hikers attempt to thru-hike all 2,000+ miles and only about 20% are able to complete it. It often takes people 6 months to complete the entire trail. Not only is it a physically challenging adventure, it also is mentally and emotionally draining. This is where Trail Angels come into play. A Trail Angel is defined as someone who provides help, transportation, lodging, or food to a hiker. Many times these random acts of kindness are what it takes for a hiker to pull through and continue on their journey when they feel like they have reached their breaking point. WHY: In Connecticut, the Appalachian Trail runs from Bulls Bridge to Salisbury. Most AT hikers start arriving here by June at which point they are 3/4 away from completing their journey, and in many cases are mentally and physically maxed out. Last year, the town of Kent, CT made the news when the only laundromat in town banned hikers. With The Trail Angel Project, I would like to counter that inhospitable act by creating a pop up "Trail Magic" station which would provide necessities like water, food, toilet paper, and soap to hikers. WHERE: At Trailheads Between Kent and Salisbury, CT. The locations will change based on the flow of hikers and will be announced via twitter as well as White Blaze and Trail Forum which are the go to sites for AT hikers, in addition to a website that we will create for this project. We will update the website with information on our location in addition to the items we will be handing out to hikers. WHEN: Weekends, June-August 2014 WHO: Initially myself and the group of people I hiked the AT with last year. I would also like to engage the CT hiking community to volunteer to hand out supplies.

Santa Fe, NM (Inativo) – Reading is Magic

2014-05-23T00:00:00Z

A group of students and I started "Hooked on Books" three years ago. We are all volunteers and work to help get kids hooked on reading through awesome contests, free bookshelves all over town and free after school tutoring. We also have a free, two week summer reading camp, Reading is Magic. We hire 4 master teachers and 8 teens to work with at risk, low income students who are 1-2 years behind in reading. Students are given pre and post standardized assessments in order to assess reading levels and growth. During the past two summers, each camper made an average of one year’s growth in reading by the end of the two week intensive. The theme "Reading is Magic" is supported by a focus on the Middle Ages which is integrated into all camp activities. The learning centers and reading materials provide opportunities for kids to engage in a variety of learning modalities so that every child is reached. Since quite a few of our campers are English Language Learners, we also staff our camp with native Spanish speaking teens and teachers and include vocabulary building and multi-cultural pride and awareness as a vital part of the camp program. A major component of the camp is character building. The Middle Ages theme gives the students the opportunity to work towards the goal of becoming a Prince, Princess or a Knight through effort and perseverance. They work their way through the “Royal Road,” the path of becoming a Page, then a Squire and a Scribe, until finally they earn the title of Knight, Prince or Princess. The campers earn these titles by doing their work and acting with integrity, honesty, effort and grit- the character values of a knight. We focus on creating a new growth mindset for these students that helps them internalize that great effort will lead to great progress. This camp is super fun and engaging and kids not only learn how to read, but their confidence soars and they come to believe in their own potential. Awesome Foundation Santa Fe awarded the chapter's inaugural grant on May 23, 2014 to Reading is Magic to provide free, additional tutoring for those students attending camp that need more support. Tutoring will be offered during the camp session, throughout the rest of the summer, and into the fall as needed. Rayna Dineen, volunteer coordinator of Reading is Magic and the student-led Hooked on Books, said, "Our camp is so grateful to the Awesome Foundation for this wonderful grant which will allow us to offer many additional hours of one-on-one tutoring for children who struggle with reading. The grant will ensure that our most at-risk readers gain confidence and experience the magic of reading. Children who attend this camp make one year's progress in reading on average, and we deeply appreciate the support for our program."

Tampa Bay, FL (Inativo) – PONG IN THE PARK

2014-05-22T00:00:00Z

For this project we would like to put in place several public ping pong tables in downtown. They will be semi permanent and will hopefully be a catalyst for the city to provide more interactive games and art. Ping pong tables are not only fun for playing ping pong and beer pong but they are a hub for social interaction. They bring extreme amounts of activity to a space and can be used for eating on, playing board games or cards or just sitting around during lunch break at work and talking. We would like to not only provide downtown with several ping pong tables, but also host an event to launch them and get the word out. So the big question is how does one keep the paddles in balls out for people to use. Well the paddles and balls will be held in the surrounding stores where one can enter pay a deposit and get the paddle and balls and on return they get their money back. Positive for the store is they get people inside their store and it becomes easy advertisement. So not only are these tables providing a hub for activity in downtown, but also providing activity within the local stores. The location we are planning on putting the tables would be Gas light park which is right in the hub of downtown and lacks in all aspects of activity.

New York City, NY – Dog Amusement Park

2014-05-21T00:00:00Z

There are many dog owners in this specific area of NYC and they have nowhere to exercise and interact their dogs. This leads to health and behavioral issues in the pets, which is further complicated by the fact that many of these residents cannot afford pet health care. By transforming this space and truly activating it, we will contribute to the health and well-being of the animals and hopefully address these issues in a more proactive manner.

Perth (Inativo) – Textile Project

2014-05-21T00:00:00Z

I'm working on a range of sewing kits that will include 3m of an artisan printed textile, dress pattern and notions (everything you need to complete the garment) and instructions. My aim is to make it easy for a beginner sewist to take the step toward making their own clothes, to provide a better quality raw material and to offer a range of new textile designs/prints that make the finished item a one-off stand-out garment. Really, do we need more people shopping at Temt and Valley Girl? and most fabric available in Perth is low grade and pretty nasty (unless you want to pay much moola per metre for high end imported goods) - and the textile prints are pretty un-inspiring. The D-I-Y makers market is gaining momentum and there is a very poor selection of funky printed fabrics available. I am a sewist and I walk into every fabric store in perth and feel let down. On-line fabric shopping is taking off, but there is little available that can be called artisan prints. At the moment I imagine my customer will be predominantly female 15-30 yrs (or any beginner sewer) and there is also a market for this item in gift-buyers for this demographic. The textiles may be a saleable item on their own.

Seattle, WA – Chaotic Noise Marching Corps

2014-05-20T00:00:00Z

My project, the Chaotic Noise Marching Corps is an ongoing experiment in mobile performance art and also long term leaderless group sustainability. Chaotic Noise Marching Corps is easiest to describe as a renegade marching band. What differentiates us from the average stage band is our specialty in transforming any space into an over the top high energy show. Our bread and butter performance is when we go to a neighborhood and do a pub crawl with anywhere between 10 and 30 horn players and/or percussionists. We'll stand on chairs, run in circles, yell through megaphones and play a handful of songs that we spend over 5 hours a week practicing and refining as a group year round. We also do your regular club shows at venues throughout the city, but we try our best to leave an imprint on the audience that other groups are unable to match due to our sheer size and the fact that we are 100% mobile and self contained. We take pride in needing no assistance from the sound guy, lighting engineer, special effects expert or any other venue staff. We just need a space to perform and a crowd to rile up. We thrive on public revelry, so when there is a time of celebration, whether that be the seahawks superbowl victory, passing marriage equality, or marijuana being legalized, we will take to the streets to join the seattle public and provide a soundtrack for the festivities. When it's the average cloudy day in Seattle, we believe it to be our duty to take people out of their everyday routine. The world is boring without spontaneity, and CNMC is a performance group that is equivalent to an atom bomb of spontaneous celebratory energy. We believe that art, music, performance, and impulsive fun should be free to everyone. So we do our best to perform as often as we can for free in public. Unfortunately, this is an expensive hobby for the 20-30 artists involved and and we are always pinching pennies for our many assorted sub projects.

Gloucester, MA – The Phyllis A

2014-05-20T00:00:00Z

If granted this money we will use it to redo the floating docks used to assist people getting on/off the vessel. The current floats are in rough shape and as we hope to be able to allow the general public to board the vessel in the near future. We need to make sure access is an easy experience so people can board and be able to see first hand what being aboard a fishing vessel was like. We hope that this will help make people appreciate what the fishermen went through as they worked to provide for their families. One of our main goals is to share our fishing heritage with as many people as possible and new floats will go a long way to aid us.

San Antonio, TX – Travis Park Lit Up!

2014-05-19T00:00:00Z

A great public space is not only utilized during the day but is capable of reinventing itself in the night time to create a magical experience. The idea would be a plan to transform Travis Park to a wonder of light for a few days that will be the impetus for other downtown parks and ultimately Hemisfair Park. Although the lights will make the park a wonder of lights and amazement. The ultimately goal is to welcome a new but exciting life time environment. This would include Pop-UP Happy Hours, traveling art exhibits and performances. The lights would all be driven by a combination of Solar Power and other renewable technologies-detailing the importance and reliability of renewables in the park. The main installation would include several Solar Light Trees that will not only serve as art/light source but include planters to enhance the park during the day. These Solar Light Trees will be portable making it easily transported to other areas of the park. The installation can be a two day event- one emphasizing adult participation the second can be geared towards family participation.

San Antonio, TX – A dance party at Travis Park (working title)

2014-05-19T00:00:00Z

This project is inspired by many things: -The park renovations. -The brand equity built from San Antonio Parks Foundation and the City's Jazz'SAlive. -The new professionals working and living in downtown - young and older. ---Events such as the Pop-Up shops along Houston St., Puro Pinche Pop-Up concerts and sessions happening at Alamo Music -The love KRTU 91.7 - Jazz San Antonio has shown towards the new efforts happening at Travis. The project is simple, a "Super Soul Shakedown" dance party at Travis Park. Attendees are not just viewing dancers, but experiencing the park and the surrounding environment in a truly authentic, Awesome SA way. Super Soul Shakedown event series has deep roots in San Antonio, Soul Music for that matter has deep roots that go all the way back to Sunny and the Sunliners. However, a Super Soul Shakedown has not happened in over a year after Steve Balser, one of the creators of SSS took a job with Red Bull as their Multi Cultural Marketing Director - yep for Red Bull. Two radio programs that gave life to the event series still exist on KRTU. In short, this is a free event. 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. The links below will paint the best picture of this vision and give provide more background on the Shakedown. http://www.dallasnews.com/entertainment/nightlife/photos/20130701-party-pics-decks-in-the-park-brings-music-fun-and-neon-lights-to-klyde-warren-park.ece http://www.mysanantonio.com/entertainment/music/article/DJs-keep-mix-of-old-new-funk-alive-788043.php

Boulder, CO (Inativo) – Food for Thought, Inc.

2014-05-19T00:00:00Z

Food for Thought, Inc. provides 360⁰ support for institutional educators to integrate hands-on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) tools and curricula into the classroom setting. Our 360⁰ support program includes: initial consultation, learning tools & curricula integration, teacher workshops & support, funding support, and maintenance & servicing. These tools are build around aquaponics as a learning system. Aquaponics is the combination of aquaculture (fish farming) and hydroponics (growing plants without soil) in which through a closed-loop water system, the fish feed the plants and the plants clean the water for the fish. We were founded this past January and for the 2014-2015 school year we have 3 K-12 schools signed up for beta-testing, one of which is Summit Charter Middle School here in Boulder.

Ottawa – Set the Stage

2014-05-19T00:00:00Z

May’s Awesome Ottawa award goes to Sarah Gelbard and Kent Aitken to create a pop-up outdoor venue for “reverse busking.” Reverse busking was the idea behind last year’s Musical Underground Ottawa, a project Kent put on with support from Awesome Ottawa. It involved asking passers-by to play a song in exchange for a chance to win the guitar on which they were performing. “This year,” says Sarah, “in addition to offering a chance to win the guitar at the end of the season, we're offering a public stage! In keeping with the tradition of busking, part of the spectacle is the disruption of everyday space. But this project,” she continues, “is as much about setting a stage for our passer-by musicians as creating a public livingroom for the passer-by audience to share the experience. It's like a house show for the city!” Sarah's urban art practice appropriates and celebrates public space through architectural installations and writing. She is a founding partner of Impromptu Playground, co-director of yowLAB, and writer for Centretown Buzz. Kent explores the design and dynamics in how and why people participate in anything, from street music to politics. He launched Musical Underground in 2013, curates the Acoustic Guitar Project for Ottawa, and works on public participation professionally.

Perth (Inativo) – Keep Fit Stay Sane

2014-05-18T00:00:00Z

Keep Fit Stay Sane is based on my experiences with depression. It is about preventing depression by encouraging people to take 'emotional exercise'. The theory, supported by professional counsellors and psychiatrists that I have spoken to about the project, is that our emotional health is similar to our physical health; it requires exercise to stay healthy. I am therefore creating an online emotional gym that contains a number of 'emotional exercises'to improve 'emotional fitness', such as meditation, mindfulness, values finding, identification of self-talk, acceptance, story-telling and development of resilience. It will also tie in with physical fitness monitoring apps (of which there are plenty) as physical exercise is a major influence on emotional health. The concepts of physical fitness and emotional fitness are very much tied together. I am working in conjunction with qualified, experienced counsellors and mental health workers, including people manning the suicide help lines, to find ways of adapting what works in practice to an online application that can be used as preventative exercise. However, this project is not about 'mental health' as that term has been co-opted by a whole different industry, and has significant stigma. The hope is that 'emotional fitness' will have less stigma and people will therefore be prepared to engage in activities that improve it without the usual 'I don't need that; I haven't got a mental health problem' rejection. This is very much an experiment, and will need to adapt to the customer's usage and develop as it goes.

Oahu, HI – Planned Parenthood Young Leaders

2014-05-16T00:00:00Z

PPYL seeks to enhance PPHI’s Community Outreach Program through a unique, technology-based condom access campaign called “Where Did You Wear It?” This campaign seeks to normalize and celebrate safe sex while promoting PPHI’s low and no-cost healthcare services to young people on Oahu. This project will have an impact on a population that is critically in need of better reproductive health and education. According to a 2007 study, only 54% of high school students in Hawaii report using condoms during their last intercourse–the lowest percentage of any state. This attitude has consequences; for example, Hawaii has the 10th highest teen (15-19) pregnancy rate and the 6th worst chlamydia rate in the U.S. Our proposed project centers on a website, which has already been created by Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest, where people can check-in when they use special “Where Did You Wear It?” condoms that have a sticker with the web address. On the website, people can enter where they used the condom as well as some information about themselves, their partner, and their use of contraceptives. Privacy is protected by not disclosing the exact location of the check-in. Since its launch, the site has seen 235,000 visitors worldwide. Condom distribution will occur during events popular with young adults, such as First Friday, as well as during health fairs and community events. At the community events, volunteers will provide both the “Wear Did You Wear It?” condoms and PPHI information packets, which include a coupon for 10 free condoms at a PPHI clinic. Anticipated results of this program include an increase in the number of Hawaii check-ins on the website as well as an increase in the number of young adults visiting PPHI health centers. PPHI will track visits to their health centers by those using the condom coupons and the Hawaii check-ins on the website. With your assistance, PPYL believes it can positively impact the sexual health and behavior of Oahu’s youth.

Chicago, IL – Community Portraits: North & South Lawndale

2014-05-16T00:00:00Z

I would like to set up a make shift photo studio in an open space on the south side of Ogden and Springfield in the boundary of South and North Lawndale. Free mobile service companies and street vendors already use this site as a hub for community services and it is sometimes used as a community parking lot. The make shift studio would function as a free “Family” Photography Studio that would allow anyone living within the two communities to participate in taking “Family” Portraits (In this context I would define family as anyone who is close to the participants). This project would allow for 6 things to happen 1. It would provide families that wouldn’t necessarily have access to family portraits an opportunity to have a 13 in x 19 high quality family portraits for free. 2. Allow for community members, if they choose to, to share how they came to live in the North Lawndale or South Lawndale community in order to document the personal stories that make up the communities. 3. Provide an opportunity for me as a community member, teacher, and artist to talk to community members about their stories and the importance of documenting personal histories/herstories within our neighborhoods. 4. Produce archival quality photographs and possibly record stories that will allow for the creation of an online community archive for the various community stakeholders to access community stories that represent the South and North Lawndale Community. 5. An exhibition would be organized during early October for the Little Village Art Festival where community members from both communities would be invited and given an opportunity to see the compilation of all the family portraits gathered during the summer studio workshop. 6. Community members visiting the exhibition would be given an opportunity to add to the exhibition through an onsite family portrait and story-gathering workshop.

Newmarket – Acoustic Connections Youth Open Mic

2014-05-15T00:00:00Z

Kingston – Help the Odessa Pony Club Fix Up the Fairgrounds

2014-05-15T00:00:00Z

The Odessa Horse and Pony Club is devoted to promoting safe and affordable showing for all ages of equestrians. We aspire to inspire local equestrians in achieving personal goals and embracing lifelong participation in equestrian activities. Our Club runs 4 shows per season and classes range in variety from Western and Gaming to English Performance and Hunter/Jumper. Participants in Odessa shows come from all over our community including Kingston, Napanee, and Belleville. The Odessa Horse and Pony Club would like to ensure the safety of all participating horses and riders at their events. To do so, improvements must be made to the footing and fencing at the Odessa Agricultural Fairgrounds. The Club's Executive Team is willing to put in the work to upgrade the facilities but needs funding to purchase the supplies to get the fairgrounds to where they need for the 2014 season.

Vancouver, BC (Inativo) – The Grandmother Project

2014-05-14T00:00:00Z

We envision a project tentatively dubbed The Grandmother Project (TGP). Our idea is to create a digitally mapped, searchable collection of grandmother’s stories – as recorded by their grandchildren. It’s about connecting generations and communities through Canadian stories, and preserving women’s voices in high quality audio. We envision a website full of stories that might otherwise never be told, let alone heard.Stories would be searchable online by region, topic, and storyteller. Imagine hunting for stories from Saskatoon on first love, Vancouver on immigration, Iqaluit on winter, or Thunder Bay on failure. Storytellers would use their preferred language and stories would be made accessible through English and French translations and transcripts (when necessary). In this way, TGP aims not only to preserve, but also to revitalize Canada’s less widely spoken languages. Designated grandmothers are also welcomed. Users will determine the website’s content, from story contributors to listeners: well ‘liked’ stories will get the most prominence on the site. Particularly compelling stories will be selected for animation, creating possibilities for community screening events. Following the implementation of a pilot project within the Surrey School District (currently being negotiated), TGP will push nationwide. We’ll collaborate with community organizations to host a series of free workshops across Canada, whereby producers will teach basic recording and interviewing skills. These training sessions will help lend the project publicity, promote access, and ensure quality audio and editorial consistency. We’ll collect stories as we go, and establish a network of local TGP facilitators who can help people record stories later via permanent story booths. Ultimately, we envision The Grandmother Project as an inquiry-based learning tool for innovative educators, a model for inclusive media, and a vibrant historical archive for story-lovers.

Awesome Without Borders (Inativo) – Skies Painted with Unnumbered Sparks

2014-05-14T00:00:00Z

Studio Echelman installed its largest, most interactive sculpture installation to date at the TED Conference’s 30th anniversary, March 2014. The monumental aerial sculpture spanned 745 feet between the 24-story Fairmont Waterfront and the Vancouver Convention Center, challenging the artist to work on her most ambitious scale yet – over twice the size of her largest previous sculpture. The sculpture was presented with an interactive work created in collaboration with artist Aaron Koblin, Creative Director of the Data Arts Team in Google’s Creative Lab. At night the sculpture came to life as visitors were able to choreograph the lighting in real time using physical gestures on their mobile devices. Vivid beams of light were projected across a massive scale as the result of small movements on spectators’ phones. In the daytime, the sculpture’s delicate yet monumental form is subtle, blending in with clouds and sky. A complex matrix of 860,000 hand and machine-made knots and 145 miles of braided fiber weighing nearly 3,500 pounds span 745 feet make up Skies Painted with Unnumbered Sparks. In order to achieve such scale and complexity, Echelman turned to Autodesk, a leader in 3D design software that seeks out interesting design problems. Autodesk collaborated with Studio Echelman to create custom 3D software to model the sculpture and test its feasibility. “The software has allowed me to explore density, shape, and scale in much greater detail,” says Echelman. “We can manipulate our designs and see the results immediately. We’re able to push the boundaries of our designs further.” Made entirely of soft fibers, the sculpture can attach directly into existing city architecture. To support the artwork across such a large span, Echelman utilized Honeywell Spectra fiber, a lightweight, durable material 15 times stronger than steel by weight. It is designed to travel to cities around the globe after the 2014 TED Conference exhibition as an “idea worth spreading.”

Awesome Without Borders (Inativo) – Lots of Love Detroit – A mobile tool lending libra

2014-05-14T00:00:00Z

With more than 100,000 vacant lots and equally as many abandoned homes, Detroit claims unparalleled amounts of underutilized land. As such, many neighbors and community groups have rallied together to build tree nurseries, community gardens, hubs for public art and more. Yet, many others are left behind without access to the tools or transportation needed to transform these eyesores into vibrant community spaces. All too often, volunteer groups from area universities and local businesses turn out in force to help with community projects, only to find there aren’t enough tools to go around. That’s why we created Lots of Love—a free tool library on wheels. Residents, block clubs and other community organizations can borrow all the tools they need to complete their community improvement projects, for free! We’ll even deliver them to the project sites (in our awesome tool truck), ensuring no need for residents to personally transport large equipment (like lawn mowers). Lots of Love breaks down barriers and builds capacity for Detroiters across the city by offering residents with the tools needed to define and design their own neighborhoods. We’ve always known there’s “lots of love” in Detroit; now it’s time to show just how much we really “love our lots.”

Awesome Without Borders (Inativo) – Paper Doll Parties in the Park

2014-05-14T00:00:00Z

I'd love to load up my car with a friend or two in tow, and host four paper doll parties at northern California public parks this summer. Pre-assembled packets, with an 1880s paper doll pattern (and clothes) to cut out and color, along with a printed card about the history of paper dolls and a blank sheet to write on, would be distributed to attendees -- basically, anyone who cares to join in the fun. Children and adults would be encouraged to create paper dolls in their own likenesses and to write a personal narrative about who they are or who they'd like to become. It's a wonderful hands-on bonding activity. This is the same workshop I conducted at the museum, except we'd be outdoors, sitting on the grass or seated at picnic tables. I'd promote the parties on my website, through local paper doll clubs and distribute flyers at each event so people could check the website for the next date and location.

Tel Aviv - קרן בקטנה (Inativo) – עמותת "באשר תלכי"

2014-05-13T00:00:00Z

Awesome Without Borders (Inativo) – Critter Bitters

2014-05-12T00:00:00Z

Critter Bitters are handcrafted cocktail bitters made with toasted crickets. There are four flavors in the product line: vanilla cricket, cacao cricket, toasted almond cricket, and -- for the most adventurous -- pure cricket. Each flavor yields a unique, multifaceted taste profile and can be readily mixed into cocktails or consumed with soda water. The corresponding coasters serve to elevate bitters from a hidden cocktail ingredient to the piece de resistance. The UN FAO 2013 Report titled, “Edible Insects: Future Prospects for Food and Feed Security,” inspired Lucy Knops and me to find a way to introduce insects to American culture. The report cited a need to overcome “the disgust factor” in order for western society to willingly consume insects. With the insight that distillation, fermentation, and mixology are among the most creative industries and people are naturally more open-minded and experimental when they are drinking, it seemed most natural to normalize entomophagy through alcohol. From scorpion vodka to cochineal made from beetles to mezcal with a worm, there is a precedent for insects in alcohol. Critter Bitters is a nod to an age-old tradition and a leap into the future. In addition to food design and product design, Critter Bitters is also experience design. Guests at the unveiling of Critter Bitters enjoyed cocktails crafted by a professional bartender. While they may have thought they were uncomfortable consuming insects, the guests loved the drinks. Through a design process of distillation, we were able to remove the ick factor. Critter Bitters have been featured on Food & Wine and Epicurious.

Tel Aviv - קרן בקטנה (Inativo) – Gila's project for Trans* empowermrnt

2014-05-12T00:00:00Z

Project Gila is the movement for transgender empowerment in Israel. It began in 2011 from within the transgender community and for its benefit. Gila is a group of activists working to better the living conditions of the non-gender-conforming community. Gila emphasizes self-empowerment, the exercise of legal rights, and access to resources and opportunities. The project currently includes several areas: housing, legal aid and Social welfare. all the activists in Gila's project volunteer.

Liverpool – Urban Wildlife Haven.

2014-05-07T00:00:00Z

In order to attract more wildlife and people to use this green space we have several projects we would like to implement. Firstly we are aiming to sow a large bed of poppy seeds in the circular planting bed (see photos) to commemorate the centenary of the start of WW1. We intend to involve the local school children/cubs & brownies in the sowing & growing of this commemorative display. Around the surrounding wooded areas we intend to plant 1000-2000 Bluebell bulbs to create a mini Bluebell wood. Bluebells are consistently voted the nations favourite flower and this will hopefully encourage people into the green to see their own mini Bluebell Wood, whilst also attracting bees & butterflies. In the same area Buddleia unfortunately had to be cut back as its spread was causing damage to the surrounding roofs & chimney stacks. We have decided to replace the Buddleia with Lilacs as they will also attract the vast array of butterflies that appeared last year. Dotted in between the Bluebells and Lilacs will be Snowdrops thereby ensuring that from February to September there will be blooms for many years to come! Several other surrounding areas of the green had been left to grow semi wild in order to encourage insects, bees & butterflies. This worked so well that we intend to attract even more by scattering wild flower seeds into these areas. Hedgehog compounds have already been constructed in these areas (see photo) so the wild flowers should attract even more insects into these compounds. The green attracts a wide range of birds from three resident crows to gold finches, blue/grey tits, robins, sparrows, wood pidgeons, magpies, blackbirds, starlings & wagtails. In order to encourage them further we would like to put several nesting boxes in place as there will be an abundance of insects for them to eat in the spring/summer months. All the projects mentioned, once implemented, will be self sustaining thereby ensuring an abundance of wildlife for years to come.

Atlanta, GA – Buford Hwy Area Little Free Library Project

2014-05-07T00:00:00Z

For the past two years, I've dreamed of applying the proven "Little Free Library" concept (see littlefreelibrary.org) to target early readers in our English as a Second Language populations of Cross Keys. The idea is to deploy Little Free Library units around playgrounds, schools, and apartment complexes where our low income children congregate already. The libraries would be supported by volunteers who maintain the libraries with a regular supply of age-appropriate reading materials. This would provide the kids with unlimited reading opportunities even when school is out of session. Our team has jump-started this program with three sites so far with the support of the Atlanta Braves Foundation. We have a donated storage unit from Brookhaven Storage for warehousing books, we have lead volunteers for book drives, a home builder committed to installing all units, site stewardship volunteers, and the program is attracting a lot of attention from the community and the media for simply being effective. We've distributed over 400 books directly to children in our first month of operation. See: http://bravesgive.mlblogs.com/2014/02/06/the-braves-foundation-celebrates-the-unveiling-of-the-briarwood-park-little-free-library/

Yerevan – ticcson bikes

2014-05-07T00:00:00Z

The traffic is over loaded in Yerevan. This fact has become the motivation of my project. The idea is to construct a kind of bicycle and contribute the development of that culture of changing cars into bicycles. My greatest dream is the realization of this project and making “Ticcson” one of the advanced brands in this field. “Ticcson” bicycles have several advantages which will turn cycling into a pleasure. It will be made of mainly wood (fanera) and will provide the designers with plenty of opportunities to find different creative solutions. The company will accept individual orders as a result of the designers and costumers cooperative discussions. It will be possible to change the wooden construction and redesign it according to costumer’s wish. Երևանում երթևեկությունը գերծանրաբեռնված է: Հենց դա է իմ մտահաղացման մոտիվացիան՝ ստեղծել նման հեծանիվ ու նպաստել հեծանվով երթևեկելու մշակույթի զարգացմանը: Մեծագույն երազանք ունեմ, որ մտահղացումս հաջողությամբ իրագործվի, և «ticcson»-ը թույն բրենդ դառնա հեծանիվների ոլորտում: «ticcson» հեծանիվները ունեն յուրահատկություններ, որոնց շնորհիվ մարդկանց մեջ ցանկություն կառաջանա երթևեկել հեծանվով. այն պատրաստված է լինելու հիմնականում փայտանյութից (ֆաներա), ունենալու է դիզայներական անսահմանափակ լուծումների հնարավորություն, իրականացվելու են անհատական պատվերներ՝ պատվիրատուի և դիզայների համատեղ քննարկման արդյունքում, հնարավոր է լինելու հեշտությամբ փոխել դիզայնի փայտե կառուցվածքն՝ ըստ տրամադրության:

San Francisco, CA – Musical Peddles

2014-05-06T00:00:00Z

Shape Up, The Radicand Lab & Avio Collective are working together to design, build & install a human-powered musical kinetic sculpture at UN Plaza. The concept includes twelve freestanding "saddles" with bicycle-style peddles in the shape of musical notes. The peddles on each saddle power an enclosed fan blowing air through an organ pipe, which produces a unique tone. Each musical saddle can produce three tones & are controlled by LED integrated buttons on the seat. This installation will require participants to collaborate & work together in order to play a coherent piece of music. These saddles communicate to each other using simple Arduino computers with sensors to figure out how many peddles are being used & pick out a suitable piece of music. The more people powering the saddles, the richer & more complex the harmonies of the song. A unique feature of our installation is that it does not require an external source of power. All the energy needed to create the tones & power the internal electronics are created by participants. A fraction of the energy produced in each saddle will be used to power a visual LED display, battery pack, microcomputer, & interactive button panel. The enclosed microcomputers can use this power to automatically play a coordinated song, submitted by local composers & musicians, as part of a daily performance piece. Our piece is ultimately a musical instrument that requires twelve musicians to come together, work together, & play music. We will also launch a website in conjunction with the installation that will allow local musicians & composers to submit MIDI files that will be uploaded to the musical saddles for performance. Participants are encouraged to collaborate to play pieces together in an unscripted context. Groups are also welcome to use the piece for planned musical performances. The interactive illuminating buttons on each seat will help to guide participants through a song together. This large scale public instrument where people to work together and play music will promote social change, a slow process. Our project invites strangers from all walks of life who happens to cross paths at one particular moment in time and allow them to bond and make music. Neither age, sex, race, class, culture nor language is relevant. There are pedals; you know what to do. There are buttons that light up; you push them. You feel vibrating pipes attached to your saddle and hear a sound. But wait, listen closer. You hear your neighbor making sounds too! It's at this moment that you realize that your sound together with your neighbor's sound strikes a harmonious chord and plays a piece of music. You look at your neighbor and you smile. They smile back. Six saddles = six smiles and smiles are contagious. Little ripples makes big waves. A small smile might just bring us all together.

Melbourne (Inativo) – Electrical Wiring Pilot Program for Women in Nepal

2014-05-05T00:00:00Z

As part our ongoing work with one of our international partners, the Women’s Foundation of Nepal (WFN), GWP is currently in the first phase of a pilot program designed to provide Nepalese women with the necessary skills to carry out basic electrical wiring in local homes and businesses. The practical 6-week course, developed by leading industry specialists in partnership with GWP and WFN, teaches participants basic electrical wiring skills as well as addresses safety issues, basic first aid, quoting, book keeping and customer service. Our research has shown us that electrical wiring is currently of a poor standard in Nepal, with much of the labour for this industry being sourced from outside Nepal. This means that in addition to providing the participants with new vocational skills, the program is also addressing a major skills gap in the local economy. But perhaps the most exciting part is that it challenges gender boundaries by giving women skills and access to a market that is traditionally the domain of men. We have just completed the 6-week technical course component of the program. Reports from the women clearly demonstrate an increase in self-confidence, skills and excitement at the possibilities. Initial discussions also indicate that the community is receptive to and supportive of women undertaking these roles. The challenges we currently face relate to the number of barriers to women finding ongoing work (e.g. reputation and experience, availability, transport, communication). This is where we really need to invest our time and funding now.

Awesome Without Borders (Inativo) – Hot Bread Kitchen

2014-05-05T00:00:00Z

Hot Bread Kitchen was founded in 2008 by former United Nations policy analyst and trained bread baker, Jessamyn Rodriguez. Our flagship program, Project Launch, is an on-the-job baking training program designed to capitalize on immigrant women’s baking skills and meet customers’ demand for authentic ethnic breads. Women enrolled in Project Launch receive paid training in commercial baking, classes in English as a second language, and professional skills to help them overcome barriers to fair wage employment. After a year in the program, women are placed in management track positions in the food manufacturing industry or can apply to the HBK Incubates program and launch their own business. To date, Project Launch has supported the professional development of 50 women from 17 different countries and now produces a line of over 40 breads representing 12 different cultures that are distributed throughout the country. HBK Incubates, Hot Bread Kitchen’s second program started in 2011, is a newer initiative poised to have an even larger economic impact on the local economy and food-scape. While we make it a priority to recruit females, minorities, and immigrants, HBK Incubates welcomes members of all backgrounds who have a promising food business. The program provides comprehensive business support to entrepreneurs who are at the early stage of business growth. In the other half of our commercial bakery, we offer affordable licensed kitchen rental at subsidized rates with flexible scheduling, as well as hands-on culinary support, financial advising, and workshops tailored to the specific needs of food businesses. Like Project Launch, HBK Incubates has its own revenue-generating component; incubator members’ payments for kitchen rental time help to cover overall operating costs of the space and the program offerings. Since its launch in 2011, HBK Incubates has supported the growth of 63 businesses and graduated 5 businesses.

Sarnia (Inativo) – Cinderella Story of Sarnia Lambton

2014-05-02T00:00:00Z

In 2009, I started the Cinderella Story. It came from a friend needing a prom dress for their daughter. I made a few phone calls and voila, she attended her prom and looked like a princess. I believe every young lady has the right to experience this regardless of income or social status. We collect donations of prom dress all year long and once a year, for 2 days, we hold a Prom Dress Boutique. A shopping spree for free! Girls register and are assigned a volunteer personal shopper. Together they find a beautiful dress, they can get a mini makeover, have their photos done by a professional photographer and attend their year-end celebrations as an equal among their peers. There are a few ladies from 2010 and 2011 who still email me and keep me updated on their lives reminding me of what a difference we made to them. I remind them, what an impact they have had on our lives as well. They don't see it, but all our volunteers do.

Oahu, HI – A Visit With Man Ray: Memoir and Photo Book

2014-05-01T00:00:00Z

After people see the photograph of me and Man Ray together, they always ask, “How did you meet Man Ray?” I’ve told the story many times. Now I would like to use Awesome Project funds to produce a small, elegant book about this special meeting so that it can be enjoyed by many others. The book will include 18 black and white photographs and a short memoir that I wrote about “MY DAY WITH RAY”. Back in 1972 I was on Christmas break from Tyler School of Art in Rome. One my of my dreams was to meet an artist I admired greatly, and I was lucky enough to be invited to visit renowned artist/photographer Man Ray at his studio in Paris. I had my trusty Pentax around my neck, and Man Ray suggested I take some photographs. So with a young man’s enthusiasm and innocence, I got off 18 shots, including a portrait of the two of us with a self timer. When I came back to the United States, I wrote up my memories of that magical day and put together a homemade book which I sent to Man Ray. Months later he sent me a thank you note on a postcard. I’ve shared the little homemade book with friends throughout the years, and they’ve always encouraged me to publish it. More than 40 years later, I am ready to do it. I have everything in place to start the project except for funding. I have partnered with an Oahu-based project manager and chosen a local printer capable of turning out a museum-quality edition. The book will be around 32 pages and priced affordably at around $15.00. It will include correspondence I had with Man Ray’s wife Juliette Man Ray after Man Ray’s death, and a forward by prominent Man Ray scholar Francis Naumann. Last summer in NYC, I showed my memoir and photographs to book buyers at the Museum of Modern Art and the International Photography Center. Both felt that, if made into a book, it would be a good seller in their stores. Man Ray is one of the most important artists of the 20th century and interest in him continues to grow.