London Awardees, 2009 - New York Awardees, 2008
UK 2009 Rediscover Your Heart Awardees
Project Summaries
After an enjoyable but difficult time sifting through all the excellent applications for the UK RYH Awards the selection panel chose the following awardees:
1. Acquire Arts – Submitted by Amanda Scott (Aged 23)
Acquire Arts is a new community arts project in Battersea, London. It provides up-and-coming artists with an interesting and accessible new space through which artistic appreciation and education in a variety of creative disciplines can be offered to the local community. The RYH Award is being used to fund some exhibitions and workshops at the centre.
2. Friendship Evening (Mentoring for Refugees and Asylum-seeking Youth) - Submitted by Gemma Hay (Aged 23)
This project pairs up British volunteers with young established refugees and asylum- seekers. It aims to develop and nurture these young people as responsible citizens and to aid their integration into the community. The RYH Award has been used to fund Friendship Evenings and facilitate practical skills training fro the participants.
3. Grofun Schools - Submitted by Nadia Hillman (Aged 29)
This project transforms school grounds into productive organic growing areas and educates school pupils on how to grow food and how nature works. It also promotes cooperation and helps pupils to gain confidence. School staff also learn how to use the outdoor space as an educational resource. The RYH Award funded the development of this project into two new schools.
4. Global Citizen SW - Submitted by Jodie Tellam (Aged 30)
This project uses theatre workshops in schools to educate children how to make peace. This is a creative and empowering tool for young people to learn how to make peace in their everyday lives. This project helps to aid conflict resolution amongst young people in deprived areas.
5. He loves me, He loves me not - Submitted by Mari-Clare (Aged 24)
This project is a proposed tour of UK schools by an Australian victim of relationship violence. The project aims to raise awareness of relationship violence amongst young people outside of domestic situations as this is often overlooked. Although coordinated by Mari-Clare this will be led by the young people in the schools and they will take the lead on the campaigns in their communities. The aim is to empower young people to be agents of change in the prevention of relationship violence in their communities. The RYH Award is being used towards funding the tour and creating associated educational materials.
6. Nice and Serious - Submitted by Tom Tapper (Aged 23)
UK Aware Webcast is a green lifestyle exhibition for people who want to learn how to reduce their carbon emissions. Nice and Serious have used the RYH Award to create a promotional video for the event and to film and webcast the eight talks over the two days. The webcasts will extend the reach of the UK Aware project to those who are unable to visit the exhibition.
7. Clown Doctor visits for children in hospital - Submitted by Sarika Shah on behalf of the Theodora Children’s trust
TCT clown doctors give weekly visits to children in hospitals and charitable homes throughout the UK, raising the children’s spirits and facilitating their well-being and healing. The RYH Award has been used to create a new clown doctor project for children at the Royal United Hospital, Bath.
8. Project APE - Submitted by Oliver Goddard (Aged 23)
Project APE is a fundraising plus advocacy event, which is held monthly in Bristol to support Light In Africa and educate young people in Bristol about sustainable projects in Africa. Light In Africa is an organisation that builds adventure playgrounds of education at orphanages in Tanzania. Project APE seeks to raise awareness of this initiative amongst young people in Bristol, especially students. The RYH Award was used towards the fundraising materials including posters, t-shirts and for school visits to involve pupils in the project.
9. Lambfest - Submitted by Jonathan Hatch (Aged 22)
Lambfest is a proposed mini-music festival for rural teenagers in East Wiltshire, being run by young people for young people. It aims to give them the opportunity to practice and perform to a new crowd.There are not many opportunities for rural young people to become involved in the music scene. This initiative saw this gap and aims to fill it for the benefit of current teenagers and also the generations coming up behind them.
10. Loaves of Love - Submitted by Inez Apont (Aged 40)
This is an exponential baking circle project. Each host of the circles teaches five others to bake bread. Whilst waiting for the dough to rise they share stories, life experiences or topics of debate. This is an opportunity to learn a new skill whilst getting to know those around you who you may not otherwise have had time to get to know. This teaches people new skills whilst also creating a renewed sense of community. Those who have joined the circle then go on to start their own baking circles so the Loaves of Love can grow exponentially. The RYH Award funded publicity and educational materials to promote the development of the baking circles.
11. Helmsley Walled Garden - Submitted by Lindsay Tait (Aged 30)
Helmsley Walled garden is restoration project of derelict gardens. The RYH Award is being used to create full wheelchair access for the millennium vegetable garden and to create gardening facilities for growing chemical-free vegetables for those with disabilities and special needs.
12. Willow Bridge Project - Submitted by Linda Porter on behalf of HET
The Holistic Educational Therapy (HET) centre provides respite, education and therapy for families and young people in crisis. The Willow Bridge Eco-kids project aims to empower young people for family change and to support families who are struggling with children not accessing mainstream education regularly. The RYH Award was used to buy video and other equipment to be used on the project and to develop online support materials that could be accessed by young people and their families from home.
13. Yoga and meditation with Offenders in the community - Submitted by Joanna Child on behalf of the Phoenix Trust.
The RYH Award was used to develop and fund free literature on yoga and meditation for young convicted prisoners on release on licence, or those on bail, to help them in their personal development.
14. The Anchor Project - Submitted by Jennifer Whyte (Aged 28)
The Anchor Project is a Saturday youth group for separated asylum applicants who are new to the UK and have no family here. It offers participants a space to meet others and provides leisure and educational activities aimed at improving life skills (sports, cooking, personal safety, budgeting). With their RYH award the Anchor Project took participants outside London to a residential centre in the Peak District to engage in outdoor fun and team-building activities.
15. Namibia trip 2009 - Submitted by Jasmine Newton Howells (Aged 16)
A small group of students from De Lisle Catholic Science College in Loughborough travelled to Namibia this summer to help rebuild a rural school and to exchange information on life skills, education, cookery and so on. The group paid all their own personal expenses but used their RYH Award to buy building and educational materials.
16. Blue Apple Theatre Core Group - Submitted by Jane Jessop on behalf of Blue Apple Theatre Trust.
The RYH award was used to give intensive theatre training from performance specialists for a small group of auditioned adults with learning disabilities and to devise and perform shows to the public and build understanding between different community groups.
17. Cheeky Monkeys - Submitted by Joanne Webb (Aged 26)
This project was a re-launched parent and toddler group. The RYH Award was used to provide new indoor and outdoor play equipment for the children at this refurbished centre on the Grahame Park Estate. Cheeky Monkeys also provides a place for children and parents to meet each other and to build relationships and support networks while the children enjoy themselves and play together.
18. The Friendship Evening - Submitted by Maya Williams (Aged 19)
The Friendship Evening arose from a concern to meet the immediate needs of those seeking sanctuary (commonly called Asylum-seekers) in the local area. It aims to provide conversation classes, practical advice, and general befriending services using
board games, which bring people together having fun whilst practicing conversation.
The RYH Award went towards TEFL training for some key volunteers to teach English effectively and to teach others. It was also used to fund refreshments, books and other literature and trips within the local area.
19. The ‘One Day Wood’- Submitted by Francesca Wood (Aged 13)
This project aims to create a wood in just one day. Local residents are being invited to help plant saplings to create a ‘One Day Wood’ in a donated field. The aim is to make a difference to the carbon in the atmosphere and to increase habitats for animals & birds. Suitable native trees have been sourced and an irrigation system will be dug to support their growth. The local community and Francesca’s school are coming together to support this project and the RYH Award is being used towards some of the necessary materials for creating the wood.
20. The Surgery - Submitted by Marcel Jenkins on behalf of The Surgery led by Jonzi-D
We are a Hip Hop Theatre company who run an event called The Surgery which is a showcase event for new Hip Hop theatre work following a week of intensive workshops with emcees, dancers, beat-makers, poets and other Hip Hop artists. The award was used to fund a successful new Surgery event at the Soho Theatre after funding ran out
New York Awardees
Congratulations to the 12 Rediscover Your Heart awardees in New York! You can follow the awardees progress on this blog.
Please see below for a brief description of the project applications and the award committee's comments (in italics):
Sustainable Flatbush
Susan Siegel
Brooklyn, NY
A garden in Flatbush, Brooklyn will be turned into a space for the community to forge new inter-faith, inter-ethnic and inter-generational relationships in the community, building an empowered community of residents who collaboratively take ownership and involvement in the garden. Consciousness about healthy eating, sustainability and exposure to permaculture, composting, rainwater harvesting, nutrition education, financial and English literacy will further empower gardeners to take a more active role in personal and community development, thereby transforming lives and eventually the planet.
“Nice combination of community-building with environmental education and awareness.”
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The World Is Ours: Global Issues, Local Change
Gabriella Callender
Woodside, NY
This project will showcase artists-- native New Yorkers and NYC residents from around the world-- whose artistry speaks to the social issues of their people. Additionally, educators, grassroots organizers, public officials, and non-profit representatives will inspire dialogue and discussion about active solutions and responses to a specific social issue. The goal of this project is provide inspirational art, educational resources, and motivational empowerment to thousands of people who were previously inactive in dealing with the social issues of their community.
“Art and music can be very powerful tools for change.”
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Young Wheelers In Need
Linda Zhao
Brooklyn, NY
Young Wheelers In Need Project helps people with disabilities to purchase everyday living aids necessary for them to complete daily tasks without assistance. Truly, a person who has the right equipment for his/her level of ability is literally free of physical limitations. We all have the responsibility to look to the future and to help each other find ways to live fuller, more fulfilling lives. Adaptive equipment makes that future possible.
“A very tangible and beneficial project that deserves more support.”
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CALLE (Creating Artistic Links to Liberation and Expression)
Kira Neel
Brooklyn, NY
CALLE (Creating Artistic Links to Liberation and Expression) is a bilingual (Spanish/English) street theater project designed to empower high school aged youth to voice their visions and opinions through theater in an increasingly segregated city. The troupe will be responsible for developing bilingual plays to draw attention to issues affecting them in New York City, incorporating personal stories and research from interviews of characters and experiences of city dwellers. The focus will be on stories that may expose ideas and issues that do not commonly find a platform for articulation and dialogue.
“Using the power of theater to empower and bring people together.”
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Welcome to Rainbow's End
Steven Martinez
Brooklyn, NY
"Welcome to Rainbow's End" will be a film that explores a friendship between a group of young gay people of color and their life/struggle in New York City. This project represents a dream of bringing to screen characters that mirror the lives of so many people whose stories are invisible. It is designed to inspire people to see that underneath the color of our skin, underneath our sexual identity, and underneath the labels, we are all alike. The realities of all communities are rich and multi-dimensional and the struggles for success are universal; this struggle is one that all can relate to.
“Important stories to tell.”
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LinkEducation
Anna Markowitz
Brooklyn, NY
LinkEducation connects children with education opportunities by making it possible for parents, teachers and organizations to find education-related resources in their communities. Parents, guardians, educators and community members can easily visit LinkEducation.org to find information about quality and affordable education programs such as after school tutoring, homework help, and alternative schools simply by entering their zip code and key words. This allows users to make informed decisions about improving their children’s education.
“Very valuable project with potential to reach and benefit thousands of people.”
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Global NeED (Global Network for Educational Development)
Juliette Snyder
Philadelphia / New York
Global Bridge is a Secondary School in Cambodia which provides educational opportunities for students that previously had no access to schooling. The goal of the project is to connect this school with schools in the US, and thereby cross the bridge of global understanding. Through the Internet students of Cambodia will link with students in the US. They will be able to learn about each other’s cultures, teach one another language, and become sensitized to each other's challenges. This relationship will serve as a prototype in linking schools in the US with schools in other countries.
“Great initiative to build global connections and awareness.”
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Street Chat
Julie Troost and Jed Geiman
Brooklyn, NY
"Street Chat" is a simple pair of seats built on a mobile platform that creates a new space for passers-by to engage in an unlikely conversation with one another. Two individuals who would otherwise have passed each other by are invited by a moderator to take a seat and talk to each other. The two are given a list of questions to ask one another about who they are and what matters to them most, inciting a meaningful dialog between complete strangers. The interactions are videotaped and will be made into a documentary afterwards.
"Creative concept that can be replicated everywhere.”
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The Drop-in Dinner Series
Chitra Aiyar
Brooklyn, NY
The project aims to create a drop-in dinner culture - to develop and foster community so that on any given day, individuals who are looking for some good food or good company have a place to go and are made to feel welcome. Through conversation and the breaking of bread, people will foster new and real connections (in contrast with social networking sites) and begin to drop-in on each other, rather than waiting for formal invites.
“A simple yet effective project that can do much to build trust and friendships.”
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Response to Hate & Bias Music Video
Kirsten Connor
New York, NY
The project will be carried out by The CityKids Repertory Company (Rep), a reputable performing arts company that creates original material based on the issues that young people struggle with. The focus of Rep’s work will put toward the development of an original script and video responding to the need for people to see past negative stereotypes based on race, ethnicity, religion, and sexual orientation. This project aims to foster a cross-cultural conversation about confronting hate, which will transcend race, ethnicity, class, age and geography and inspire even more young people to do the same.
“Great inclusive cross-cultural project.”
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Threads That Teach Public School Program
Patricia Bradby
New York, NY
Threads That Teach aims to develop arts education in inner-city public schools through creative programs, which help young students acquire the necessary skills for success in today’s increasingly competitive society. Threads That Teach engages students with a hands-on, comprehensive arts curriculum. Student volunteers and part-time staff members enter existing arts classes in New York City public schools using art lessons to teach entrepreneurial skills, marketing, and money management. With these skills, students design and sell apparel from which all of the proceeds are put directly back into their respective school's budget for arts education programming.
“Great combination of art and business skills.”
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Design Your Future Support Group
Adam Bucko
New York, NY
The Design Your Future Support Group is a long-term support group for homeless youth of New York City who normally only have access to short term support programs. The group focuses on offering tools that can help youth overcome poverty, realize their full potential and be a force for change in the world. The group features innovative career and education programming where youth have a chance to be coached by and collaborate on creative projects with executives, creativity and contemplation based therapeutic and empowerment practices such as art therapy, yoga, meditation, acupuncture and massage, and strong emphasis on social responsibility and service to others.
“Important focus on the longer term impact of support programs.”. |
