Awesome Foundation - Projects

Awesome Without Borders (Inactive) – Notes to my Younger Self: Future Fellows Project

2018-08-13T00:00:00Z

Artists Within Reach is a collective of 19 parents, 11 organizations and 52 South Florida residents who work as a team to respond in real-time to issues that affect our youth. The Notes to my Younger Self Future Fellowship initiative is a year-long grassroots service and leadership training project designed to support and empower an emerging network of young women (ages 18 -25) of color from underrepresented communities in South Florida. Fellows participate in leadership and skills development workshops relating to mobilizing youth voters and executing non-partisan voter registration activities. The initiative is created by youth for youth who understand that their peers may require a different more creative approach to civic engagement. Participants of the Future Fellows initiative are tasked with designing voter registration activities that are interactive and branded to reflect and employ youth concepts, interests, design and programming that communicate the value of young electoral participation. Young architects of this project crafted a campaign that would allow participants to 1) feel included without judgment 2) learn without being embarrassed and 3) interact with peers in a safe environment as key elements of the project. The project was created out the need to immediately respond to our young people who are just learning to use their voice. On a broader scale, young people are expressing the desire to learn how to clearly articulate their concerns, demonstrate that activism is more than a hashtag, and stand in solidarity with their peers to advocate for issues that directly affect them. Our goal is to activate narrative power of young communities to tell the stories that are most important to them and to help young people as they conceive and create a more just world with and for one another.

Orlando, FL – CITY unseen. A New [AR]t Experience.

2018-08-13T00:00:00Z

In October 2018, Snap! Orlando will unveil ‘CITY UNSEEN’, a multi-year, multi-location, citywide public art project that will ignite the landscape of Orlando. This project will open artistic borders by launching the city and its visitors into Augmented Reality (AR) experiences that captivate with brilliant fusions of internationally renowned artists and cutting edge AR technology. CITY UNSEEN will position Orlando as a pioneer which casts a new vision for the fusion of art and technology in the 21st century, and serve as a platform for discussion about social, cultural and environmental issues affecting those around us. A CITY UNSEEN App is being developed and will be available for users to enjoy the full range of art installations and immersive AR experiences. Some of the experiences will include: METAMORPHOSHIS PROJECT: Miami-based artist Felice Grodin recently launched Pérez Art Museum Miami’s first-ever AR installation during Art Basel Miami Beach 2017 will manifest a simulated experience representing how Orlando is morphing from its amusement park perception. GREEN MURAL PROJECT: Building upon the issue of ecological awareness, Turkish visual artist Can Büyükberber will create an ecologically conscious mural, which will find permanence into the virtual world through AR. Through projection mapping, the audience will experience depth and movement and view this eco-friendly installation. THE PORTAL: Visit the studio of famed Los Angeles artist Nancy Baker Cahill. This first of its kind experience allows the viewers to walk and teleport through the artist’s LA studio, in 360 degrees. JR’S INSIDE/OUT PROJECT: In 2017, Snap! hosted the ‘Inside Out/Dreamers’ project with award-winning JR PHOTO BOOTH TRUCK, giving members of the community an opportunity to take a photo and participate in an art installation in support of the DREAM Act. The original mural pasting of portraits was washed away. Snap! is bringing ‘Inside Out/Dreamers’ back to life through AR.

Washington, DC – Limestone of Lost Legends

2018-08-13T00:00:00Z

My mural project stems from one of the District of Columbia's biggest flaws: gun violence. 116 homicides took place in the year of 2017 and there is no place of remembrance for those fallen. My plan includes creating a mural to commemorate six faces of slain youth from the 2017-2018 school year. I began this project with a petition, to gauge communal support. The petition grew rapidly on a local level. About ten weeks after I launched the petition, the Parkland shooting took place. About five kids from Parkland, Florida came to my high school in Ward 8 to learn more about everyday gun violence, rather than mass shootings that rarely take place, and gain momentum in the media. We educated them about our homicide rate, how guns are trafficked into the city, and what we were doing to combat the issue. The topic of my mural came up and Cameron Kasky tweeted it out and my audience grew geographically. At that point, me and my teacher, Ms. Lee, were still looking for a space to paint. We were told no by a Council-member and maybe from business owners. The process became discouraging and we continued on for about six months, until we lucked up. Ms. Lee walked through an alley connected to Barracks Row in Capitol Hill, owned by The Fridge art gallery. Alex Goldstein, the owner, was thrilled to sponsor the mural as he had his own ties to gun violence. The location was perfect, I want the mural in a neighborhood where the residents can live their everyday lives and ignore what happens in the city's poorest corners. Lastly, we have an artist and are currently in the stage of fundraising.

San Francisco, CA – 100 Jars of Jelly

2018-08-13T00:00:00Z

FARM (Future Action Reclamation Mob) is a next-generation protest project, gift-economy community, and non-profit org started by art and design students on an "adopted" and toxic swath of land in Potrero Hill. This successful project then became FARM Davis. Over ten years, we have grown thousands of pounds of food to give away. While we make regular donations 52 weeks a year to soup kitchens, low-income housing, and food pantries, we now want to engage our eventual gift receivers (the eaters) to make/farm with us. (The FARM will never require that eaters participate; this is a community service to spread awesome!) Our delight and purpose is to grow food to give away. The involvement will result in nourishing, delicious food, building rich relationships in the spirit of a gift economy. 100 JARS of AWESOME POMEGRANATE JELLY! — share a day in the kitchen with low-income eaters (mostly formerly homeless and/or seniors) — 2 low-income housing locations that have certified kitchens — 7 very productive pomegranate trees=gallons and gallons of juice — Build connected community via pomegranate jelly-making, using FARM Davis fruit. —Eaters keep knowledge and make jelly all year round using fruit we donate every week. — Hand make tags for the jars so the contents are clearly identified — Husks (skins) from pomegranates are saved for natural dyes when we grow/make cotton and wool scarves for donation. FARM has 2-3 meals/year where 5th graders grow ingredients and cook a meal to share with seniors. Each child has a senior lunch date and intergenerational magic explodes over a meal. Details are here: http://farmdavis.org/kids/ We imagine a similar response in the kitchen, making 100 Jars of Jelly. The event would happen in Davis— about 1.25 hours from San Francisco. FARM Davis was a direct result of FARM in Potrero Hill, and we hope that our mother-ship connection inspires you to fund the project and to participate in the workshops. We are just a skip from SF.

Newburgh, NY – Newburgh Elementary School Gardens: Hudson Valley

2018-08-13T00:00:00Z

In this coming school year, we at Hudson Valley Seed will be partnering with the Newburgh after-school program to complement our current in-school offerings with Crop Shops, after-school student-run farm stands. The Crop Shops allow us to expand students’ access to fresh foods beyond the school day, sending veggies and veggie knowledge home with their families at significantly lower prices than what would be available at a grocery store. Students learn how to handle money, calculate change, interact with customers, explain about the produce they are selling, and cooperate with one another to successfully make sales. Our students are excited to use the knowledge that they have gained in garden lessons during the school day to educate customers on the nutrition, life cycles, and fun facts about vegetables being sold, and the different ways of preparing them in kid-friendly recipes. We hope to continue increasing this access and to better serve our students outside of the school day, as well as share the gardens’ bounties and veggie knowledge with the communities in which we work.

Portland, OR – Domino Tournament in Dawson Park

2018-08-12T00:00:00Z

The Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods serves the neighborhoods in inner N-NE Portland. The Eliot neighborhood, that is home to Dawson Park, has experienced high levels of gentrification, like many of our neighborhoods in our district. This summer we were contacted by Police, that there was interest to increase police presence in Dawson Park. We are collaborating with Police and the neighborhood association to increase positive activities that are culturally relevant and positive. NECN would like to sponsor a Domino Tournament, that will be a way to be inclusive of those, who would otherwise feel the pressure of a police force presence, and the every day effects of gentrification. We believe that by supporting positive activities that many already enjoy but through a larger supported platform, that we can increase safety and still keep space for all that enjoy that park. Funds will be used to purchase prizes for the tournament- like gift certificates to local businesses, food/ beverages and provide stipends to contract 2 community outreach workers to help promote and facilitate the event. We are shooting for late summer/ early fall for the event.

Vegan (Inactive) – Becoming Vegan - A 4-Week Community Event

2018-08-12T00:00:00Z

Here at Catskill Animal Sanctuary we are excited to launch a community-based vegan mentor program this September. On four consecutive Saturday afternoons we will welcome visitors interested in becoming vegan to our beautiful grounds to learn more about the whys and hows of becoming vegan and to engage in meaningful conversations with others who can help support them on their journey. These afternoon events will feature talented and accomplished speakers, food demonstrations with samples, snacks, and an educational tour of the sanctuary which includes meeting some of our beloved rescued residents. Participants pledge to be vegan for the month and are paired with a trained mentor who will provide guidance and support tailored to their individual goals and needs. Participants have the option to continue with a mentor after September and are also given a comprehensive resource packet which includes books, films, apps, and websites. We have 15 mentors who, after an initial application and interview, have completed our carefully designed 8-hour training and are prepared to work with up to three participants (“mentees”) each. We anticipate having 30-50 participants in the program, some of whom may attend one or more of the community events but choose not to become a pledge or have a mentor. We welcome all who are interested to attend any or all of the Saturday afternoon events. For those who pledge, there will be a shared celebratory meal on the last day of the program. These events and the mentorship support are provided to the public free of charge to help facilitate the attendance and participation of all who are interested in making this important lifestyle change - a change which we know creates a kinder world for animals, our shared Earth, and ourselves. The project is operated by Elana Kirshenbaum, our Adult Programs Manager, who has many years of vegan advocacy and program management experience. Please reach out to us with any questions you may have!

Rockport, MA – 3rd Annual Pay-It-Forward Pink Envelope Initiative

2018-08-12T00:00:00Z

In partnership with one another, Awesome Gloucester and Awesome Rockport will distribute 132 pink envelopes containing undisclosed amounts of cash across our neighboring communities. Together, our chapters will give away a total of $2000 in free cash over the course of a single weekend. The dates of distribution are August 11 and August 12. In addition to the cash, we will also insert a brief note in each envelope requesting that recipients (a) do something awesome with the money and (b) share a story about what they did via email or through social media.

Gloucester, MA – 3rd Annual Pay-It-Forward Pink Envelope Initiative

2018-08-12T00:00:00Z

South Bend, IN – Ink Project

2018-08-10T00:00:00Z

The purpose of Ink Project is to provide free tattoo cover ups for individuals that believe their pre-existing tattoos are impeding their lives. This program is intended to empower individuals and to support individuals in enhancing their lives by providing a resource for tattoo cover ups of racist, gang, and/or profane tattoos. The idea is to connect community members, local human service agencies, and community businesses to address the need of tattoo cover ups. Their are many in our community that feel that their tattoos are keeping them from employment opportunities and from being able to fully participate positively in our community. Ink Project is the means by which individuals in our community can replace a negative image on their skin with a new image and eliminate the barriers the old tattoo presented. Ink Project is a local resource for individuals in the Michiana area. It supports community serving community and agency networking. Only agencies and local community groups can refer individuals for a tattoo cover up. This way, those that are already actively involved in changing their lives for the better or are positively enhancing the community and those that have the most need for the free cover ups are reached. Ink Project uses talented local tattoo artists to complete the tattoo cover ups. This supports the local small businesses and creates another positive network between the local tattoo artists in the Michiana area.

South Bend, IN – Children's Museum Start-up

2018-08-10T00:00:00Z

I am part of a group of parents in the beginning stages of starting up a children's museum in South Bend. The museum will be composed of hands-on, educational activities, focused on science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics (STEAM). Our museum will be accessible for all children in our community and surrounding areas, either through monthly sponsered free admission days or discounts for low income families. Our plan is to start small, through traveling or "pop-up" exhibits to immediately make STEAM-based activities available to children in our community. Once we have enough funds raised, we will lease a small space so we can be open daily for families who want to participate in our activities and exhibits. We eventually plan to move into a large, permanent space which we will gradually fill and improve over years of hard work. Our motto is to dream big, but start small. In July, we held a community meeting to organize support and get input from other families and stakeholders to hear what they would like to see in the museum. About 90 people attended, and we were overwhelmed by the enthusiasm and number of people who were interested in joining our efforts. We are currently meeting with city officials and other potential partners, interviewing potential board members, and planning our pop-up exhibits. For more information, visit our Facebook page @SBchildrensmuseum where you can follow our progress, watch the Facebook live stream of our meeting, read our Tribune article, and watch our ABC-57 and WSBT-22 news segments.

South Bend, IN – Picnic in the park

2018-08-10T00:00:00Z

We would like to host one last picnic in Howard Park before the next major wave of construction starts. We own a restaurant, Baker & Rose, on the East Bank across from the park. We offer frisbees and picnic baskets, and we would like to add some other fun outdoor games, music, along with displays from local artists and vendors. We have been in contact with DTSB, South Bend Venues, Parks, and Arts and some of our regular customers about potential dates and assistance in building a good crowd.

Boston, MA – Tutus For Batman

2018-08-07T00:00:00Z

As gender identity and LGBTQ rights continue to shape our national conversation, how can we help kids embrace gender diversity, question gender stereotypes, and feel affirmed in their own gender expression? Tutus for Batman: A Gender Identity Workshop for Kids will be an event during Transgender Awareness Month in November, 2018 . The workshop is facilitated and produced by Wee The People- a social justice project for kids based in Boston, MA. Tutus for Batman features a live theater performance on gender identity, a drag queen storytime, and separate interactive workshops for kids 4-6 and 7-11 exploring and disrupting gender stereotypes and the gender binary. The pilot Tutus for Batman workshop was done in 2016 in a 50 person capacity community space. The event exceeded capacity (we had to turn approx 30 families away) and was one of the most popular workshops we have done. Because of the demand and interest, we have collaborated with the Puppet Showplace Theatre in Brookline who is donating its 100p-capacity space to do a workshop for a larger audience with the flexibility for multiple workshops.

Boston, MA – Screaming Chicken Piano

2018-08-07T00:00:00Z

I have a vision of making a pipe organ. But instead of a traditional pipe organ, the pipes are those screaming chicken toys. I plan to build it with an actual keyboard to play it with as well as being midi-controlled. It should be fully ridiculous and awesome.

Awesome Without Borders (Inactive) – Healing Space

2018-08-06T00:00:00Z

Sanar is one of the first trauma-informed organizations in the country working to ensure all female and female identifying individuals have safe places, spaces, and faces with whom they can share in their healing experience from gender-based violence. Sanar’s New Jersey-based headquarter's groundbreaking services have yielded significant results in the reduction of trauma-related symptoms for historically marginalized communities that have transformed the lives and futures of women and girls. Sanar's trauma recovery services include therapy, expressive arts and music, yoga and mindfulness, education and employment coaching, and psychiatric support, case advocacy, legal support, and other customized services to meet individual needs. To increase our healing impact, Sanar is opening a new healing space in Los Angeles, California! The new office will help move us closer to our vision that all survivors have access to healing spaces that foster resiliency, inspire hope and allow women and girls to meet their full potential. We want to take the AWESOME outcomes and learning opportunities from New Jersey and build a one-of-a-kind healing space in Los Angeles that will allows survivors to move beyond the violence their past and create an empowered life of their choosing. The new office will integrate TONS of sensory-based tools that have proven to reduce trauma-symptoms for survivors. Resources like yoga and mindfulness are accessible, transportable, and culturally diverse strategies that allow survivors to regain a sense of safety when they have a trauma-trigger, reduce anxiety when they have trouble sleeping, and befriend their bodies after the violence of their past. We know that creating a safe space that provides key resources and fosters a sense of hope are key elements in trauma recovery. This AWESOME new space will help countless women, girls, and female identifying individuals have a home base for healing to build strong, violence free lives!

Adelaide – Y-Cook

2018-08-06T00:00:00Z

Careship Coorong is a social care farm for people living with dementia, people with mental health problems and those who just feel lonely in their community. A social care farm provides social support by enabling participants to work on an actual farm. Our farm is set up as a free-range snail farm. As part of our social support we run a fortnightly intergenerational cooking & gardening program in which local school students come to the farm to interact with older community members through cooking and gardening. The student would come to the farm every week (recently changed to fortnightly) and cook lunches in the Mongolian yurt for older community members who would like to interact with the students. The students have learned many new skills and gained confidence while building up valuable networks in the community. The older community members say they feel less lonely and they engage more in community events. The Y-Cook program has been running for 3 years with much enthusiasm and passion from all participants.

Oakland, CA (Inactive) – Creating Freedom Movements: more justice, more joy

2018-08-03T00:00:00Z

CFM’s new year-long popular education program & social justice project incubator begins this September. Designed for emerging & established grassroots leaders, it provides participants with resources that support the sustainability & power of their work, while also building deeper cross-issue understanding & solidarity through the intensive cohort model. The first 9 months consist of weekly workshops in social movement history & analysis, the arts, healing practices, and practical skills (full workshop list here: www.creatingfreedommovements.org/workshops.html), followed by 3 months of mentorship as participants cultivate projects that increase justice & joy in their communities. Projects can contribute to existing organizations or be new, based on community priorities. The projects incubated through our program allows us to go wide in our impact, while the program year allows us to go deep, building the kind of cross-issue relationships that are crucial to deep societal transformation. Interlocking systems of oppression are good at keeping us apart, but by spending substantive time together on a weekly basis for a year, participants in our program build meaningful relationships with people different than themselves in multiple ways, thus strengthening the local activist ecosystem and the collaborations needed to grow our collective power. (We just accepted our first cohort: 28 people who are truly diverse in terms of race, class, gender, sexuality, age, issue areas they’re passionate about, level of experience, and modalities through which they work (direct action, education, service provision, the arts, policy, organizing, etc.) - we are excited to embark on this transformative year with them!) Finally, alongside deepening our understanding & relationships, and supporting actions that increase justice, our workshops focus on cultivating joy. We believe joy is the antidote to overwhelm and paralysis, prevents burnout, and attracts more people into this work.

Newcastle – Feedback Organic - Food waste into Urban produce

2018-08-02T00:00:00Z

We run an organsation that sees the best in waste. Aside from many other waste types we've dealt with over the last five years - we've begun to focus on circulatory waste benefits of food. We've been collecting and converting food waste around Newcastle for five years and for the last three years - we've been converting it into urban farm produce and feeding it back to the community. We also run a program called the 'one hour farmers' which engages our broader commercial and residential communities to get involved in farm to plate and waste conversion.

Annapolis, NS (Inactive) – Rose Fortune: A Biography

2018-08-01T00:00:00Z

We have seen our local heroine, Rose Fortune, immortalized in a Canada Post stamp and a local ferry named after her. It is well past time we had a biography of Rose Fortune. Although there is not a lot of information we have about Rose, her story can be woven in with the stories of local African Nova Scotians and their settlements in places such as Granville Ferry, Delaps Cove, Brindley Town (now called Jordanville) and Spa Springs. After talking with staff at the Black Loyalist Centre in Shelburne, they have been very supportive of the idea and would love to use a biography of Rose Fortune in their education and outreach programs. Working with some of the descendants of Rose Fortune and with archival material, scholarly books and articles, and oral histories, I will put together this book about Rose. SSP Publications has agreed to publish it once it is ready. Presenting cheque to author Brenda Thompson (center) are trustees Sue Bonnington and John Coker.

Singapore – Photovoice for Sex Workers in Singapore

2018-08-01T00:00:00Z

Project X is organizing a photovoice project which involves getting sex workers to use cameras to capture aspects of their daily lives. Photovoice is a recognized method to enable marginalized communities to participate in the documentation of their own reality. As such, the aim of our project is to provide a platform for women in the sex industry to tell their own story, empowering them to take control of their own narrative away from the society’s prejudices. A series of workshops will be conducted and the women will have an opportunity to learn photography skills and seek peer support. There will be a total of 10 participants who will attend four photovoice workshops over the course of 2 months. There will be one principal facilitator, Robyne Hayes, who is a Social Justice Photographer based in Singapore. She has kindly agreed to conduct the workshops for free. The workshops are scheduled to take place from September to October 2018. The photographs will then be exhibited in various galleries, with its debut at Project X’s 10th anniversary gala dinner slated for the 16th of December 2018. A research project will run concurrently to the photovoice workshops. Recognizing that the media is very powerful in shaping people’s opinions and their resulting behavior, a research team will analyse media coverage of sex workers in 2017. In particular, they will be examining the language used when writing about sex workers, and the photographs that accompany those articles. We will then be comparing the photographs from the photovoice project to the mainstream media’s representation of sex workers, and engage with local media outlets with our findings.

North Minneapolis, MN – Minneapolis Nature Preschool

2018-08-01T00:00:00Z

The children of North Minneapolis would benefit greatly from a nature-based preschool. Young children love being outside. They learn best by being active, curious, and playful. There is a wealth of information regarding the need for greater physical activity, sensory integration, and social-emotional development among children. Time in nature offers rich opportunities for achieving these goals. The number of nature-based preschools is increasing across the nation, yet we do not have a program available for the citizens of Minneapolis. We know there is a market to create such a school, and have worked hard to make it happen on the Northside! A group of us have been meeting since October 2016 to create this inclusive nature-based preschool. Our purpose is to: • Cultivate the innate curiosity and wonder of young children • Empower families to help their children succeed • Offer children a better understanding of the environment and reasons to protect it. We are ready to start our pilot program in Sept 2018, have teachers hired, and are fully enrolled with a waitlist. We are excited to be renting from Kroening Interpretive Center in North Mississippi Regional Park. Over 62% of children enrolled live on the Northside.

State College, PA – 'Shake' the Stage

2018-08-01T00:00:00Z

State College loves theatre! With four theaters within a 1 mile radius of each other, State Collegians can’t get enough. Unfortunately, not many Centre County residents get to experience the other side of watching a great performance, the thrill of actually being on stage performing. So why not bring the stage to a larger audience and make performance more accessible and fun with, ‘Shake’ the Stage. A fixed, one-person stage will be constructed and made available for anyone in Centre County to play an instrument, sing a song, dance, or perform! Participants will have the option to experience the thrill of performance with whoever they’re with or post and share 30-55 second clips of their performance with a community of other residents and visitors who also ‘Shake’ the Stage on our social media platforms. Don’t know what to perform? No worries! A web page dedicated to a mission of spreading the love of theatre and performance will have tons of challenges. From Pirouettes to juggling, participants will have a variety of performance challenges to 'Shake the Stage with. Maybe you want to recite a monologue, 'Shake' the Stage will have tons of monologues at your fingertips from some of the greatest playwrights in history such as: Eugene O’Neil, George Bernard Shaw, Tennessee Williams, August Wilson, and, of course, William ’Shake' speare! I developed this Idea during the second year of pursuing my MFA in Acting at the Penn State School of Theatre. After traveling abroad to Europe, I fell in love with the hundreds of street performers I witnessed reciting poetry, playing instruments, performing magic, and much more! I could feel a powerful commitment to the arts and performance that seemed to liberate the souls of the people there. ’Shake’ the Stage wants to be that force in Centre County that gives participants a platform to overcome or challenge their fear of speaking or performing publicly and allow them to share those experiences with the world.

Melbourne (Inactive) – The arts as a therapy in stroke recovery

2018-08-01T00:00:00Z

We are a not-for-profit organisation that run a Centre for stroke survivors and carers in Geelong. While we offer groups and programs at low (if any) cost at The Centre, we understand that recovery for most looks like getting out into the community in a facilitated and supported environment. A few weeks ago we ran a pilot session at a local acting school with a group of young stroke survivors (between the ages of 23 -54). The amazing actresses from the school that facilitated the group were so inclusive and empowering and the team LOVED it, they had so much fun. They walked out of the class engaged, laughing, smiling, confident. The transformation was incredible. We would like to offer this class to all of our groups of stroke survivors so they can all encounter the same level of confidence from this kind of session. There is no doubt that enriching our environments and enhancing our creative capacity is fundamental for brain recovery. This class is an opportunity for stroke survivors to activate neural pathways and therefore enhance recovery outcomes at the same time as empowering them to be creative and think about recovery differently.

Tallahassee, FL (Inactive) – Farming The Future

2018-07-31T00:00:00Z

Farming The Future pairs engineering expertise and leadership in system design to bring food, entrepreneurship, and community to Tallahassee. Farming The Future is a women owned, award-winning Progressive Business. We are a greenhouse distributor. Inside of those greenhouses we design and build aquaponic systems. Aquaponic systems consist of two parts: fish and plants. We raise tilapia and catfish in ponds, we pump that water into finely calculated bioreactors, we grow vegetables out of the bioreactors, and then we send that water back to the fish. We then pair that with an external terrestrial garden where we can add more growing space. We use our systems as a tool to teach STEM, Agricultural, and Career Education. All the food grown goes to the cafeteria, and whatever is left over goes to local shelters, A Second Harvest Food Banks, and other community organizations fighting food deserts and food insecurity. We build our systems in Juvenile Detention Centers, Title I Schools, Commercial Institutions, Low Income/Food Desert Communities, Private Backyards for Individuals, and Commercial Scale Farms. Over the years of building these in educational facilities, our director Michele Madison has written and developed a hands-on STEM curriculum that meets Florida State Standards. FTF provides people the opportunity to save money at the grocery store, provide an enriching environment for children, and healthy, nutrient dense food by installing low maintenance fruit tree kits in Tallahassee backyards! Our ultimate goal when combining aquaponics, foodscaping, and education is to bring all of this back to where it belongs: the people and especially the future. When kids have access to fresh, nutritionally dense food, they are able to stay healthy and spend more days growing. We want to make this future a reality for Tallahassee as we continue to develop into a leading city in the state of Florida and nationwide. We're not farming the past, we're farming the future.

Disability – Community-Built Dance Performance

2018-07-31T00:00:00Z

VAE Raleigh has spent the past five years working to build trust with our local disability communities and highlighting the creative contributions made by artists with disabilities. This fall, we want to continue this work by bringing Barak adé Soleil, a performance artist with disabilities, to Raleigh, NC for a community-build performance. Barak would visit from August 13-17, 2018. He would spend the first two days of his visit in conversation with members of our local disability communities, talking with individuals about their everyday experiences traversing spaces in our city, including Lichtin Plaza, a particularly contentious space. Licthin Plaza sits in front of Raleigh’s performing arts center and its wide expanse of concrete must be traversed to reach the front doors. Visitors with disabilities and visitors who cannot walk long distances must traverse Licthin Plaza’s wide expanse in order to access the performing arts presented inside. This is been a longstanding problem that has been discussed in community, with the venue, and with the City of Raleigh. Barak will spend time talking with community members about their experiences with the plaza, their attempts to negotiate structural or policy alterations, and their frustrations with the lack of change. He will use these conversations to create a dance that will be performed on the plaza. This event offers the community a chance to see their frustrations be turned into a piece of work, performed in the very space that caused their frustration. It also brings the performing arts out of the giant building on the other side of the plaza and makes them accessible to everyone. The following two days of Barak’s visit will be spent with young artists with disabilities, talking about his career, motivations, and upcoming work. This part of the visit is a partnership with Arts Access, North Carolina’s only statewide organization focused on the intersection of arts and disability. What our grantee is saying: "This support is AWESOME! We value artists and do not work with them unless we can pay them for their time and talent. This funding means that VAE Raleigh, a small nonprofit, will be able to support artist Barak adé Soleil as he makes a new piece of work with our local disability community. This would not have been possible without the support from Awesome Disability!"

Disability – "Buy A Battery-Give Independence"

2018-07-31T00:00:00Z

Our non profit, REquipment Durable Medcial Equipment & Assistive Technology Reuse Program, Inc.refurbishes durable medical equipment and gives it away for free to people in Massachusetts that need it. One of our most requested and highest cost pieces to refurbish are power wheelchairs and scooters. We install new batteries in every chair before it leaves our facilities. People who receive our power wheelchairs include seniors, veterans, children with disabilities as well as adults with all types of paralyzing disabilities. They are generally low income and cannot afford the cost of new batteries, which can run up to $300/pair. Many people who use power wheelchairs do not have back up chairs as insurance will not cover them. So when their wheelchair breaks down and needs to be taken into the shop for repairs it means it could be gone for several weeks to several months. Without a back up they miss work, school, social life and are at risk of secondary health conditions such as pneumonia and possible hospitalizations. Meet Sarah. Sarah was out to dinner one Sunday night in March when her power wheelchair died. Luckily she was with someone who assisted her in getting home. The next day Sarah called her wheelchair vendor and found out a technician wouldn't be available to come look at the chair for 7-10 days and if it had to have a major repair then it could be gone for 4-6 months. Sarah did not have a back up wheelchair. Staying in bed for weeks was not an option. Sarah was due to start a new job the following week and MA was in the midst of a hurricane. Sarah called us and she was able to select a power wheelchair that we refurbished from our online inventory. Due to the hurricane we were unable to deliver the chair right away but she did start her job the next week. Our power wheelchair enabled her to continue to work, get around in the community and maintain her health. With funding for batteries we can make more power wheelchairs available. What our grantee is saying: "The REquipment Durable Medical Equipment Reuse Program is so grateful for this award to enable us to purchase batteries for 5-6 power wheelchairs to give people with disabilities independent mobility to pursue work, school and/or community activities. These refurbished power wheelchairs change people's lives!"

Awesome Without Borders (Inactive) – A Town Called Victoria

2018-07-30T00:00:00Z

Our project is a documentary film about Victoria, a town in South Texas. On January 27, 2017, an executive order immediately banned citizens from several predominantly-Muslim countries from travel into the United States. Later that night, a mosque in Victoria, Texas, was burned to the ground. International media descended on Victoria, expecting to cover a story of hate. But instead, something unusual happened: the next day, almost five hundred Victorians arrived at the smoldering mosque for an impromptu peace rally. Within a week, a global GoFundMe campaign raised more than a million dollars to rebuild. The story of Victoria made headlines around the world, offering a parable of togetherness in dark times. But what happens when the media-friendly narrative ends, and the cameras turn away? What happens afterwards, when a community is left to look at itself and ask difficult questions about its true identity? Beneath the inspirational facade is a deeply-divided town facing real challenges. How does a community overcome its age-old political, cultural, racial, and economic divides, and begin the hard work of changing itself for the better? And what happens when a local man – a young Hispanic father of two – is arrested for burning down the mosque? Our film, A TOWN CALLED VICTORIA, asks all these questions, and follows the people of Victoria – its activists and politicians; its preachers and worshippers; its students and teachers; its community leaders and ordinary folks – as they struggle to find answers, to reach each other, to learn the tough lessons of the past, and find a new and better way forward. (Note: We learned about AWB after another documentary that includes Li got this grant! http://awesomewithoutborders.org/grant/seeing-believing-women-direct)

Alaska (Inactive) – of relation

2018-07-30T00:00:00Z

of relation is a three part, progressively building, performance series addressing the concept of relationship. First presenting the relationship to the self, second, familial (specifically father daughter, brother sister), and third, romantic. Through the use of performance art, wearable art, sculptural installation, and sound, viewers are taken through an emotional and physical narrative. told in three progressively building vignettes. The viewers are woven through each piece beginning with the relationship to the self where two woman sit back to back 10-15 feet apart. They are wearing a dress covered by a knit sweater; they are versions of the same self. As they sit back to back, they are individually knitting their sweater to complete it. Each sweater is connected to the other by a thread of yarn, as one woman attempts to knit her sweater it unravels the other woman's sweater, as the other self knits her sweater, she is taking yarn from her other self. This action is never ending and creates a futile repetitive act. The viewers then move to the second piece where three performers stand. They begin a dance set to sound which reveals a tumultuous father-daughter, and brother-sister relationship. As they dance, more of the female character's sweater is unraveled creating this sense of loss and detachment. The viewers then move to the third piece where a full size woven house stands. Inside are performers, attached back to back, creating a push-pull action. They are silent and are moving to an audio that tells the relationship stories of communities members. Viewers can only see whats going on "behind closed doors" by peering in through windows or door ways, further examining what we share and what we don't and challenging vulnerabilities. There is a social practice aspect to this piece. I will interview 35-50 community members on their experiences with love, pain, and relationships. I will then edit those interviews into the audio for the third piece

Plano, TX (Inactive) – Chicago the Musical: a musical charity project

2018-07-27T00:00:00Z

We are five Plano East Senior High School Theatre students who are passionate about the arts and wanted to give back in some way. We decided that we wanted to help less fortunate, aspiring theatre students grow and learn within the arts. Being theatre students ourselves, we thought that there was no better way to further our own experience, than to also support and educate future Plano East Theatre students. We are teaming up with Armstrong Middle School, a low income school that happens to feed into Plano East. Their theatre program doesn't have the equipment, amenities, or opportunities that so many other middle school theatre programs have. By supporting us and donating, you will be helping us put on our summer muscial: Chicago , in which all the proceeds will go to Armstrong's theatre program. In addition to the musical, you would also be helping us fund a Theatre summer camp for Armstrong's theatre students.

Plano, TX (Inactive) – Unmasking Brain Injury

2018-07-27T00:00:00Z

BIND: Brain Injury Network of Dallas is a post-rehabilitation program in Plano that serves the long-term needs of stroke, traumatic brain injury and brain cancer survivors. Our mission is to provide tools and a bridge of support so that adult brain injury survivors can reconnect to work, life and the community. Our program members have a unique opportunity to participate in a nationally-recognized advocacy event called "Unmasking Brain Injury." Each participant creates a mask as a means to tell their brain injury/recovery story. Support is provided through the Brain Injury Association and related partners to facilitate groups like ours to execute the project. Additionally, we would travel the entire display through the DFW metroplex, including our annual Gala in October to bring further awareness of brain injury and the BIND program.

Oahu, HI – Stage Mosaic Mural

2018-07-27T00:00:00Z

Washington Middle School is located in the heart of Honolulu on the corner of King and Punhahou streets. We have an extremely diverse population attending from 6th to 8th grade. Art Club which began in 2010 is currently working on it's third mosaic mural and wanted to make a design that celebrated our diversity. Students attend Art Club after school facilitated by myself, the 6th grade art teacher. Our goal is to beautify our school and have demonstrated this through mosaics. We choose mosaics as the medium, because it is hearty enough to withstand the elements and is virtually maintenance free. We did our first mosaic on the corner on our main administration building. The second is located on King street side by our parking lot. This last one that we are currently working on will be mounted behind our stage where our school holds assemblies. Leah Kilpatrick Rigg and her father Doug Kilpatrick have graciously helped us along the way with the three mosaic murals. I contacted them in 2010, and they gladly stepped into the teaching role giving up their own free time to come and teach the kids and myself about the process. Students designed the mural. They learned how to glaze tiles, make clay slabs, use nippers to break tiles, and to grout. Not only did students learn the physical and aesthetic roles of creating this mosaic mural, but they also learned to work together in tight spaces, appreciate everyone’s different styles and techniques, and figure out ways to harmonize these differences. Students gave up hours and hours of their free time. They even came over Christmas and Spring Breaks. A few teachers, counselors, and a custodian also helped piece together some of the mural puzzle. We are currently about half way through the project but are optimistic that we will finish by the end of the school year in May.

Oahu, HI – ARTBOX Kaimuki

2018-07-27T00:00:00Z

We want to bring more art to our town, Kaimuki, and we are doing that through our project ARTBOX Kaimuki. Our objective is to take ugly, gray traffic boxes, some even with graffiti, from bad to beautiful and from utilitarian to works of art by incorporating the artistic talent from our community. We will be offering this invitation to artists from local high schools, colleges and our artists at large. We have identified 15 traffic boxes on Waialae Avenue and one on Harding Avenue that are in need of attention, and we anticipate this being done in two phases. The first phase will include seven traffic boxes on Waialae Avenue in addition to the one on Harding Avenue. We have included pictures of a traffic box on Waialae Avenue with the original gray paint and graffiti and also a pictures from a painted boxes on the mainland as an example of what can be done. We will be focusing on eight Hawaiian themes including beach scenes, native flora, mountains, and ethnic diversity. We will be vetting the artists’ entries to ensure that their work is family friendly and meets our theme criteria. We recently presented our project, ARTBOX Kaimuki, to the Mayor’s Office of Culture and the Arts (MOCA) and received approval to go forward with our event. The ARTBOX Kaimuki project is not just an artistic endeavor; but a way to bring our community together as we beautify our environment. It is our hope that Awesome Foundation will agree that this is an awesome project!! **Please note that we do not have a website for ARTBOX Kaimuki because this is a one time project but in order to be able to submit the application we needed to list one so we are using Kaimuki Neighborhood Board website.

Gloucester, MA – Period Partners

2018-07-27T00:00:00Z

We provide menstrual products to people in need on Cape Ann. Access to menstrual hygiene products is a basic survival need, but for many people in America this need goes unmet. This can have a negative impact on people’s lives in a variety of ways, including missing work or school and having to resort to unhygienic practices, which causes infections requiring medical attention. Homeless shelters and food pantries rarely have adequate supplies of tampons or pads to meet the needs of their clients. Because it’s something we rarely talk about, people just don’t think to donate these essential items. We have been in operation since December 2016 and began working with The Open Door in June 2017. We've raised over $15,000 and it costs us around $1,500 a month to meet the needs of our community. An average 500 individuals a month take advantage of our products. Our funds are low at the moment, so an Awesome Gloucester grant right now would really help!

Oahu, HI – Naonealaa Story Board

2018-07-27T00:00:00Z

There is a special place on Windward O`ahu which figured greatly in Hawaii's history, and which we hope to tell the story through an Awesome Foundation grant. This is Naonealaa, which has a modern name attached to it - Kaneohe Beach Park. Our organization has raised $1,200 of the $2,200 needed for the storyboard to be purchased, from an earlier grant given by the National Geographic Society. NAONEALA`A The Sands of La`amaikahiki In ancient times, this area was named Naoneala`a, for the famous chief who once lived here a long time ago. In 1867, noted Hawaiian historian Samuel Kamakau tells the story: “La`a, that is, La`a-mai-Kahiki, was so named for his coming from Kahiki. After the death of Olopana, the kingdom was inherited by La`a, and he heard from Kila and others that Hawaii was a fertile land, and that the people were great farmers and keepers of fish in fish ponds. Oahu was the richest of all, so La`a became determined to come here to Hawaii. At Naoneala`a, the chief built three heiau, one of which was named Kalaoa. Perhaps the area is best known as the site where the chiefs of all the islands gathered to make peace. Kamakau describes this important place in the history of the Hawaiian people: “It was in January, 1737, that the two hosts (Alapai’s and Peleioholani) met, splendidly dressed in cloaks of bird feathers and in helmet-shaped head coverings beautifully decorated with feathers of birds. Red feather cloaks were to be seen on all sides, both chiefs were attired in a way to inspire admiration and awe, and the day was one of rejoicing as that of the ending of a dreadful conflict. So it was that Peleioholani and Alapai met at Naonealaa in Kaneohe. The canoes were lined up from Ki`i at Mokapu to Naonealaa, and there on the shore line they remained, Alapai alone going on shore. The chiefs of Oahu and Kauai and the fighting men and the country people remained inland, the chief Peleioholani alone advancing. Between the two chiefs stood the counselor.

New York City, NY – Block Party for a Just Rezoning

2018-07-26T00:00:00Z

_An exciting social justice event using the arts to mobilize and educate people of Inwood, Northern Manhattan, and other NYC neighborhoods subject to predatory rezoning plans._ _Dominican fusion band Yasser Tejada y Palotré will headline entertainment that will include spoken word performer Kaila Paulino, dancers, poets, and other artists. This big, upbeat event will celebrate the sharing local culture of our diverse, mostly working class, majority-Latinx community, and educate people about competing rezoning plans: the Economic Development Corporation’s predatory plan making its way through the approval process despite its rejection by the community board and borough president, and the alternative Uptown United plan developed by a coalition of community groups._ _EDC’s plan, with 70-80% of new housing as market rate luxury units, is a 1-way ticket to displace low-income residents, as has happened elsewhere in NYC. EDC’s upzoning commercial streets and enabling big-box stores will displace thriving local small businesses, many immigrant- and/or woman-owned. EDC offers no protections for 150 small businesses ripe for displacement in easily-developed “soft sites.”_ _The Uptown United plan enables growth of over 2,500 apartments affordable to Inwood’s working class residents and includes protections to discourage big-box chains and keep local small businesses in Inwood. People from other communities subject to recent or ongoing rezoning—East Harlem, East New York, Chinatown, and parts of the Bronx—will join us in solidarity for just rezoning plans across the city, including investments in oft-neglected neighborhoods that need new schools, improved infrastructure, better-maintained parks, and legal support for low-income tenants, as well as more affordable housing and commercial space._ _Amidst the fun and entertainment, this event will make the case that social justice demands these investments without predatory rezonings that push out current residents and businesses._ **AwesomeNYC is happy to be able to support the members of this community who are putting on this event to raise awareness about changes coming to their own community, and can hopefully lend a voice to making changes in support of this vibrant neighborhood.** **Read more about the Uptown United Platform here**

Minas Gerais (Inactive) – Coleta Seletiva

2018-07-25T00:00:00Z

A COLETA SELETIVA é um projeto da Associação de Catadores de Material Reciclável de Salinas, na qual 12 associados, a maioria mulheres, catam até 100 kg por dia, buscando ampliar a coleta seletiva na cidade e melhorar as próprias condições de trabalho. Para isso precisamos de apoio financeiro para poder dar continuidade e evitar que material que podemos reciclar vá para o aterro sanitário. A ideia para realizar esse sonho é usar o dinheiro para poder comprar algo que tenha valor para podemos realizar um bingo ou uma rifa para arrecadar mais dinheiro para comprar um carro para a coleta seletiva da cidade.

Portland, OR – KB's Poise Parlor

2018-07-24T00:00:00Z

KB'S Poise Parlor is an idea I came up with in my last year of undergrad that is just coming to life now. My idea is to help young foster girls of color in the pacific northwest express themselves by learning new and healthy ways to care for their hair. Self care is one of the best gifts you can give yourself. Feeling a disruption of self expression can bring on cloudy feelings of confusion and loss of identity. I strive to help each child find the best representation of themselves through hair care. I also find it very important to help their foster parents become educated on healthy hair care routines , and how this can also play into their child's self confidence and identity issues. The goal is to put on an event in august before the 2018 school year for a group of at least 10 -15 youth. At this event I want youth to receive hair products,a simple hair style and education on the importance of healthy hair.

San Jose, CA – Youth Science Institute's 33rd Wildlife Festival

2018-07-24T00:00:00Z

Youth Science Institute is a non profit organization that has been educating the public and local schools about science and nature since 1953. This year is Youth Science Institute's 33rd Annual Wildlife Festival, and it's also our 65th Anniversary! Every year, we invite a variety of vendors and exhibitors to YSI's Alum Rock Park location, and we educate the public about, like face painting, crafts, and games, as well as guided nature walks, We also feature a stage where we have various exhibitors speak about what their mission to protect wildlife, and give education about their organizations and what the public can do to help. We bring out live animals that the public wouldn't normally see face to face, and we also have story time with Smokey the Bear, as well as Fire Fighters coming to speak about fire safety, and let kids try on their safety gear. This event is completely free to the public, so we are always searching for ways to raise money to help cover funds. We would be very appreciative of any funding for this wonderful and educational day!

Awesome Without Borders (Inactive) – Chalkbeat Tennessee School Board Debate

2018-07-23T00:00:00Z

Through unbiased reporting, Chalkbeat journalists help the public examine how schools are truly operating, scrutinize key policy and legislative developments that often happen behind closed doors, and gain access to important data and context. Our reporting holds schools, politicians, and organizations accountable. By building communities’ understanding, we can improve their ability to serve students better. As part of our strategy, we hold regular community engagement events. In July of 2018, Chalkbeat Tennessee is planning to host an event in advance of the upcoming school board elections in Memphis, Tennessee. The event will be a debate between all the candidates, but with a twist -- it will be led by students. Over the next few months, Chalkbeat journalists will be working with a select group of students to come up with questions for the candidates. Two of the students will moderate the discussion, which we hope will be attended by a wide variety of community members. The goal of the event is to create a more engaged and active community around issues of education reform in Memphis. At Chalkbeat, our dream is for our community to get more engaged in its local schools. Through our work, we can help people learn together about what is working and not working in Memphis’s public schools. We want to provide the community with a space, both digital and in real life, to talk openly and honestly. We also want to ensure that, when they enter the voting booths to select school board members in August, Memphians are making clear, informed decisions and selecting candidates who will serve students well.

Almere (Inactive) – Beach PicNic NL

2018-07-23T00:00:00Z

The largest picnic ever hosted in the Netherlands had 1400 visitors and took place in Zeeland, we can do it better. We would like to organize a PicNic with a minimum of 1500 visitors on Almeerderstrand. I have found various partners that would be interested in participating should I be getting the green light for this event. A food partner (ecological), a partner wanting to offer sustainable picnic blankets that also function as trashbag, and Elle Eten as a media partner. Also from my network I have connections with various influencers that we would be inviting to give this event the footprint it would need to be getting 1500 visitors. I hope to be getting the opportunity to pitch at the event.

Santa Fe, NM (Inactive) – Street Homeless Animal Project

2018-07-22T00:00:00Z

Street Homeless Animal Project (SHAP) is the only organization in Northern New Mexico working with homeless youth to provide services to their companion animals. This summer SHAP, partnering with Smith Vet Hospital, will fund services for the companion animals of 10 or more homeless youth - girls and boys. No shelter in Northern New Mexico will allow people to bring in their animals. Kids often just sleep on the street with their animal families. SHAP’s services since 1998 have included emergency veterinary care, preventative care, spaying neutering, shots, teeth pulling and more. Also provided are leashes, harnesses, food, blankets, coats, crates and more. SHAP exists because none of the emergency or long-term shelters in Santa Fe and Northern New Mexico have the resources to house companion animals along with their people. SHAP gets referrals from police, fire, EMT, animal control, the humane society, Street Outreach, youth, adult, family and animal shelters. They get daily and nightly calls from homeless people on the streets whose animal companion is suffering or in need. Summers are especially busy for Street Homeless Animal Project, as many homeless youth are in the streets and arroyos with companion animals. In the last 5 of years we’ve seen 40% of these calls coming from homeless youth, 21 and under. There are many reasons that youth are on the streets. Homelessness stems from an epidemic of mental health issues, domestic violence, substance abuse, the economy, and more. As many as 25% of homeless persons have animals. Studies have shown that companion animals provide emotional support and represent important, loving relationships especially in youth. Animals make them feel loved, safe, less depressed, less lonely and with more of a sense of purpose. Teen suicide is reduced when the youth has a companion animal. There's no question about it - these animals are family! SHAP helps alleviate suffering and provides aid to these kids and their families. This summer, SHAP will come to the aid of at least 10 homeless youth in Santa Fe whose companion animals need preventative or emergency veterinary care. In partnership with Smith Veterinary Hospital, $1,000 will fund 10 office visits (at a 30% discount) for wellness preventative visits including vaccines for rabies, distemper, bordatella and kennel cough, or emergency visits for exam and meds for an infectious disease or bad reaction to diet.

Ottawa – Wish of a Lifetime

2018-07-22T00:00:00Z

July’s Awesome Ottawa award goes to Monica Harvey to support wishes of a lifetime for residents of Cornerstone Housing for Women, a non-profit organization that provides emergency shelter and affordable housing for women in the city of Ottawa. The award from Awesome Ottawa will help Cornerstone give at least five of its residents something from their previous regular lives they are currently missing, a chance to accomplish something they always wanted to do but couldn't, or an opportunity to reconnect with someone from their past. “The wishes of the women are often simple,” says Monica, “and only limited by not enough funds. One woman, for example, was a lifeguard all her life. When telling stories about saving lives or teaching people to swim, her face lights up with passion. She lost her job when she became sick and couldn’t work. After finding her way to Cornerstone and becoming healthy she would like the chance to go swimming again. Unfortunately, she is unable to afford a swimsuit, goggles, or a pass for a swimming pool. Being able to get back in the pool would make her feel like it was yesterday, before she was sick.” Other wishes that might be granted involve reuniting women with family members who live outside Ottawa, or enabling them to cook with herbs from a home country. Monica is a volunteer and member of the corporate board at Cornerstone Housing for Women.

Miami, FL – Painting Rocks in Overtown at Lotus House

2018-07-20T00:00:00Z

Painting Rocks... as we can all agree! Art is one of the best tools used to gather people and build community. The Lotus House in Miami caters to homeless women and children in need. I am an artist and founder of Earth Angel Outreach, a non profit organization that helps bring awareness and support to children in need. I have designed a series of Plays and Programs that have been taught in Liberty City, Overtown and throughout Miami in various schools and are now being offered to Lotus House for their children. One of the playful sessions being offered is Painting Rocks on a weekly basis in the garden at Lotus House. Painting Rocks has been a wonderful tool used to bring people together in a simple way by decorating rocks. These sessions engage children quietly and creatively while opening a window for mothers to relax and socialize with each other. With a little imagination and some paint and glitter, when settled in a safe space, time warps and people connect as they get into their creative zone. A simple concept can become a regular outlet for creativity, ideas, and a force in building new friends. Set outside, Painting Rocks in the garden allows for children to connect with nature and see the relationships between art, nature, and themselves. I would like to offer Painting Rocks every Friday at Lotus House. This would be a class setting that would encourage mothers and children to paint and create together. All supplies and tools will be made available with ample time and assistance to make mini paintings on various size and shape rocks. Many rocks become part of a collection that is being recycled back into the community. Painting Rocks has been a regular Friday night pop-up where people have been supporting the effort to allow the children to paint for free. Each session lasts for 2 hours and costs approx. $100 per session with all supplies, materials including aprons, brushes, paint, glitter, rocks and more for up to 20 people.

Miami, FL – Ukuleles for my school!

2018-07-20T00:00:00Z

My name is Nerissa Manela and I am the music teacher at two schools in Miami. I found out about your organization while researching some grants and wanted to reach out to tell you more about my music programs. I work at Morningside K-8 Academy three days per week and Phillis Wheatley Elementary two days per week. Both schools are above 90% free and reduced lunch and support from parents and the community is sometimes limited. In my general music classes (with grades 2-5), I try to incorporate a variety of lessons including songwriting, movement, reading music notation, music listening, instrument playing, singing, and cross-curricular integration. I am trained in Little Kids Rock method, which is a modern band and music teaching philosophy. I have been teaching with my modern band instruments (ukulele and keyboard) at Morningside, but I am not able to transport them between schools. I am hoping to start teaching a ukulele curriculum at Phillis Wheatley next year, and need 20 ukuleles to serve students in 2nd-5th grade. I look forward to hearing from you and finding out how we can hopefully collaborate together.

Kingston – Keeping Kingston Kool

2018-07-20T00:00:00Z

Along with my 8 year old grandson, Riley, our awesome idea is to hand out free ice cream vouchers to people in the down town core. We chose White Mountain Ice Cream as our source as they are a locally owned business who have been a part of Kingston for many years. Our target population will be anyone who looks hot, needs a reason to smile or simply requires verification as to why Kingston is so Awesome! We have recruited 6 family members who will volunteer their time to help distribute the vouchers. They will be handed out over the course a few weekends and one weekday, for the construction workers who are working hard to make Kingston more Awesome. We chose ice cream as opposed to water bottles as they are a consumable product with no environmental impact. After all, who doesn't smile when they're eating ice-cream, especially when it's the result of a random act of kindness!

Newmarket – Back to School Backpacks - WCYR

2018-07-19T00:00:00Z

The Women's Centre of York Region's Back to School Backpack drive is in its 11th year. The Backpack drive supports women attending programs or counselling at the centre who are returning to school, as well as their children. Many of our clients are low and moderate income residents of York Region whoa re mothers, sisters, daughters, aunts, friends, neighbors , and coworkers. The majority of women that seek our help are women who have experienced violence, have limited income, have low participation rates in the labour market, or experience other barriers that make it difficult for them to contribute to their communities and live their lives to their fullest potential. Many of our clients struggle meaking ends meet and often cannot afford back to school items. Our Back to School Backpack program ensures that all children and adult learners hav access to the tools they need to be successful in school, and ensure that they start their year with dignity. Each age appropriate backpack is estimated to cost about $40. We begin taking names and ages for the program in late June and distribute the backpacks in late August. In 2017, we were able to0 distribute 80 backpacks to 9 clients and 71 children as follows: 9 for JK/SK; 17 in grades 1-3; 20 in grades 4-6; 12 in grade 7-8; and 13 in grades 9-12

Yerevan – Պատահական Անցորդ. «Ձեռքի ուժը»

2018-07-19T00:00:00Z

Որքան էլ մեզ հետաքրքրում են անծանոթները, մենք երբեք նրանց հարցեր չենք տալիս և փորձում ենք չխոսել նրանց հետ՝ սահմանափակելով շփումը միայն հայացքների փոխանակմամբ: Այնինչ, շատ հնարավոր է, որ պատահական անցորդը լինի մեր գաղափարակիրը, մեր ապագա գործընկերը, երկրորդ կեսը, լավ ընկերը կամ ուղղակի հերթական պատահական անցորդը, ում հետ կարող ես անցկացնել կյանքիդ ամենահիշվող 1 րոպեն, ժամը, օրը... «Ձեռքի ուժը» նախագծի թիմով կենտրոնական սրճարաններին կից կտեղադրենք պատեր՝ 2 փորագրված ձեռքերով (նկարում տպագրված տարբերակն է), ձեռքերի միջով կանցնի LED լույս, որը կլուսացնի մութ ժամերի զրույցներն ու հանդիպումները և ձեռքերին շրջապատող տախտակը: Մեր ծրագրի շնորհիվ պատահական անցորդները, տեղադրելով իրենց ձեռքերը հատուկ նախատեսված վայրում, կունենան հնարավորություն նոր ծանոթություններ ստեղծել, կիսվել օրվա դրական և բացասական լիցքերով, ստանալ խորհուրդներ անծանոթներից և վայելել հանդիպման րոպեները կից սրճարանում: Շրջապատող տախտակի վրա մարդիկ կգրեն իրենց մտքերը և այն մարդկանց անունները, ում հետ ծանոթացել են: Գրառումը կարող է ունենալ հետևյալ տեսքը. <<Այստեղ ես ծանոթացել եմ Արինա Մկրտչյանի հետ>>: Հարթակը միշտ կյանքով լի պահելու համար պարբերաբար կկազմակերպվեն միջոցառումներ և այդ օրը մարդիկ հնարավորություն կունենան ծանոթանալ և խոսել օրվա հյուրի հետ՝ ձեռքերը դնելով պատին: Մեր նոր Հայաստանում վստահ ենք որպես հյուր կարող ենք տեսնել ամենաբազում զբաղմունքների և մասնագիտությունների տեր մարդկանց՝ սկսած վարչապետից մինչ գործարար և արվեստագետ: Հանդիպումների արդյունքը կարող է լինել նոր ծրագրերի ստեղծում, կապերի հաստատում կամ ուղղակի զրույց բանիմաց մարդկանց հետ:

Buffalo, NY (Inactive) – Feed Buffalo Little Pantries

2018-07-18T00:00:00Z

I’ll be launching a new pantry this summer (like June 2018)! In effort to encourage the community to support one another, Feed Buffalo will lead a Little Pantry installation project. Our goal is to have 25 Little pantries throughout Buffalo by the end of August 2018. The pantries will hold non-perishable items and toiletries (toilet tissue, toothbrushes/toothpaste, feminine items) & baby items (diapers, baby wipes). The idea is that anyone can donate to the pantry and/or take an item from the pantry whenever needed.

Newcastle – The Share Shop - A Library of Things

2018-07-18T00:00:00Z

Our mission is to create a vast library of useful things in a friendly space where the community can borrow items and learn how to use them. We want people spending less money on things they don’t necessarily need to own (and the storage associated with those things), we want to reduce waste eventuating from the disposal of unwanted items and reduce our carbon footprint by enabling access to local resources near our homes and workplaces. Some examples of the type of things we already have in our inventory including camping equipment like tents and camp chairs, party equipment like a PA and chocolate fountain and tools for DIY like jigsaws, drills and post hole diggers. Sharing is also an exciting way for the community to come together. Sharing provides people with the opportunity to try new things and learn new skills with minimal outlay. The Share Shop will be co-located with other community groups it is expected the location will grow to be a vibrant community hub. The Share Shop is a not-for-profit, incorporated association run by volunteers. We have a core team of eight with a broad network of community-minded people pitching in on various aspects to help us get going. All the things in our inventory to date have been donated by members of the local community. We have set up our inventory and member management system and our website, we have over 100 things in our inventory and we have an agreement in place to occupy a space in Clyde St, Hamilton North. Annual membership is set at $52 a we want the Share Shop to be accessible for all. We also plan to looking into sponsored memberships through charitable partners once we're up and running. At the moment we are building our inventory, taking pre-purchased membership through a crowdfunding campaign (https://chuffed.org/project/theshareshop) and documenting core processes with the intention of opening the doors at the end of July.

Philadelphia, PA – Love Starts Here.

2018-07-18T00:00:00Z

Love starts here. Within our hearts, our soul, our spirit. If you can't love yourself, how in the heck are you gonna love somebody else? I want to put together an art show that is a safe space for featured artists who bring awareness to mental health and LGBT+ issues within the Black community. I have a mission to shine light on the importance of self-love and showing artists that collaborating is more progressive than competing. I want everyone involved to feel empowered and to gain a bit of insight into how artists use their work to cope and elevate. I have a team of artists, performers, and vendors that are willing to help me create my own show as I've only been a part of other people's events. It will be a collaborative event where artists are not only showcasing their work but engaging with the attendees to help them in expressing themselves. There will be 3 main sections for interactive displays such as live painting on a large shared canvas, jumbo coloring sheets created by the artists with markers for attendees to color in, and a self-portrait photo booth. I want to influence the community to practice love for self through art because the more I expressed myself and refined the results, the more I developed my skill and clarified my path. Hopefully this event can inspire and uplift people to feel more confident in their natural talents and potential growth.

Philadelphia, PA – Impact Workshop at Riverside Correctional Facility

2018-07-18T00:00:00Z

Starting on July 23rd, we will begin a two-week performing arts workshop with women at Riverside Correctional Facility (RCF). RCF is one of six jails in the Philadelphia Prison System. Our workshops empower communities of marginalized, incarcerated women in this jail and many others by expanding their pro-social skills (particularly confidence, empathy, resilience, and leadership) and faith. This creates communities of courageous leaders amongst the women who participate, the effects of which ripple out to the rest of the facility and, after they are released, into their home communities. In each workshop, professional artists collaborate with 30 women from the correctional facility for two-weeks to develop a 45-minute performance of dance, music, drama, and spoken word. This performance presents an uplifting message of hope to other incarcerated people in the facility. During the workshop, SLM staff and artists work with inmates for seven hours per day, five days per week, in rehearsals, community building activities, reflection, and small group discussions on faith and self-awareness. All choreography, theater sketches, and spoken word pieces are original work, crafted by the participants from their own life experiences in a way that will powerfully touch their peers in the audience. The two culminating performances take place on SLM’s full stage, set up in the facility’s gym, complete with a professional lighting plot, sound, and video projection. Each performance is accompanied by a professional band and is followed by an interactive feedback session between participating inmates and audience members. This workshop is one of six workshops we are holding in 2018, and will be our fourth annual Impact Workshop at Riverside Correctional Facility.

Chicago, IL – An Arm and a Leg:Podcast re: Cost of Health Care

2018-07-18T00:00:00Z

The cost of health care shapes people’s lives: The jobs they’re afraid to leave, the businesses they don’t start, not to mention their health. It keeps getting more expensive, and it’s confusing— and scary— to face alone. An Arm and a Leg will pull back the curtain to show how the dark machinery works. And that should be… fascinating. Surprising. Entertaining. (That’s how a nerd like me sees it.) It should also be kind of empowering. Occasionally, maybe even useful. Also, consoling, as in: None of us is in this alone. On this show, all us blind people will put our hands on this elephant and ask, WTF IS GOING ON? And what can we do—individually, collectively—to help ourselves? Our 20-minute episodes will include: • Root causes of everyday nightmares: A guy gets a knee brace from a local hospital, and then the bill: $1,400. Google says he could’ve gotten the same brace for $150. We investigate: What the heck? • Personal stories: In one woman’s epic quest to save her family from sky-high medical bills, she makes heroic sacrifices… and history. • Expert findings: Some terrific reporters and researchers have already done GREAT digging here. We’ll have them on, to unpack what they’ve found. Interesting hacks: • Renaissance Fair workers often have trouble getting good health insurance, so they’ve improvised a creative alternative. (I recently did a brief version of this story, produced with Planet Money, for NPR; there’s more to tell.) •Experiments, with your help: In her book An American Sickness, journalist Elisabeth Rosenthal offers some prescriptions for “taking back” health care— by becoming better-informed, more-assertive consumers. Honestly, they sound TOUGH: tricky, awkward, and uncertain. Let’s try them, record the results, and compare notes.