Awesome Foundation - Projects

Ottawa – Great Mo-Ments in Bytown

2013-06-13T00:00:00Z

The first of June's two Awesome Ottawa awards goes to Grant Vogl, to support a Movember exhibit at the Bytown Museum celebrating amazing "Mo's" from throughout Ottawa's history. "From mayors and aldermen to merchants and curling clubs, Bytown has played host to some fantastic facial hair," says Grant, who illustrated this point with slides displayed as he pitched the idea at Awesome Ottawa's 3rd birthday party. The exhibit will feature large-format photographs, sign vinyl graphics, social media links and contests, children’s activities, and an interactive "self-portrait" display where visitors can give themselves a "Mo makeover." "This project is a personal one for me," says Grant, "my father having beaten prostate cancer. However, it is also an opportunity for the Museum to engage new visitors, raise awareness, raise money for a good cause, and show off some of our very eccentric artefact and photographic collection." Grant is Collections and Exhibitions Manager at the Bytown Museum.

Tampa Bay, FL (Inactive) – The Birdhouse Buying Club

2013-06-13T00:00:00Z

The Birdhouse Buying Club is a project designed to make it easier for residents in the low-income neighborhood of Sulpher Springs to get fresh, affordable, locally grown produce. This grant would go toward buying a food cooler at a liquidation auction. Any leftover money would be used to help set up a wireless card system for electronically transferring funds.

Tampa Bay, FL (Inactive) – A Reflection to Peace of Mind

2013-06-13T00:00:00Z

A Reflection to Peace of Mind is a project of Sylvia Albritton, a former teacher who came out of retirement to work with incarcerated youth. She uses creative writing and poetry as a way towards reconciliation and rehabilitation. Albritton teaches youth ages 14 to 18 at the Falkenburg Jail in Hillsborough County. Her students are facing adjudication as adults for crimes Albritton considers acts committed without thought for repercussions. Her writing program gives them an outlet for exploring their feelings about their lives and their actions.She got $1,000 to publish a bound anthology of student work for use as a teaching tool.

Tampa Bay, FL (Inactive) – Bomb the Medians

2013-06-13T00:00:00Z

Bomb the Medians is a project of Ken Cowart. That is, use flower seed bombs to plant flowers along Tampa’s major corridors and primarily at those long red-lights; giving the citizens of Tampa an opportunity to stop and smell the flowers.

Tampa Bay, FL (Inactive) – Ablenook

2013-06-13T00:00:00Z

Researchers Sean Verdecia and Jason Ross at the University of South Florida have developed a technology that relates to a prefabricated living module that snaps together and is easily assembled and transported. In disaster areas or in situations where more space is needed, shelters, such as trailers, are often expensive, deployed slowly, and require technical knowledge in order to be assembled. Furthermore, they often need large clearings with flat terrain and come in “one size fits all” packages. What is needed is a prefabricated living module that snaps together and is easily assembled, transported, and adaptable to diverse terrain. Our researchers have invented a rapidly deployable portable structure, comprised of interlocking components which can be assembled by unskilled laborers in a short period of time. These components are shipped flat-packed in order to maximize the number of families which are helped, while reducing transportation costs. The main structural members of the module are “universal.” This means that the floor joists are the same as the wall columns. The structural members can be made from extruded aluminum parts, with electrical bus duct conduits in each one, so that the wiring is simply connected as you clip together the parts, providing outlets wherever needed inside. Weather seals are included between the structural members.

Tampa Bay, FL (Inactive) – Art Vending Machine

2013-06-13T00:00:00Z

Daniel Markovich is bringing art to the public with his art vending machines. He makes use of old sticker vending machines and instead include prints, sticker art and photography from local artists.The inspiration for the project came from Markovich's own experiences at art shows, where he always wanted to take something home with him but found the price tags on most pieces to be out of his range. The vending machines will provide a way for those on a limited budget to access local artwork.

Tampa Bay, FL (Inactive) – Gasparilla Music Festival

2013-06-13T00:00:00Z

The Gasparilla Music Festival is a Florida non-profit corporation 501c-3 (pending) that organizes an annual music festival in downtown Tampa the second weekend of March. The 2013 festival will take place in Curtis Hixon Riverfront Park and Kiley Gardens Park on March 9th and will feature musical acts from a wide variety of genres on several stages and cuisine from the region's top restaurants. As part of its mission to support and promote music and education, the organization is involved throughout the year in several initiatives including providing scholarships to music students. The Gasparilla Music Festival received the first Awesome Tampa Bay microgrant for 2013. Awesome Tampa Bay sponsored a stage for bands at Tibbetts’ Corner during the festival.

Connecticut (Inactive) – "Help Us Grow"

2013-06-12T00:00:00Z

Help us Grow. The Cornerstone Home and Gardens is a fledgling 501(c)(3) established to provide, jobs, productive day programs and one day a small, but safe residential community for adults on the Autism Spectrum. The keystone of the unique program will be a public garden in the Ridgefield, Connecticut area that will allow visitors from the community to explore, enjoy and learn about their environment, it’s sustainability, and beauty through horticulture. At the same time, the gardens will provide jobs and day programs for those with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Professionals, as well as employees with special needs, will work together at the gardens. The statistics are staggering. In the United States, one in 110 children will be diagnosed with ASD, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. ASD knows no boundaries and can occur in all racial, ethnic and socioeconomic groups. About 13 percent of children in the U.S. have a developmental disability. They can range from mild such as speech and language impairment, to serious disabilities such as intellectual, physical, and autism. A recent study in the Journal Pediatric found that two years after leaving high school more than 50 percent of those with autism had no job experience and, when compared to people with other disabilities, have a harder time getting a job. We want to change that. The gardens will provide a place where young adults with varying abilities are encouraged to develop their potential. There will be on-site job opportunities and training. This will also be a place for the community in general. Once established, we plan to offer a variety of programs for everyone, regardless of age or ability. Many of the activities will be open-ended and enjoyed on a walk-in basis. We plan to have several permanent exhibits including a Children’s Garden, vegetable and cut flower gardens that will offer educational advice for the home gardener.

Cincinnati, OH (Inactive) – R.A.D.: Random Acts of Deliciousness

2013-06-11T00:00:00Z

The act of gift giving, especially when it involves sharing food, is symbolic and powerful. The heartwarming effect of receiving a gift from a strange coupled with the timeless act of sharing sustenance transcends boundaries, cultures, social class and personal boundaries. In fact, food is a popular window to other cultures and to popular figures in media in shows like No Reservations, The Splendid Table and through numerous blogs and web sites. Because I love sharing my joy for baking and surprising others, I often bring baked goods to events I attend, like local concerts, and any time I add a new friend I learn their allergies, their dietary preferences and their favorite sweets. I started dubbing my baked good giveaways R.A.D. (Random Acts of Deliciousness – like R.A.K., Random Acts of Kindness). I would like to really take R.A.D. to the streets and inspire others to bring spontaneous gifts of sweetness to others. Starting this summer, I will scout out at least different spots in the Queen City, and on an ordinary afternoon and deliver 3 – 4 dozen single cupcakes to anyone I meet (of course disclosing any possible allergens). In the cupcakes, I will have little flags that say, “Random Acts of Delicousness: Be R.A.D. for a stranger today!” I want to do this 3 times before September. The other side of the flag will have the url for my blog. On my blog, I would like to document these outings and the reactions. For each post like this, I will share the recipe used. I would also like to share other recipes (with photos) and I would like to include some videos demonstrating the recipes. The recipes shared will be geared toward baking for someone you know with special dietary needs or preferences (such as gluten allergies, nut/soy/dairy allergies, baking vegan, etc.) in exquisite but very accomplish-able ways. I think small joys and gifts are the one way to reveal bigger connections and foster community.

Awesome Without Borders (Inactive) – Fly With the Owlets

2013-06-10T00:00:00Z

As a human imprint, Alice the Great Horned Owl thinks I'm her mate. She directs many of her vocalizations toward me and expects me to respond appropriately. Since no one has written a book titled "How to Be a Male Great Horned Owl," nor has ever studied their vocalizations, I took on the task. I record both Alice and wild owls, but realized I needed a captive breeding pair to record all of the vocalizations and vocal development starting while they are still in the egg. I received permits from the state and federal government to breed a pair of Great Horned Owls who are blind in their right eyes, Rusty and Iris. They live in a 1000+ square foot breeding and release training complex outfitted with six security cameras and microphones so they can be observed without knowing it. Although the audio and video from all the cameras is archived for 4 days, it is impossible for me to review it all. To solve this problem I broadcast live video feeds of two of the cameras to our website and ask viewers to help with observations by filling out online observation forms when certain vocalizations and behaviors are seen. I have gotten FANTASTIC observations that I could never have made by myself. This Citizen Science project is excellent for the viewers too. People from around the world watch at all times of day. Many of these people do not have many friends, are ill, or otherwise don't have much of a social life. Our online chat room provides a place for them to make friends (and many of them have now come to our International Festival of Owls and have met in person.) But it also gives them a sense of importance because they are not merely watching cute little owls, they are actually making meaningful contributions to research. It has been great to see how the people in chat have responded to my questions, and to see their own scientific curiosity sparked. They want to learn more! I also use the opportunity to teach them how to live in more owl-friendly ways.

New Orleans, LA (Inactive) – Conexiones

2013-06-07T00:00:00Z

Conexiones is a bilingual television magazine program and social initiative that showcases the positive impact individuals and organizations from the Latino community make in the New Orleans Area. Conexiones focuses on empowering Latino individuals through telling the success stories of people that work hard and that are passionate about what they do. Conexiones wants to portray the Latino culture away from the cliché stereotypes presented by the mainstream media. Conexiones also serves as a communication the link between the Latino community and the community at large. Our main mission is to inspire our Latino residents through highlighting the contributions of Latino individuals in arts, music, sports, technology and anything else that creates a positive impact in our society, and to create awareness of those contributions among the native Louisianans. Conexiones airs every Thursday at 9:30pm on WLAE-TV and segments are also featured through social media and YouTube. Usernames: ConexionesUsa http//:facebook.com/conexionesusa

New York City, NY – Moore Street Aquaponics Education Farm

2013-06-06T00:00:00Z

My current project is the conversion of a 2,500 square feet vacant lot - located next to a fried chicken spot and a liquor store - in Buschwick, Brooklyn into a farm. This farm will produce fresh water fish along with a variety of fresh vegetables, herbs and fruits utilizing a farming technique called Aquaponics. This farming method mimics nature by creating a closed loop system which combines aquaculture with hydroponics (soil-less growing). In this method, waste from the fish provide nutrients that support plant growth, while the plants remove toxins that are harmful to the fish. The Moore Street Farm will serve as the only green space in the community, provide fresh food to community members, serve as an outdoor classroom for the 8 elementary schools in the community, and provide a model for sustainable fish production in urban areas. The production space will contain fish tanks connected to hydroponic grow beds used for growing fruits and vegetables. In addition, a percentage of the farm will be used for traditional soil gardening in raised beds. This allows us to use an integrated farming method whereby solid fish waste (rich in plant nutrients) removed from the aquaponics system is used as an organic fertilizer in soil based cultivation. The space will also include a composting worm bin, and chickens. We began construction on Saturday, March 2nd with a volunteer group of 10 people that helped to clean refuse from the lot. Since then we've spent every Friday and Saturday building the farm with support from volunteers. We've successfully constructed a 1,200 gallon fish tank and a 12 foot x 50 foot hydroponic grow bed, which will support plant growth. The next step is to include additional smaller grow beds; connect the pond to the grow beds via a plumbing system made up of a regenerative pump, air blower, and a series of pvc pipes. Once this step is complete, we'll add the baby fish and seedlings from our greenhouse.

Sarnia (Inactive) – Parking Lot Dance Social

2013-06-06T00:00:00Z

The parents on the street would like to have a Parking Lot Dance Social to provide a fun, safe event for our children to chill out, be creative in their dance and for the parents to have a social. We would be holding dance contests, hula hoop contests and other games where prizes would be awarded. We’ll be holding a raffle for the kids and adults to win prizes and encourage the children to pay it forward by donating the proceeds to the Inn of the Good Shepherd. This social would also encourage the parents to get together and chat and also take part in some of the games and dancing. We would like to have a BBQ with hamburgers, hot dogs, chips, drinks, dessert, etc. for everyone to enjoy on this Saturday in August.

Liverpool (Inactive) – Home Advantage Liverpool

2013-06-04T00:00:00Z

Anfield in North Liverpool is one of the most economically deprived areas in the country, despite the hulking great presence of one of the most affluent football clubs in the world. 44% of our kids live below the poverty line, while people pay hundreds of pounds to come here to see their Holy Ground - the liverpool ground. so i want to bring the two groups together - using local residents' spare bedrooms to accommodate visitors to the football club. a VIRTUAL HOTEL, a bit like AirB&B, but specifically for Anfield. centrally administered by me, and for the benefit of the whole community. hundreds, even thousands of visitors to liverpool getting proper home comforts instead of a cold impersonal hotel room, and local families getting to connect with the people who love Anfield more than anywhere else on earth. it's a way to fight the bedroom tax, and a way to help my neighbours, to bring HOME PRIDE back to a once-great district.

Boston, MA – chasing the shadows

2013-06-04T00:00:00Z

I want to chalk the shadows cast on the sidewalks of people, parking meters, signs, fire hydrants, telephone poles , bicycles (I especially love their shadows), trees, chairs, tables… whatever objects I find along the way that makes a shadow… from Boston through Cambridge along one main street - Mass Avenue. I like make spectators into participants in the project by posing them. I’m somewhat amazed of how a most ordinary reticent person can get excited about being a part of a project like this. Someone asked me today if I was making a sun dial and I thought in a way this whole proposed event is like one living breathing sun dial. It’s amazing to see how much the sun moves in such a short time and returning later how completely changed the shadows are. I feel that unlike a drawing that remains forever the same on paper, a chalk drawing on the pavement changes itself as its original shadow moves throughout the day.

Boston, MA – The Mµseum (or Micro Museum)

2013-06-04T00:00:00Z

In February of 2010, I was lucky enough to have the Awesome Foundation pick my project: a plan to turn an old vending machine into a miniature art gallery in the T. Unfortunately, at the time the project was contingent on getting MBTA approval, which I was unable to attain, so I never received the grant. I never stopped being excited about the core concept, and I’ve spent the last few years honing it until it reached its current (even better) form. The MBTA Is no longer involved, and I’ve secured the approval of the owners of the space as well as the Somerville Arts Council. I will be creating a micro-scale museum enclosed within a box with a durable glass viewing wall. This gallery cube will be housed in the empty niche between two businesses (a common occurrence, and space that is generally ignored or gathers trash.) I have found an ideal location in a nook between The Independent and Subway in wonderfully diverse Union Square, Somerville. The Micro Museum (or, “Mµseum”) will house regularly curated exhibitions of small-scale fine art work with a focus on local artists, and have an online presence with artist information, a photo archive, and downloadable PDF exhibition catalogs. All lighting will be solar powered. A locked, hinged facade designed to look like a classic museum front will frame the viewing wall, and display information about the current show, as well as direct viewers to the digital portion of the museum. Way too often people reject the idea of checking out art for fun because art isn’t something they “understand.” Yet more steer clear of commercial galleries because of the pressure to buy, or the feeling of being watched or out of place. I want art to be something that is approachable to everyone. By bringing art right up to the viewer, in an unstaffed, pressure-free environment (a place you’d be anyway, just walking down the street!), I hope to make art both physically and psychologically approachable.

Awesome Without Borders (Inactive) – Energy & Sanitation For Students In Surkhet, Nepal

2013-06-03T00:00:00Z

Austin, TX – Queerbomb

2013-05-31T00:00:00Z

Each June, the month of Stonewall, we stand together to embrace our sexuality, bodies, personalities, art, music, literature and politics, while recapturing pride from corporate sponsorship. We strive for a pride that refuses to put rules on what you can and can’t be proud of, that says every expression, from the spirit to the flesh, is worthy. This year on June 1st, we will rally around dynamic speakers and outreach organizations from 6 to 8pm. Then we take it down 6th st (the straightest street in Austin) to dance, march and celebrate out in the open. Proud and free in all respects. We return to our rally space and unleash the magic back into the place we call home. We have definitely grown in size from the first QUEERBOMB drop here in Austin, Texas. With an expected attendance of 8000 or more this year, we are excited and ready to roll this rally and procession out with the community standing strong and proud and fully decorated.

Detroit, MI – Detroit Grants and Loans Database

2013-05-31T00:00:00Z

The Detroit Grants and Loans Database tracks how funding moves through Detroit’s non-profits. It started as a personal project of Matt Hampel: he began tracking when Detroit organizations received grants - a press release here, some word of mouth there. The list grew slowly, and his friend Benjamin Chodoroff started to help with the research. We are working on this project because we have heard from non-profits that there is a need for this information. Small non-profits are often in the dark about who ended up getting the grant they applied for, and funders don’t have a good picture of the philanthropic ecosystem outside their own organization. Currently, we have records for a few hundred grants, and we haven’t had time to update them. We want to share this data with the public, but to do this we want to make sure the list is up-to-date and has as many grants in it as possible. We can do the work of setting up a system to share the information ourselves - both of us are programmers and have lots of experience designing accessible and open websites - but we need a lot of help with data collection. With the addition of a capable researcher to our team, we can grow this project to the point of having a polished website ready in a few months’ time. The data will be open to the public to view and download, and we will set up a system to ensure it is maintained as time goes on. We don’t know exactly what this project will end up being, but we are listening to our peers and friends and will be polling everyone to make this dataset as useful as possible. We will keep software, the development process, and of course the data itself, open source and freely licensed. We need to raise $2,500: a respectful internship stipend is $1,500 a month, and we’d like to bring someone on board for 3 months. We’ve both pledged $1,000 of our own money to make this happen.

Pittsburgh, PA – Carrie Deer Salvage Art Workshop

2013-05-31T00:00:00Z

A massive blast furnace, a 40’ deer head, piles of found objects, firsthand insights from Pittsburgh salvage artists, and it’s all free – how AWESOME is that? For 12 students from community schools surrounding Carrie Furnaces, it will be an unforgettable experience in collaboration, art, and regional history. Using the same techniques that built the Carrie Deer, they will create the first sculpture for the on-site Sculpture Garden. Many of the materials they will use have been drawn from the site itself during the maintenance process. The workshop includes a docent-led family site tour; DVDs of the Carrie Furnaces’ History and The Carrie Deer Documentary; 3 on-site sessions with artists, materials, and tools; and a video of the student’s personal workshop experience. The resulting sculpture is the inaugural installation for the new Carrie Salvage Art Garden. Collaborative art is a unique experience requiring a collective focus on a joint goal; a challenging exercise for creative minds often used to working singularly. As a “new” collective, the students work as a team in designing and creating their sculpture. As aspiring artists, the opportunity to engage artistically with this remarkable site is exceptionally inspiring. The monolithic industrial structures of Carrie form a cathedral-like setting of abstract sculptural ruins. Photographers, artists, and filmmakers continue to seek out the site for artistic expression and inspiration just as the Deer artists did in the 90s. Students will learn the history of the site, the region’s industrial heritage, what inspired the Deer artists – all while working in this unusual environment to explore their own ideas of public art and salvage sculpture. Presentations by the Office of Public Art and the Sprout Fund introduce them to the complexities of large-scale works, public installations and community interaction with public works. We also hope this project will encourage other groups to engage the site in new artistic ways.

Toronto – #teetertotter

2013-05-30T00:00:00Z

I enjoy creating entertaining public installations within my art practice and I see the Awesome Foundation as a prime opportunity to realize an interactive installation. I have produced a few large scale sculptures over the past three years and am aware of strong considerations towards public safety as well as structural integrity. My proposal involves realizing a project that I have wanted to undertake for some time now; I have produced several small scale renderings as well as assessed many aspects involved with fabricating the idea. With that in mind, I propose to create a very unique teeter-totter which will be partially constructed out of recycled, repurposed, and scavenged materials. A Canadian artist who I recently met in NYC is also a professional arborist and Mr. Neilson already has an array of 8-12 foot incredibly strong cedar tree trunks which he offered for me to choose from. The most structurally important and costly element of the sculpture will be the base of the teeter-totter which will be built out of pressure treated lumber 8x8’s in a traditional style along with truck suspension springs to control the pivoting of the cedar tree, which will act as the cross beam that people sit on; Largely fastened together with lock-tight large size nuts and bolts to prevent theft or “tomfoolery”. Furthermore, apart from the cedar tree trunk sourced elements will be added such as bicycle handle bars for holding onto while bouncing, along with shredded car tires for seating and various items to customize as well as add aesthetic value to the unique feature. A pre-emptive focus will be put towards stripping the bark off the tree trunk and applying a professional finish that will make the trunk structurally sustainable for many years.

Maldon (Inactive) – Maldon Market

2013-05-30T00:00:00Z

I am currently planning to lauch a monthly farmer's and maker's market in Fountain Street (TBC), Maldon. We aim for the market to be one of the best in Central Victoria. The market will provide a genuine service, social activity and pride of place for local residents. We believe that a successful market will put Maldon even more squarely on the tourist map to increase visitor numbers to the town and provide an invaluable boost to existing local businesses. A market also provides the perfect, low risk, business entry point for local entrepreneurs to strut their stuff. Each market will feature fun entertainment that enourages people to linger longer and spend more money. We hope to attract lots of day-trippers from further afield, including Melbourne, and for the market to become a staple monthly event for Maldon residents. We aim to have 40 stall holders at the opening market in October (roughly half growers and half makers), with at least 500 market visitors. We'll grow these numbers over the first 12 months and beyond.

Connecticut (Inactive) – Dream MAKER Team

2013-05-30T00:00:00Z

A summer program for kids in Stamford CT. The goal is 1 STEM project (that results in a film) and 1 non-STEM project. We have completed 3 projects for kids in Stamford with curriculum borrowed from www.citizenschools.org (with their permission). The most recent of which was the Solar Powered Racecars you saw at the Westport Maker's Faire. We are looking to continue enriching the experience afterschool and summers for our students and volunteers on the West Side of Stamford. We would LOVE if you could help us continue this work. Here is an article about the 19-minute film we made last summer with funds from the volunteers themselves and all materials and equipment donated: http://stamford.itsrelevant.com/content/11232/yerwood-center-makes-a-movie.

Denver, CO (Inactive) – WeeCycle's Crib-A-Month Project

2013-05-29T00:00:00Z

WeeCycle is a Denver-based non-profit organization whose mission is to help low income families with infants and toddlers in the Denver metro area (and throughout Colorado) by providing them with new and gently used baby gear free of charge. We acquire the gear through donations of individuals and businesses and distribute it through local community organizations already serving families with infants and toddlers affected by poverty, homelessness, domestic violence, teen pregnancy, and under-employment. We also contribute to environmental preservation by recycling and reusing baby gear. WeeCycle was started by two Colorado moms, Jayme Ritchie and Sunny Heydorn. They were both new moms that had recently left their jobs as attorneys to focus their energies on raising their new children. With this, they felt the need to give back to their community, particularly to those less fortunate, and they both had a first-hand understanding of how expensive baby gear was and how, often, kids outgrow their gear when it is in like-new condition. That is how the idea for WeeCycle came about. Why not take all this baby gear that their kids outgrew and find it a new home with a family that could really use it? Four plus years later, WeeCycle is expanding its reach and helping more and more families each year. WeeCycle provides key items like cribs, car seats, strollers, diapers, toys, baby-proofing items, and much more! However, in June 2011, nearly all of the cribs that were on the market were recalled due to deficiencies with their hardware and WeeCycle has since experienced a huge shortage in cribs as we are not able to accept or donate any recalled items. Cribs are one of the most expensive items that families with new babies need and WeeCycle has had to purchase all new cribs to serve our clients' needs. WeeCycle is looking for a grant to support our Crib-A-Month program to purchase one crib each month for a year to donate to Colorado families in need.

Baltimore, MD – Send SquashWise Students to the Championships!

2013-05-29T00:00:00Z

SquashWise is a unique youth development program promoting academic achievement and athleticism through the sport of squash. None of our students had ever heard of squash before, but now they are avid scholar-athletes competing across the country in national tournaments. Students from Baltimore City Public Schools join in 5th or 6th grade and participate through 12th grade, with additional support through college. We provide daily tutoring, mentoring, squash coaching, and fitness activities. While SquashWise students are not yet old enough to graduate from high school and move on to college, older urban squash programs in New York, Philadelphia, and Boston boast 100% high school graduation rates and 90% college completion rates among their graduates. SquashWise aims for the same successes in a city where only 64% of students graduate from high school and of these graduates, only 14% finish college (Baltimore Education Research Consortium, 2004 cohort). Our first cohort of students will graduate from high school in 2015, and they are already setting their sights on college. In the meantime, students have demonstrated impressive gains in grades, fitness, and squash performance.

San Antonio, TX – PoPo's 1st Annual Bike Repair Rally

2013-05-29T00:00:00Z

Bicycles can make the biggest change in a community in the shortest amount of time. Adolescents who bike 4 days a week are 48% less likely to become overweight as adults. Bicycles provide the ability to move around your community. For many of us bicycles are recreational toys, but for some it is their lifeline. Some cyclists commute everywhere; work, school, the grocery store. Although offering bicycles to those in need helps a great deal, many of those bikes will end up right back outside in a pile of rust if they are not maintained. PoPo's We-cycle is going to change that. While the mission for PPWC is to give away 100 bikes in 2013, we also want to repair bikes in the community before they reach the trash dump. As a part of this parallel mission PPWC wants to have an Annual Bike Repair Rally where PPWC will purchase the parts, permits, etc. and local bike shops will fix bicycles for 5 hours in a predetermined location, all while having a huge bike awareness PARTY! We will advertise the time and location in advance and ask that bikes requiring minimum repairs such as; new tubes, chains, adjusting, bike making sounds or not running right, be brought to the event where we will repair them for FREE! The event will be held in areas where our services are need the most. This will allow us to maintain all of the bikes that we give out each year and put us closer to our goal of getting 2 wheels under every person in San Antonio. For our 1st event, we have already been given the okay to use a parking lot at Burbank High School and found several other nonprofits that would like to setup at the event to talk about healthy living. Bicycle Shops like REI, Ride Away Bicycles, Alamo Bike Shop and the bike club "Wild Dawgs" have all volunteered to work on bicycles at the event. We have numerous companies interested in sponsoring the event and have already confirmed 2 Titanium Sponsors of $500 each from Community Health First and Believe It Screen Printing and Graphics.

San Antonio, TX – Madison Solar Car Initiative (MadSCI)

2013-05-29T00:00:00Z

MadSCI is an after school project that has been on-going at Madison HS since 2010. MadSCI’s mission is to advance knowledge and educate a wide diversity of students in science, technology, engineering, math, sutainability and other areas of scholarship that will ensure that they will best serve themselves, San Antonio, Texas, the nation, and the world in the 21st century. There is a tremendous need for students with innovation and expertise in fields that will help solve the world’s most critical problems. Students need to be exposed to, and involved in, activities that involve authenticity, collaboration, critical thinking skills, global implications, in-depth investigations, cross-curricular applications, and a very high student motivation and engagement factor. To these ends, MadSCI was created. MadSCI is the perfect beyond the classroom project because in striving to meet the challenges this project entails, students in addition to learning about engineering, alternative energy, battery technology, aerodynamics, computer science, and meteorology, have to translate that knowledge into strategy. Such a project furthermore involves activities that empower students, foster deep learning and communication skills across a variety of subjects, enhance critical thinking and problem-solving skills, necessitate collaborative work, develop engineering intuition and innovation, project and time management, skills, and provide experience working with students of different cultures, backgrounds, and academic and technical skill levels. Students learn what it takes to successfully carry a project from inception to completion. It requires them to push themselves and often step outside their comfort zone. These skill sets allow students to be better prepared to enter college & the university, tackle the challenges in life after that, push the envelope of science & engineering, and be significant contributors to solving the world’s current & future problems. It builds leaders.

Tel Aviv - קרן בקטנה (Inactive) – ZEZE Sublimation

2013-05-29T00:00:00Z

ZEZE presents: Sublimation Sublimation will train women in the Israeli Prisoner Rehabilitation Authority to use sublimation machines (awesome machines which print on almost anything - t-shirts, cups, hats... you name it!). Our brand of cool products will be designed by budding young Israeli designers and produced ethically in order to create double good: we will be giving ex-prisoners a trade and employment, and we can produce some awesome products and clothing along the way! ZE.ZE is a social business. We believe that our social projects must be all sustainable and must at least retain them self. That way we can promise a lasting project that does not lean on philanthropy. All ZE.ZE profits and incomes are invested as seed money for new projects. WE love ZEZE and Sublimation because they are creating awesome clothing whilst providing women in need with training and a job! Plus, who doesn't love well designed, but socially responsible products??

Grand Rapids, MI (Inactive) – Movin' On In

2013-05-28T00:00:00Z

Our project, Movin' on In, will kick off with refreshments and a word from the Mayor of Grand Rapids. Movin’ on In will promote efforts to end homelessness and raise awareness of local challenges in attaining affordable housing. We extend an open, inclusive invitation to the community to learn and participate in an activity concerning housing related issues. The activity provides participants with a hands-on opportunity to broaden understandings of homelessness and housing. The housing simulation allows participants to play the role of a homeless individual in need of housing. Each role includes circumstantial details and participants attempt to attain housing during four simulated days. After the simulation, a debriefing session lead by a housing specialist will provide opportunities for discussion. Afterwards, participants will assemble “new home starter kits” in laundry baskets for newly housed families. We will conclude with a speaker from our AmeriCorps program that will share how members are serving their community. This project is new, green, so fresh and so clean. Movin’ on In is a unique effort of collaboration, education, direct service and active participation. It is also so nice. Homelessness is not awesome, but feeling at home is. Movin’ on In promotes housing knowledge and provides clients with items to increase the awesomeness of a new home. Housing challenges are not funny, but we do hope to share a few laughs with participants. We will raise awareness and provide opportunity to make a difference. Increased awareness inspires the awesomeness required to end homelessness. Wow. Receiving the grant will greatly influence awesomeness. The more money used for kits, the greater difference made. Movin’ on In is chock full o’ bang, not much buck. Providing household items for clients alleviates housing costs. It is our intention to repeat the event so that Movin’ on In will encourage community members to be active problem solvers concerning housing issues.

Portland, OR – XRAY.FM

2013-05-28T00:00:00Z

With the help of http://commonfrequency.org we recently obtained a low-wattage permit from the FCC to broadcast on 91.FM to Downtown! From the location we carefully picked, this 100w antenna will reach 1.5 million homes in the Portland metro area as well as many, many many cars. We started a non-profit corporation called Cascade Educational Broadcasting Service last fall, and have been building momentum and resources to launch XRAY.FM this Summer. We filed our 501(c)3 status today and got a bank account last week. We're raising funds from a totally grassroots level and plan to engage a large community here in Portland to support the station by underwriting and grant support as well as listener support. Portland has never had a college radio station downtown on FM, so we're positive it's starved for some great radio created by all our friends who spin great records around town nightly. CEBS’ current objective is to secure resources for FM operation. The goal is to create a station that broadcasts new independent music and a plethora of rare historic vinyl by the innovators, but not officially bound by any specific genre descriptor. A website and webstream, developing currently, will be of equal importance. Unlike most radio stations, close attention will be paid to maintaining artistic programmatic vision. CEBS views music as an art. Core to this belief is presenting modern music (primarily 50’s to present) from an educational perspective, with the DJ acting as a musicologist, promoting new independent artists and providing historical detail on forgotten seminal artists from the past. I can already see the town dancing to the beat of XRAY.FM. Bicyclists, joggers and car-owners will all have a much better time and radios will create happiness again! We're planning some big events in Portland this June to launch the station publicly and would be happy to spread the word about Awesome Foundation as one of our Angel Donors when we go on the air.

London, ON (Inactive) – Take a Seat & Make a Friend London, ON Edition

2013-05-28T00:00:00Z

We recently came across a video done by an organization called "Soul Pancake." Oprah Winfrey has been a huge supporter of this organization and often aired their events on her television show. One event that Soul Pancake has recently done is have strangers sit in a ball pit and get to know one another. A sign is posted over the pit saying "Have a Seat & Make a Friend" and random people walking past are invited to sit down with one another and discuss life's big questions. Example questions include "Find something the two of you have in common" and "Name and describe a person who has made a huge influence in your life." There will be about 10 larger balls in the pit that have questions on them and the people sitting are able to discuss these questions with a complete stranger. Our vision is to end stigma that is attached to mental health. Our mission is to is to raise awareness for mental health, specifically anxiety disorders, because we feel that anxiety disorders, phobias and fears tend to be overlooked. This project will challenge Londoner's to go out of their comfort zone. We hope that Londoner's will be authentically engaged in getting into a ball pit and get to know someone that have never met before. This exercise is anxiety provoking, but we hope people really share deep, meaningful thoughts with one another and that in itself will raise awareness. We have already gotten approval from the City of London special events to have this event and are covered under insurance. Our plan is to run this project for the very first time in London, ON at Sunfest, which is July 4-7th, 2013. We are currently in the works of getting in contact of Sunfest organizers to see if there is a spot for us! We will be collecting donations for anyone who wishes to get in the ball pit! We came across Paul Melnik's story, who took his own life suddenly. He was on the wait list for mental health help for a program called FEMAP here in London, ON. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfHV4-

Awesome Without Borders (Inactive) – Creating the Future, Open Participatory Engagement

2013-05-28T00:00:00Z

The US Civil Rights Movement, the Anti-Apartheid movement, Indiaâ€™s Independence movement - what created their success? This question is at the core of Creating the Futureâ€™s work. By considering what created visionary change in the past, and incorporating those features into current change efforts, we are guiding changemakers to their potential to accomplish their missions and create the world we all want. What weâ€™ve found: The power to create change lies not in innovative strategy, but in the assumptions underlying that strategy. Assumptions about what is possible vs. impossible. Assumptions about our potential for working together for a cause larger than ourselves. Assumptions about walking the talk of our values. By changing the way we see things - those habitual thought patterns / assumptions - things change. The Project: As its own demonstration project, Creating the Future has busted out the walls of our organization, to be completely open and participatory in all we do. All internal meetings - board meetings, resource development meetings, branding meetings, strategy meetings - are live-streamed for anyone to watch AND participate as if they are part of the team - asking questions, sharing ideas and observations. Doing this experiment as a live demonstration, Creating the Future is showing what is possible - that there is nothing to be afraid of in engaging openly, and that much of what groups assume to be proprietary is actually far more effective when it is owned by everyone. This effort began in January 2013. Already it has changed the expectations and assumptions of our board and immediate community, as well as outsiders who attend / participate in our meetings. We are all learning together that when we change the way we see things, things change.

Miami, FL – StreetWaves Summer Surf Camp

2013-05-26T00:00:00Z

We think the StreetWaves mentorship program is an awesome initiative, but the most awesome part is the amazing results we achieve with at-risk youth. It has been our commitment since 2008 to provide surfing lessons free of charge to under-resourced and troubled youth every Saturday from 12-4pm. Our daily summer surf camp programming which begins June 1st and lasts through August 31st provides summer surf camp experiences every day for organizations like Big Brothers and Big Sisters, Overtown Youth Center, Educate Tomorrow, Empowered Youth and a host of other schools, churches and concerned families. Some of our awesome services include surfing, standup paddleboarding and sailing instructions all provided by qualified staff and volunteers. StreetWaves addresses major areas of concern that we feel contribute to the ongoing criminal activity and troubled youth found in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties. Our program provides an alternative recreational stimulant that is non-competitive and gives each individual the opportunity to freely express ones basic nature thereby expanding their physical, emotional and spiritual horizons. We facilitate a safe haven of natural resources made available to a community who historically have not participated in many ocean activities. Over the 5 years that we have been providing services to our under-resourced communities, we have studied the affects that the ocean and watersports have on this growing population of newcomers. Amongst our measured outcomes, StreetWaves has measured shifts in participant’s attitudes toward life, an expansion in their perspective and an increased sense of belonging. StreetWaves greatly feels that we broaden our participant’s horizons and support the development of life skills that will benefit personal wellbeing by providing a guideline for success now and in the future. We are currently expanding our mission to serve a larger population of at-risk youth because we know….. It’s working!

Newmarket – Commons Cafe and Catering

2013-05-24T00:00:00Z

Our catering project took off with a bit of help from contacts with local businesses. We catered at the Passport to Wellness event at Aurora Cultural Centre. We now have a tent given to us by a local business at the Newmarket Farmers Market, where we sell coffee, tea, juice, hot chocolate on cold days and hopefully some bakes. We have involved a number of adults with autism and developmental delay as trainees, to be trained by our volunteers, myself as one and one or two job coaches, to set up and prepare the tent for sale. Prepare the coffee, deal with customers, handle cash improve math and clean up. Eventually we hope to involve the trainees to be involved in ordering and buying the items needed. When our costs are paid up we hope the trainees most of whom are not able to find employment in the community, to take the profit and share it among them as a reward. The main purpose of Commons Cafe and Catering is to involve people with disability in the community, to show the community their ABILITIES and gifts, Give them an opportunity to get experience in running the business. We hope the experience will provide them with job opportunities in the community when the Market is over. We do hope to get established in late fall in a permanent location and become a not for profit organization. So far through announcing our purpose only through word of mouth, we have attracted 6 adults who are interested to help at the booth. We have also had an amazing response from people who have visited us and found out that we are not just a coffee booth for profit but a booth with a special purpose! We are applying for the third time for the Awesome fund as our costs are increasing. Other than the registration costs for the major events, we have had to get insurance for events, pay for a banner. We also are in dire need of equipment such as tables, coffee brewers and urns .

Sandy Rebuild (Inactive) – Culinary Kids Urban Farm

2013-05-23T00:00:00Z

Culinary Kids Urban Farm is located in the Hurricane Sandy zone of the Rockaway peninsula which was destroyed by the storm. Prior to the storm, Culinary Kids Urban Farm project taught Sustainable Urban Farming, Agriculture, Aquaculture and Culinary Arts to the youth of Far Rockaway free of charge.

Sandy Rebuild (Inactive) – Rainwater Catchment System at YANA Services

2013-05-23T00:00:00Z

My work in the Rockaways started immediately after super storm Sandy -- medical & food shipments, digging out basements, sorting clothing, and powering phones with bicycles, along with my friends at Time's Up! My work with YANA (You Are Never Alone - Beach 113) and Sal Lopizzo started a few weeks after the storm, as I personally identified with the mission of YANA; namely, to train residents of the Rockaways to obtain contractors licenses, so that they may be employed as part of the rebuilding, rather than outside contractors. Additionally, alternative and sustainable materials is a focus of the training/education that YANA provides. Another part of YANA's mission is the training & education of Rockaways residents to reacting, and being more resilient, to future potential storms and floods. With this the case, emphasis is being placed on solar technology and water catchment & reuse. YANA is already moving forward with the solar program, installing panels on the roof, and offering opportunities for residents to have their own installed for emergency backup. My project would entail the design & build of a beautiful stormwater catchment system/installation art piece. The design would be shared publicly, and the buildout would include residents. Additionally, I will hold several workshops at YANA, where I'd teach residents how to properly design/size, then build, stormwater catchment systems. This way, if another future storms causes water infrastructure problems, they will be able to source water for their own catchment systems.

Boulder, CO (Inactive) – Boulder Civic Hackfest

2013-05-22T00:00:00Z

Boulder Civic Hackfest is a two day hackathon and design event bringing the best of Boulder together for the civic good in celebration of National Day of Civic Hacking. Using open data and technologies we will select problems affecting our communities and prototype solutions to them throughout the weekend. We expect to have ~100 developers, designers, and subject matter experts work with open data to create solutions to civic problems using technology. All applications will be created as open source technologies, giving anybody the ability to use the applications, improve them, etc.

Calgary, AB (Inactive) – Pavo Concertus

2013-05-22T00:00:00Z

Junk Yard Wars + Pickup Truck + Peacocks + Pianos = Peacock art truck with an array of lights and sound. More commonly known in the community as the Peacock Pipe Organ. Our team has taken on the project of converting a pickup truck into a peacock music truck because we wanted to give Calgary another shot of arts and culture. We are planning to use Pavo Concertus as an educational tool by demonstrating to Calgarians how arts, engineering and science can come together to form such an awesome spectacle. We plan to pull this off by constructing Pavo Concertus with lovingly used parts and machinery from Calgary locals. Besides looking and sounding steampunkly fantastic, our project will help the public draw connections between arts and engineering through the tangible demonstration of music and vibrations. In addition, we plan on visiting schools to inspire students interested in engineering. We plan to debut at various locations during Beakerhead week to boggle the minds of downtown Calgarian onlookers. Our team consists of a dedicated roster of engineers, artists, marketers, and alumni from the Calgary Solar Car Team and Baja SAE. So we've basically pulled off stuff like this before. How funding from Awesome Calgary will be used: - Electrical components (ie. speaker, amplifiers, acoustic pickups, switches) - Tools, and metalwork equipment - Scrap metal, wood, and fasteners - Vehicle insurance, and maintenance - Safety Equipment

Awesome Without Borders (Inactive) – Gaia Milieu for "The Color Wheel" at HEREart NY

2013-05-20T00:00:00Z

Gaia is a large-scale site-specific installation that explores the increasingly severe divide between human beings and their natural world as the complex system of life and organic materials surrounding them becomes more and more exotic and alien due to their lack of contact with it. Plants that at one time were familiar are now strange and exotic. The installation will be made using a variety of printmaking processes, including but no limited to etching, screen print, relief print, and monoprint, in combination with materials indicative of our modern world that seem to have replaced our natural ones like plastic, office supplies, birthday party table cloth, neon straws, pipe cleaners, etc. My ultimate goal with the installation is to completely transform the HereArt Gallery Space in Soho NY into a completely immersive environment that moves from one level of the gallery into the other. I am increasingly interested in how the installation infect spaces like urban kudzo almost as if we moved forward 100 years and our plastics actually have begun to grow.

Washington, DC – THE MOBILE LANGUAGE MUSEUM

2013-05-19T00:00:00Z

Our outreach, education, and conservation activities emphasize on-line and on-site technologies, both in the Museum Hall and with traveling exhibits to local schools,libraries and other venues, primarily where young audiences may congregate. The National Museum of Language (NML) opened its doors in May of 2008, sustained by a nearly all-volunteer governing board and roster of docents. The NML has reached out to and collaborated with numerous national, regional and local organizations and supporters similarly devoted to language education, appreciation and public recognition and support. These activities include permanent and rotating exhibits at the current College Park location, traveling and loan exhibits to various local and regional “high impact” venues, and a regularly scheduled speaker series featuring experts on diverse topics in language, culture, and language science.

Seattle, WA – Seattle Youth Speaks-2013 Brave New Voices Team

2013-05-18T00:00:00Z

We send two coaches and five super-fierce poets to travel to Chicago to represent out city at the International Brave New Voices Festival in August. From March-July the team works diligently to craft, shape, and practice their poetry pieces that will be performed at BNV. In the mean time the youth leadership group of YSS is planning two community performances, including YSS 10 year anniversary party, to help support the team to build confidence and perfect their pieces in front of a loving community. This year we employed four youth-interns to manage, coordinate and run the 6 month slam series. The investment in youth leadership and outreach paid off and we had out most successful slams to date. Every prelim brought in over 100 community members and we broke records for 600+ people at our Town Hall Grand Slam on March 1st. Consequently we want to continue to engage our large community in support of the 5 member team. While the poets are making their way through the various bouts, workshops and overall life-changing experience in Chicago we would like to send and additional two youth interns to document and track their progress on the YSS blog and Arts Corps website so that the over 600 people who cheered them on this winter can remain connected to their success. At Youth Speaks Seattle we know honesty and power of truth is transformative. We create community where youth voices will not be silenced, in a world where we so often are. We support each other in becoming the people we need to be. By utilizing social media intern leaders we feel that we can galvanize the awesomeness of BNV and transfer it back to our devoted community in Seattle. Check out some of the incredible poets at the 2013 Grand Slam: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cO30xcF49U

Oahu, HI – Kailua Intermediate School Band Aloha Concert 2013

2013-05-17T00:00:00Z

KIS provides the use of brass, woodwind and percussion instruments at no charge to students who are taught care and daily maintenance procedures. Band class meets four times per week and all students are required to practice outside of class each day. In addition, band rehearsals are scheduled twice a week, before or after school. Band students know they need to make a significant commitment of their time to learn to read music and reach their playing goals. The KIS Band emphasizes development of life skills that help young men and women become good student-citizens: • personal responsibility • persistence • compassion • self-discipline • teamwork • respect Our Band members come together as one 'ohana and support each other. They learn that each individual contributes to the whole group, and the group only succeeds through each individual contribution. This interdependence prepares them for many situations they will face later in life that call for humility and placing others before self. But unbelievably, the school DOES NOT provide ANY funds for performances in the community. If the band wants to play outside the confines of our Band Room or the acoustically-challenged school cafeteria, we need to find our own funding. Parents are stretched thin and we are seeking community help. Our annual FREE Aloha Concert at the Ronald E. Bright Theatre at Castle High School is planned for Saturday, May 11, 2013 at 6:00pm. This venue will provide the kids a real auditorium, optimized for the enjoyment of music, and enough seating for family, friends and the community to listen to the most incredible student band that you've never heard of. But we need your help – school buses to move the kids, a truck rental for band instruments and payments for the auditorium fees. We want the windward community to see what is going on in their own backyard and recognize that kids from public schools can reach awesome heights when given the opportunity and resources. Mahalo!

Chicago, IL – World's Largest Cardboard Box Castle

2013-05-16T00:00:00Z

This summer (2013) we have plans to build the worlds largest Cardboard Box Castle, live stream the process, edit it into a YouTube video, and finally put on an improv show in front of the castle! We plan to call it "Comedy at the Castle" and it will feature the fantastic and funny (and clean) cast of CSI: YB... A local improv troupe. Now to make this project even better, we will also be raising money for charity with all the proceeds we make with the show. We will also offer, for a donation, the ability to decorate one of the many boxes! The current record is 734 boxes and that was set by BYU students. We hope to get near 1,000 boxes for our castle!

Kitchener-Waterloo – Mosaic magic

2013-05-16T00:00:00Z

It is a dream of mine to tile the outside of a building like my incredible instructor Isaah Zagar in Philadelphia. It would be incredible to do this for a social service group to get them more recognition. Please see my website for samples of my work meglesliecreatve.com

Ottawa – Neon Forestation

2013-05-16T00:00:00Z

May's Awesome Ottawa award goes to Lisa "Justy" Dennis and the O-Town Bombers, Ottawa's first yarnbombing group. The award will support a public art project called Neon Forestation, with trees covered in neon wraps and crocheted fungus lit up with glow sticks. It will be put on in the Byward Market for Nuit Blanche, in September. Justy is Awesome Ottawa's first-ever two-time award winner -- exactly one year ago she received an Awesome Ottawa award to yarnbomb a bus. The O-Town Bombers came together through the momentum of that project, with the objective to "improve the urban landscape by creating non-destructive, whimsical, fibre graffitti." "We're going to discofunk George Street and the Clarendon Courtyard," says Justy, "and are anxious to start crocheting like a machine again!"

New York City, NY – Movies at Sundown

2013-05-16T00:00:00Z

The Bronx is home to 1.4 million people and there are only 4 movie theaters, none of which show documentary films. In response to this void, the BDC started it’s Movies at Sundown summer film series in 2011. Movies at Sundown has grown to become the place to be for South Bronx residents on Thursday nights, drawing up to 100 residents per screening in the summer of 2012. Inspiring and though-provoking documentary films such as Romantico, Born into Brothels, Fernando Nation and Up Heartbreak Hill were screened on the patio of the BDC, followed by Q+A sessions with their respective directors. For the purposes of this project, the Bronx Documentary Center (BDC) would like to expand Movies at Sundown to the Claremont Neighborhood Center (CNC) on 169th and 3rd Ave. The CNC The services the 18,000 residents of the section of New York City Housing Authority apartments known as “Claremont Villages”. The CNC provides innovative afternoon/evening and weekend recreational and educational programs to area youth and families through evidence based models. The CNC encourages residents to be proactive in becoming positive constituents in their communities -- helping them to also improve their socio-economic status and improve physical health. In addition, CNC hopes to foster collaborative working environments which will help them develop or improve social skills and increase academic performance and achievement. Starting in June 2013, the BDC’s Movies at Sundown will invite one high profile documentary filmmaker per month to show their work at the Claremont Neighborhood Center. Filmmakers will get to share and discuss their work while providing residents with a safe, family-friendly activity which promotes discussion and culture in the South Bronx.

Kingston – The Limestone City Cellphone Video Challenge

2013-05-16T00:00:00Z

My proposal is that with the help of the Kingston Canadian Film Festival and the Awesome Foundation, we launch "The Limestone City Cellphone Video Challenge", a miniature film festival. If marketed well, this event would create year round excitement in celebration of Kingston and Canadian culture and film. KCFF's established reputation would lend to the Video Challenge's homegrown brand and recognition. The competition I have in mind is accessible to most Kingstonians. Submission must be a 3 minute video, shot on a cellphone, displaying a unique aspect of Kingston or Kingston's culture. Each video would be submitted with a registration form for the person or team involved in its creation in mid July. A team of KCFF staff would judge the films and select one based on this criteria. We could host an event screening the films, providing food and drinks to the filmmakers and selling tickets through the KCFF website to the general public. The winning filmmaker or team would receive a larger prize (like an iPhone or equivalent), passes to K14, inclusion in the K14 local shorts program, and an advanced screening at Springer Market Square's "Movies in the Square". We would have to work closely with KCFF, the Awesome Foundation Kingston, Downtown Kingston! and the City. This competition would bring together Kingston's community of filmmakers and watchers in one of our City's most beautiful seasons. The Limestone City Cellphone Video Challenge would showcase the best parts of Kingston as seen by the city's most innovative artists.

San Francisco, CA – SF Postcard Project

2013-05-15T00:00:00Z

The SF Postcard Project encourages community connection through storytelling exchange. Participants in marginalized communities fill out the postcard with a personal story of their community and then the postcard is mailed to a random San Francisco resident to initiate stronger connections between people and communities. While I was working for the San Francisco Mayor's Office of Civic Innovation, I had the opportunity to work with youth in the marginalized Bayview neighborhood of San Francisco. Bayview is tucked into an isolated Southeast corner of San Francisco. Most San Franciscans don’t have a reason to go there. They only know what they see on the news — violence, drugs, and poverty. But, there is much more to these communities — stories that the larger population never sees or hears about. The youth I worked with wanted to tell these stories to the rest of the city. They wanted to change people’s perception of Bayview and they wanted to attract people to the positive stories and places in Bayview. Perception and behavior change are not easy things to change, so I set out to find a simple way to encourage others to start thinking about Bayview. Even in the small first batch of 15 postcards, there is proof that this works. One person sent me a response saying of the author of their postcard: “We would love to write him back and potentially visit Bayview or have him over for dinner at our house.” A simple postcard can create a strong connection. These connections build stronger communities. This project also gives value to Bayview residents, allowing them an outlet to tell their story and to take pride in the positive stories in their community. The SF Postcard Project solves the problem of people’s perceptions of marginalized communities forming from single media sources. All they see on the news is the violence, drugs, and poverty. But, there are many positive stories that exist in these communities. Stories that need to be heard.

Windsor, ON (Inactive) – Turtle Island Garden Club

2013-05-14T00:00:00Z

The Turtle Island Garden Club was established to encourage organic food gardening in the First Nations and Metis communities in the Windsor-Essex County area. Growing a food garden is an affordable way to have access to fresh produce and it's a great learning experience for the whole family! The health of Indigenous people is paramount and growing food will ensure that there is access to fresh organic fruits and veggies. This project aims to create awareness and education through workshops, socials, a community garden, a seed exchange, and an online chat group, The goal of the project is to teach the community the skills to grow their own food in order to ease the burden of being able to afford to buy enough food for the their families. Another goal is to promote gardening as a good form of physical activity. It's a way for everyone to get in touch with nature and it's a natural stress reliever. There are so many reasons to plant a food garden.

Awesome Without Borders (Inactive) – The Ladies Laugh-In Hosts Blogologues!

2013-05-13T00:00:00Z

Component #1: LEADERSHIP & COMEDY WORKSHOP As two female co-creators of a comedy project and Co-Creative Directors of a nonprofit theater company in New York City, Allison Goldberg and Jen Jamula firmly believe in the power of female leadership, and the ways that public speaking, charisma, and comedic skills play into leadership roles. Through their flagship project, Blogologues, they “perform the internet,” bringing to life to voices across the blogosphere. We think the Blogologues’ focus on “resocializing social media” will speak to the students. We’re very excited that Blogologues co-creators Jen and Allison have agreed to bring their signature blend of smarts, sass and side-splitting humor to a two hour workshop with the Ladies Laugh-In. Students will learn skills related to performing, comedy, public speaking and thinking “outside the box. Skills to use both on the stage and in presentations, speech-making, and developing the confidence to “lean in.” Component #2: CONSULTING TO BUILD LADIESLAUGH-IN.COM The Ladies Laugh-In is looking to expand its impact beyond our campus. Ladies Laugh-In founder, English teacher CC Robinson is in the process of curating a collection of blog entries for a massive archive of female comedy, with thoughtful commentary from a range of voices, to be housed online at LadiesLaugh-In.com. The current website is a placeholder; the next incarnation will be a more dynamic experience. The LadiesLaugh-In.com will also be a social media site for networking and resource sharing among funny ladies, lads, and anyone using improv with girls ages 5 to 25. Visitors to the site will find tailor-made playlists of comedy with commentary. Five minutes of video. A paragraph of commentary. A good laugh and the beginnings of great conversation. This very young project would benefit from consulting with two entrepreneurs so well-acquainted with comedy by and about the world wide web!

Ann Arbor, MI – Adolescent Hackers Alliance

2013-05-12T00:00:00Z

I am an employee of Digital Ops, an Event Organizer for All Hands Active, and like to consider myself a great teacher considering I have no formal training in education. For a few years now, All Hands Active had been working with different local organizations like Bright Futures to teach elementary and middle school students about technology and the philosophy of DIY. We would now like to branch off and start hosting our own workshops and summer camps under our own roof by starting the Adolescent Hackers Alliance. We already have a rough idea of what we would be teaching and have a few like-minded people who will help me teach our students. The only thing stopping us from starting the classes now is a financial backing for supplies. Our "curriculum" will be finalized after a meeting on Saturday, May 19th, which I can send to you all directly after the meeting if you would like. We're working on 2 classes for now, but hope to have a few other ideas in our back pocket for either next summer or as after-school programs during the school year. The first class would be one that bridged the gap between video games and being a maker, by focusing on working as a team, communication skills, abstract thinking, and problem solving. Ideally we would then go on to work on super basic game design, teach a little 3D modeling, and instill some basic concepts and teach them how to teach themselves, which I and others find is something lacking in our current education system. Our second class we have planned is working with micro-controllers, like Arduino and the more advanced Beagle Board, teaching young children the skills to become entrepreneurs by working with new technology. Each of these classes would be at least 2 weeks long, but could go longer and more in-depth if that's what the community wanted. As I said, the curriculum needs to be ironed out, but will be soon. I am more than willing to answer any questions before you make your decision. I look forward to hearing from you all!

Sydney – BYOB - Bring your own Beamer

2013-05-08T00:00:00Z

We want to run a Bring Your Own Beamer (BYOB) night. BYOB is really simple: It's a space that's open for a night, where people can come together and show projections that they've made. It's free, fun and inclusive. People can bring their own projectors and there are projectors for people who don't have one. We'll even have some software setup for people to do their own live mixing. BYOB is a worldwide phenomenon and Sydney is one of the only major cities to not host a night. As VJs we wanted to share the fun of doing what we do, and this is the most democratic and direct way to do it. It's BYOB time, Sydney!