Q & A with our winner, Tara Muldoon of F-You, the Forgiveness Project:
1) Congratulations! What’s your project all about?
Thank-you so much for all you and Toronto Awesome do! F-You: The Forgiveness Project is a community-based organization that asks what forgiveness looks like in a variety of scenarios and experiences. We run panels, workshops and groups on the idea of forgiveness. Sometimes we work around a specific issue such as gang violence, relationships, addiction, topics around sex, etc.
We are just over two years old and run by a team of youth/young adults from a variety of backgrounds.
2) Forgiving someone isn’t an easy thing to do; it can be very emotional. Do people sometimes cry at your events?
Our events can provoke a variety of emotions including tears, anger and everything else under the sun. It’s all welcome and understood.
3) I’d like to talk about forgiveness, or I’d like to volunteer. How can I get in touch with you, and when is your next event?
We would love to hear from you! TMuldoon at fyouproject.com is my email address and our twitter is @projectfword.
We have monthly – sometimes weekly – events across the city and the next one is April 9th at the Jane+Finch mall.
Our winner this month is the F-You Forgiveness Project. Love. Loss. Heartbreak. Tara and Andrea gave an amazing presentation. Winner Q&A and pitch video to come soon!
The Toronto Awesome Foundation will be at the Gladstone this coming Thursday, at 6pm, for our March Pitch Night! Five groups will be pitching our trustees for their shot at $1000. The groups will be:
Big Brother Bike Thief GPS Tracker: The Big Brother Bike Thief GPS Tracker (working title) aim to help either mitigate theft or increase your likelihood of recovery. The aim is to produce a device that you can install inside your bike frame that a user can arm via a keyfob. If the device, when armed, senses vibrations for 10 seconds assumes the bike to be stolen and immediately communicates with the Big Brother website’s API with location data and informs the cyclist via text message that their bike has been stolen.
Green Rocket: Mapping cheap TTC-accessible produce: Green Rocket (TTC’s “red rocket” + green grocers; also, it’s what British people call arugula!) is a map of low-cost fruit & vegetable markets within walking distance of Toronto subway stations.
The Salaam Scrapbook Project: We are a volunteer-based organization providing a safe forum at the 519 Community Centre for queer-identified Muslims across the GTA. Many live in fear, face rejection, and risk violent reactions from family & peers. This group works to combat Islamophobia and homophobia, whether internalized or in interactions with others. In the spirit of celebrating these courageous men and women who have joined Salaam, we would like to compile an anthology of their art works: photography, poetry, personal essays, and other submissions. Ideally, the anthology would be made available in both hard-paper and digital formats.
Sage Rising: Sage Rising is an urban herb and herbal product business that cultivates in backyard micro-farms in the heart of Toronto. The company provides its customers with ethical & healthy organically-grown culinary herbs, tea herbs, herbal condiments & sauces, & herbal body products produced on a small-scale, community-based urban farm. Sage Rising’s products are marketed to restaurants, food co-operatives, caterers, & individuals who value local, sustainable, & flavour-rich foods.
F-You: The Forgiveness Project: Our team believes that our peer group (18-35 year olds) are constantly surrounded by images and ideas of conflict. Because conflict comes in so many forms – from gang violence to bullying – we created a project that inspires dialogue about what forgiveness means and looks like. We are heartbroken by growing violence rates in the GTA, as many of our team members have lost friends and family to gun violence. As a way of healing, we started a small discussion group about turning trauma into a positive project. We are a group of young people who see the concept of forgiveness as a tangible and attainable way of seeing results, with the ultimate goal of seeing violence rates lowered. To date, we have held 19 events attracting more than 2,200 attendees, the majority of whom have been youth.
Here’s our Q&A with Matt Boulos, of the Teen Legal Helpline, our January 2013 Awesome Toronto winner!
1) Congratulations! What’s your project all about?
We run a service called Teen Legal Helpline (https://www.teenlegalhelpline.org). It’s a website where teens can ask their most pressing legal questions and get answers from experienced lawyers. We launched a week ago.
2) Legal help can be really complicated. Do you anticipate that some users of your site will require assistance beyond email and telephone conversations?
One of the hardest things about having a legal problem is that you don’t know what to do. That’s what we’re trying to solve for teens. As you correctly point out, some situations require more involvement than that. Our lawyers understand that referring teens to good help is as important as giving good initial advice.
3) How can people get in contact with you if they want to help out?
Shoot me a note at matt at teenlegalhelpline.org. I’d love to hear from you.
1) Congratulations! What’s your project all about?
Thank you! It’s not everyday that someone hands you a paper bag full of money and says “go forth and make your City more awesome”. We feel really lucky to live in Toronto and can’t wait to marginally increase our collective awesomeness quotient.
LoveCRAFT T.O. is a roaming vending machine that will sell handmade art and craftwork. A vintage cigarette machine will be rescued, transformed, and filled with art. For just $5 or $10, patrons will be able to purchase unique work from local designers, artists, artisans, and craft-makers. LoveCRAFT will spend about 2 months in each location, continuing to travel around various locations in the City.
2) When do you think you’ll have the project actually selling art? Any ideas on the initial venue?
LoveCRAFT is inspired by a similar project in Pittsburgh (the “Craft-o-tron”!), so our first step will be to connect with them for their advice. We hope to be up and running by Summer 2013. There’s still a lot of work to be done before we can consider artist submissions. First, we have to secure the machine so we know details on sizing, selection, etc. We’re also looking forward to enlisting some community partners.
The Catering & Events Manager at The Gladstone was nice enough to offer us their space for the launch of LoveCRAFT. We think that’s perfect, since that’s where our Awesome Foundation grant was awarded. After The Gladstone, we’ll likely venture outside of west end. We want to make sure that LoveCRAFT T.O. roams all throughout the City, both within arts/craft hubs and beyond.
3) I’m an artist / art lover and I’d like to be a part of your project! Were can I follow your work, and how can I get in touch?
In the meantime, people can start following our new Twitter feed @LoveCRAFT_TO. Soon we’ll also have a Facebook account so people can start getting in touch then. Stay tuned!
After a brief hiatus, the Toronto Awesome Foundation is pleased to announce our next pitch night: Thursday November 29th, 2012! We’ll hear awesome pitches from 4 or 5 people, and we’ll give away $1000 in a brown paper bag to the most worthy! Come and join us at the Gladstone Hotel.
Got an awesome idea and want to pitch us for your chance at the loot? Head on over to the Awesome Foundation Application, and fill in your 250 words! Our cutoff deadline each month is the 15th, so if you’d like $1000 to make that robot Santa Claus you’ve always dreamed of, now’s the time to get your submission in!
After reviewing this month’s submissions, the Toronto Awesome Foundation has decided not to hold a pitch night event this month. Those of you who submitted for the month of September, never fear, your ideas will be considered in October. We will however be holding something that we’re borrowing from Awesome Kingston, it’s called Awesome Hours. Our usual group of Trustees will be hanging at the Gladstone on Thursday October 4th, from 6-7:30pm, and we want to hear from you. Come talk to us about your awesome idea. Or come learn more about us and what we do. If you’re interested in getting involved with Toronto Awesome Foundation, this is also a great time for you to come visit us! Hope to see you all there!
In an unprecedented move, probably never to be repeated, the Toronto Awesome Foundation elected this month to award TWO full $1000 prizes, instead of one! After a riveting performance by our four shortlist contenders (Park Yourself Here, Penny Project, Little Free Library, I’m Lost), we awarded money to both Park Yourself Here, a Park(ing) Day art installation to create public space in downtown Toronto by taking over a parking space, and Little Free Library, a project to build tiny pole-mounted libraries to be installed at Trinity Bellwoods Park and in other locations all across Toronto! Check out the video of our pitch night evening here:
Q&A with Bill Wrigley of Little Free Library:
Congratulations! What’s your project all about?
The short term project of me and my team is to install Little Free Libraries in one of Toronto’s larger and popular parks; Trinity Bellwood’s located in Mike Layton’s ward of Trinity-Spadina.
Little Free Libraries are miniature buildings the size of a doll house mounted on a post in a public area that have a sign saying: “Take a Book-Return a Book”. They are for the public’s pleasure and it’s free. There are now over 2000 of them world-wide and growing fast. The first library opened in Toronto 9 months ago in front of our home. There are now 7 in operation with another 8 under construction. In addition, there are two other public parks that we are talking to about a similar arrangement.
Trinity Bellwoods park is always filled with people of all ages and has a very active “Friends of the Park” association. This is an ideal place for Little Free Libraries. We are committed to making the Little Free Library project happen there. However, the construction and installation costs of lumber, hardware, paint and labour will exceed $1000. We can provide the direction and project management. We can even provide a builder. However, we cannot provide the money.
The $1000 award that Awesome provided us will ensure that the project will happen much to the joy of those who use the park. More importantly, it will become the motivation for other parks to follow suit.
I’ve got/need books! Where can I find one of these libraries?
Once a Little Free Library is registered with the Little Free Library Organization, they appear on the organization’s Google Map that is part of their web site (http://www.littlefreelibrary.org/). These libraries are all over the world: take a look for yourself. For Toronto, click in on the Toronto area of the map then click on one of the library icons closest to you. A picture of the library will pop up with the address of its location. As the Toronto libraries are recent installations, some of them are yet to be registered. In time we expect to have most of them on the Google Map.
I want to get more involved! Where can I learn more about Little Free Libraries, like how to build my own?
To start, visit the Little Free Library site that is loaded with pictures, ideas, plans and building tips, Go to: http://www.littlefreelibrary.org/.
For further information, Google “Little Free Libraries, Bill Wrigley” and see what crops up. There are tons of stuff regarding Toronto and the GTA to explore.
You can also me at bill.wrigley.nospam@rogers.com (remove nospam) to get into detailed questions. I can really help.
Q&A with Andrew Chiu of Park Yourself Here:
Congratulations, what’s your project all about?
‘PARK Yourself Here’ is about transforming a Toronto downtown street parking spot into a temporary urban park. Rather than a placeholder for a single car this installation will become a place for people to gather. Interacting under the floating silhouette of a car, the passerby will have a chance to escape the hustle of the urban core.
This installation is to celebrate Park(ing) day, an annual open-source global event where citizens, artists and activists activate the metered parking space as a site for creative experimentation, political and cultural expression, and unscripted social interaction.
When is Park(ing) Day and where can I see your installation?
On Friday, September 21, hundreds of cities around the world will participate in transforming metered parking spaces into healthier and more beautiful places for their inhabitants. Here in Toronto, we will transform the metered parking space on Queen St. and Peter St. into a colorful and interactive experience for pedestrians. We will officially launch it at noon and it will run until 9:00pm.
Where can I find more information and get involved?
Please find more information and help fund our project at the crowdfunding website. Any donation will help us, thank you.
The Toronto Awesome Foundation is pleased to once again support the cause of Awesome in the Universe! Come and have fun with us at the Gladstone Hotel, this Thursday August 29th, 2012, from 7-8pm as four groups present their awesome idea. The winner will take home $1000 in a paper bag, no strings attached! Get more details and RSVP here: Awesome Toronto Pitch Night August 2012.
Our shortlist this month consists of four ideas, each of which will get their time on stage:
Park Yourself Here: will transform a Toronto downtown street parking spot into a temporary urban park. Rather than a placeholder for a single car this installation will become a place for people to gather. Interacting under the floating silhouette of a car, the passerby will have a chance to escape the hustle of the urban core. This installation is to celebrate Park(ing) day, September 21st, an annual open-source global event where citizens, artists and activists activate the metered parking space as a site for creative experimentation, political and cultural expression, and unscripted social interaction.
The Penny Project: workshops to let people make art with 2012 Canadian Pennies, before they are all gone! Potential art works include: Back to school Penny RULERS, Jewelry, ornaments and collectables, adorned with Canadian pennies, Original copper penny jewelry, Make A Wish On A Penny artwork, Lucky Penny key chains, Weight belts, decorated belt buckles, vehicle ornaments; your imagination is the limit!
Little Free Library (for Trinity Bellwoods Park): The Little Free Library idea began in Wisconsin three years ago and has spread to 9 nations worldwide. Little buildings the size of a doll’s house have a sign that says: “Take a Book-Return a Book”. They are for the public’s pleasure. We are presently a committee of three of me and two others promoting the idea by presentations, operating booths at fairs and talking to city officials, business and private groups. We also have a builder who offers attractive libraries at a reasonable cost for those with no construction prospect. We offer whatever help we can from the inception to final installation of any Little Free Library. Our target is 20 libraries operating in Toronto by year end: either privately owned or in public parks and playgrounds.
I’m Lost: housands of business cards would be distributed around the city. Left in coffee shops, handed to random strangers, left sitting on seats on transit, etc. The card would say the following “I’m Lost! Please return me to _______! Reward upon safe return”. The card would state a specific address. A cool coffee shop, or interesting location found in the city. Upon returning the card to the shop. The cashier or employee would then hand the person a new card, with a new address! The participant has now been entered into an exciting adventure. Trekking around the city the participant would visit many exciting niche locations around the city. Upon completing the whole adventure, the participants receive prizes and praise galore. Not to mention knowledge of many cool places in Toronto, and a memory they will remember for the rest of their lives.
