Awesome Pittsburgh: $1000 Grants for Great Ideas

Good citizens of our fair Pittsburgh. Imagine a world without tasty fillings wrapped in a thin French batter. A dark, depressing world with ne’er-do-wells attempting to serve you sub-standard treats. Holy horrible hotcakes – that’s awful! 

But now, citizens, there’s hope. A vigilante. A creped crusader. Not the crepes this city deserves, but the crepes this city needs right now.

Mike Good at the Union Project

Meet Mike Good, “a pretty simple guy, in name, body, and spirit – by nature entrepreneurial and socially conscious.” With his new $1,000 Awesome Pittsburgh award, he’s turning into the Creped Crusader complete with a custom push cart and extra equipment. His new Creped Crusade will make crepes more easily available, partly through partnering with local coffee shops.

Mike said, “There is still a void of crepes in the Golden Triangle. This is the greatest city in the United States and it must offer easy access to crepes.” He promised, “If there ever was, there is no longer any shred of doubt – whether you crepe at noon, or crepe at night, any crepe is indeed a great crepe when you crepe with Mike.”

The Creped Crusader and his sidekick Batterboy made their public debut (in street clothes) at the Union Project’s Flat Floor Fiesta on May 17 and will next save our city at Artists Image Resource’s June 1 fundraiser. Watch the Crusader’s website and Facebook page for future dates!

We all know someone who is absolutely enthusiastic about a hobby or activity. She keeps inviting you, finding ways to make it easy and fun to join her. You finally can’t resist anymore and jump in.

Michele Thom, our 16^th winner of a $1,000 micro-grant, is literally inviting you to jump. Out of a perfectly fine airplane while it is flying. Really.

Michelle seriously caught the skydiving bug a few years ago and wants to bring other people along for the ride. We fell hard for her enthusiasm (yes, you can groan at the pun) and didn’t want to leave her hopes grounded (groan).

Michelle has launched 60 Seconds of Pure Freedom to enable those who might otherwise not have a chance to experience the thrill of skydiving to take one tandem jump this summer.

She describes skydiving as the “epitome of freedom” because “the second you step out of the airplane door, you forget about any of life’s problems or distresses, and live entirely free and in the moment, until you land back onto the ground with an enormous smile on your face!”   Michelle and her co-organizer, Leon Boczkowski, will couple our award with a discount they negotiated with Skydive PA in Grove City for this project.  They will also solicit additional donations in order to provide the tandem jump opportunity to as many people as possible.

Awesome Pittsburgh Trustee Carolina Pais-Barreto Beyers noted, “What caught my attention was Michelle’s desire to enable others to share an experience that she finds so remarkable.

The 60 Seconds of Pure Freedom committee is taking nominations by the last day of each month, March through July 2013, and will select at least two deserving nominees by the 7^th of each following month. You can find the nomination form at the project’s Facebook page or by emailing the committee at pure.freedom@rocketmail.com. Michelle and Leon hope the winning nominees will agree to tandem jump soon after being selected and plan to join the winners the day they jump.

This spring, start looking for tea pops to pop up around town, courtesy of our 13^th award winner, Healcrest Urban Farm. The for-profit social enterprise teaches community members about urban farm production, green vacant land use, and youth employment and mentorship.

“We have had great experiences vending around town with our products, going to markets and events. We love connecting with people that way and having something to offer them,” noted Maria Graziani, Healcrest Urban Farm’s owner.

Located in Garfield, Healcrest Urban Farm has already transformed a plot of unused urban ruin into a flourishing garden rich with herbs, fruits and vegetables. Maria Graziani and Healcrest’s program coordinator Dana Launius are committed to promoting both community and physical health, including projects specializing in local grown medicinal herbs. With Awesome Pittsburgh’s $1,000 grant, the two hope to expand upon their already existing tea market into a new field.

Maria continued, “Our teas are popular at the markets we attend and depending on your taste they are delicious. We are exploring a frozen treat that incorporates tea, fruit, and herbs. With this product we can satisfy a variety of palettes and tastes with a healthy, delicious, locally grown and hand crafted treat!”

Healcrest Urban Farm currently sells its products in the spring and summer at the Pittsburgh Public Market, Reservoir of Jazz, Penn Avenue Unblurred, Bryant Street Fair, and more locations. Maria and Dana will use our $1,000 to buy a cold storage ice cream cart to take their new frozen tea pops around the community.

Stay tuned to Healcrest’s progress on Facebook or Twitter and let us know what you think when you get to taste the new treats!

Awesome Pittsburgh awards $1,000 grants on a monthly basis to individuals or groups who propose ways of making Pittsburgh stand out in the global economy, connect our communities, or celebrate art or technology and make the city a better place to live, work and play. Submit your short proposal here.

Imagine plummeting 400 feet over a river at a top speed of 50 miles per hour. Sound awesome to you?

It sure did to us! Our eleventh winner of $1,000 is Adam Young, founder of the new venture ZipPitt. We were so excited about the project that we agreed to keep it under wraps for three months while Adam tested the idea with city officials and neighborhood residents.

Adam’s project aims to connect two of Pittsburgh’s most iconic destinations, Mount Washington and the North Shore, with a set of four ziplines.  He’ll use our money to bring in a national zipline company to conduct a feasibility study of the proposed site.

“Imagine yourself gliding from the top of Mt. Washington at 50 mph, across the Ohio River, and landing a half-mile away on the North Shore. You won’t have to imagine forever, because ZipPitt is proposing to make this experience a reality,” Adam said, “ZipPitt hopes to be a permanent zip line connecting Pittsburgh’s Mt. Washington to the North Shore. You’ll experience Pittsburgh’s iconic scenery traveling on one of the four parallel lines, nestled beneath the downtown skyline.”

Adam Young hopes to secure Pittsburgh’s title of America’s most livable city by bringing this premier attraction to the area, adding to the city’s already impressive list of activities and entertainment.

The proposed ZipPitt project, which aims to open within two years, will ultimately feature a 400 foot vertical drop at 50 mph across the half-mile ride. Riders will enjoy a thrilling and comfortable experience from a seated harness traveling along one of four parallel zip lines. Currently, the project is advancing through design and development stages, planning for a site survey and feasibility study while seeking permits and approvals. ZipPitt aims to contract with companies based in Pittsburgh for construction, naming rights and business services.

Adam said, “Let’s show the world how Pittsburgh continues to innovate and give riders a riveting experience. A zip line of this magnitude and atmosphere will immerse you in an unprecedented perspective of Pittsburgh.”

You can cheer on Adam’s progress on his web site, Facebook page, and Twitter feed.

Have your own awesome, even audacious, idea for the Pittsburgh area? We’re awarding $1,000 grants every month based on submissions we receive by the first of the month. Click here for our easy application process. 

Update 2/9/13: Want to help make this great idea real? You can contribute to Adam’s Indiegogo campaign to raise $15,000 for the initial costs of surveys, design, and permitting.

Local photographer Caldwell Linker is Awesome Pittsburgh’s 10th winner of $1,000. Caldwell’s work is best described through the applications we received over three months:

Recently I put out a book called “the Haus of Haunt: Watch Children” about underground Pittsburgh drag queens (one of whom, Sharon Needles, isn’t so underground any more, June 12th was official Sharon Needles day in Pittsburgh).

I do lots of other really awesome stuff as well. I photograph tons of performers and their performances, and let them use the images for their own publicity for free (most can’t afford to pay for photos yet). I photograph queer weddings for free as a political statement. I document protests and marches and let folks use whatever images they want. I take pictures at parties and benefits and let people use whatever they want for future promotion. I take pictures of people with life altering disabilities and surgeries that they then use to inspire others to overcome similar setbacks and disabilities. I take pictures of people who think they are ugly that show them that they aren’t and make them feel better about themselves. I photograph the artwork of struggling artists to help them promote their work.

I do almost all this for free because I think people deserve good photos, and many of the artists and folks I work with, don’t have the success they are striving for just yet, and can’t afford a photographer.

You can follow Caldwell on Twitter and check out some of the photos on Tumblr.

A child’s smile is a source of joy for her family and friends. And, her healthy teeth are vital to her own good health. But too many low-income children aren’t getting to dentists, and their smiles turn into mouthfuls of health problems. Three local Pediatricians are bringing an innovative answer and using Awesome Pittsburgh’s $1,000 to potentially leverage a larger solution.

Awesome Pittsburgh’s awarded our July grant to Happy Smiles for Hilltop, a program that will provide fluoride varnish treatments and preventative education to families and children in Pittsburgh’s Hilltop neighborhood.

“Awesome Pittsburgh is providing the catalyst for change for the teeth of Pittsburgh’s Hilltop children. Our awesome kids are sometimes spending the night at the Children’s Hospital for intravenous antibiotics and mouth surgery to fight the infections caused by cavities.  Some kids stop growing because it hurts too much to chew with teeth destroyed by cavities.  Thankfully, there is a help – Fluoride! Pediatricians across the country are starting to apply fluoride varnish to young children’s teeth. Simply put, kids have a hard time getting to the dentist. But nearly all kids come to the pediatrician’s office for their check ups. For pediatricians, this is an incredible opportunity to do more to improve the lives of our amazing children.  Pediatric patients at Hilltop Community Healthcare Center will receive fluoride varnish at well child visits, a previously non-funded service and get connected with area dentists. We will teach about the devastation caused by pop, candy and cavities. We want our kids to succeed in every way – keeping them in school, healthy and out of the hospital due to dental infections.”  – Dr. Amy Nevin

Dr. Amy Nevin , Dr. Peduzzi, and Dr. Susan Sieminski are Pediatricians at the Hilltop Community Healthcare Center serving Beltzhoover, Allentown and Knoxville and surrounding communities. They will be working to address an overwhelming problem – cavities!  At each Well Child visit between the ages of 15 months and 5 years, the doctors will apply fluoride varnish to teeth.  One thousand dollars is enough to buy fluoride for over 600 applications.  More importantly, they will take this opportunity to educate families and children about the importance of going to the Dentist – hoping to connect families with area dentists.

The doctors noted that the pediatric literature already confirms the benefits of fluoride varnish:

“We would like to demonstrate that with this simple intervention, patients will be more likely to schedule a dentist appointment and less likely to be admitted to the hospital for dental procedures.  These are outcomes that could save insurers and families the costs of ER visits, hospital admission, intravenous antibiotics and pediatric anesthesia.  We will present our results to health insurance companies, hoping that they will start to fund this preventative health initiative at Federally Qualified Health Centers like ours, to keep our awesome kids healthy and save money for our health care system.”

UPDATE 8/4/12: The Happy Smiles team was featured in our new monthly interview on Essential Public Radio. Click here for a listen.

The Pittsburgh Light Disco, dreamed up by creator/project director Rasheda Vereen, won our May $1,000 award. This Pittsburgh-themed art installation will be activated by electronic donations to a nonprofit cause. Our $1,000 grant will support the construction and installation of the art project.

Rasheda said about her project:

“The purpose of the project is to bring together the Pittsburgh community in a dynamic way. Inspired by the Pittsburgh Foundation’s Day of Giving and the many Cultural District public art pieces, I am hoping this project will blend some of those Pittsburgh-inspired themes and values of giving, sharing, neighborhood beautification and pride. The Awesome Pittsburgh grant will be a starting point to help bring various collaborators and community members together to bring this project into fruition.”

Pittsburgh Light Disco will be a marquee-type public art installation that will display images of Pittsburgh’s past and present.  The installation will be created to have the capability of accepting donations via mobile or loose change.  When a donation is received, the marquee will light up and display a thank you or play a special musical selection.  The donations will go to support a different nonprofit organization each month.

The Pittsburgh Light Disco will be a collaborative public art piece bringing together various community members, foundations and organization. Although in the initial planning stages, the project plans to bring together a variety of local community, arts and technology organizations to ensure that the project is sustainable and viable.

The project is tentatively scheduled for installation by the end 2012. Rasheda has encouraged interested collaborators, non-profits and partners to contact her at pittsburghlightdisco@gmail.com for more information.

The Dickson Elementary Outdoor Art Garden won our March 2012 award. The project will provide a safe and creative outside environment for kids to express, explore, and play. The foundation’s $1,000 grant will support purchasing classroom supplies and furnishings for the garden.

“The Art Garden will be an outdoor classroom facility that will allow our students to think outside of the box. It is a way to teach the students that learning does not have to take place within four walls,” said Beth Wagner, art educator, Dickson Elementary.

The garden is a space where students will learn, grow and become familiar with nature. Once the project is complete, children will be able to plant, grow, and conduct science experiments. The garden will provide a space for lessons that are too difficult to conduct inside a classroom. For example, each year the second grade students hatch butterflies that eventually need to be released. The outdoor garden is the perfect place for that to happen

Another goal of the garden is to have each child who attends Dickson Elementary work on the garden in some way. This is a way to teach the students that working in and around their community and school can create a sense of pride and ownership. When complete, the garden will serve more than 300 hundred students in grades pre-K through 6. All of the students attend Dickson Elementary in Swissvale within the Woodland Hills school district, just east of Pittsburgh.

Early May update: Here’s local coverage of the project in process: http://foresthills-regentsquare.patch.com/articles/outdoor-classroom-inspires-young-minds-in-swissvale

Congratulations to our newest awardee, the Community Steps Cooperative, an initiative focused on preserving and promoting the many steps and stairways that can be found within the City of Pittsburgh.  The Cooperative will use our $1,000 grant to support outreach and volunteer efforts for cleanup and improvement days at targeted steps within various City neighborhoods.

“The Community Steps Cooperative offers a win-win for the city—we improve these unique spaces at a much lower cost than traditional means while communities become more walkable and have the opportunity to connect and take ownership of their steps,” said Alex Lake, Co-Director of Community Steps Cooperative. “This Awesome Pittsburgh grant gives us the means to start growing our organization and allows us to purchase the tools and supplies needed to begin hosting volunteer days this spring.”

The City’s steps are historic features that provide connectivity, contribute accessibility, and add a distinct character to nearly every neighborhood, with more than 700 sets of steps throughout Pittsburgh.

Staffed by volunteers, the Community Steps Cooperative is creating a network of individuals who are dedicated to maintaining and preserving neighborhood steps and serving as a resource for people who want to help or make use of the steps.  As part of its efforts, the Cooperative will solicit community feedback and support, act as a liaison between neighborhoods and local government, and carry out projects that improve and promote the use of the Pittsburgh city steps. Volunteer and improvement activities are scheduled to begin this May.

CSC would love to have more volunteers, advocates, and even donors. To learn more about or to get involved, visit www.cscpgh.org or www.facebook.com/cscpgh.

UPDATE: 7/16/12

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette had a great article about the Community Steps Cooperative today: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/neighborhoods-city/community-group-takes-steps-to-safeguard-stairways-in-pittsburgh-644839/

So many amazing new venues for music, art, and other performances have emerged around the city, you might fear that we are in danger of running out of space for all of them. Well, fear not, Pittsburgh – there are three great, untapped spots where available land isn’t a limiting factor: the Allegheny, the Monongahela, and the Ohio! That’s right. It’s time for the long overdue marriage of two great resources of our region: our rivers and our arts community.

Awesome Pittsburgh is pleased to announce that our January grant has been awarded to Art Barge, a floating platform that will host a variety of creative installations and performances along Pittsburgh’s rivers and riverfronts. Art Barge is the creation of eight artists and students in the MFA program at Carnegie Mellon University. Jon Rubin is serving as the faculty advisor for the project.

“Thanks to the support of Awesome Pittsburgh, we will be able to accomplish an unconventional, but nevertheless inspiring initiative that seeks to bring art, creativity and even fantasy to what we think is one of Pittsburgh’s most underutilized public spaces, the three rivers,” said Felipe Castelblanco, an Art Barge artist. “Our hope is to connect with new audiences, those who normally don’t make it to the art gallery, while embracing the rivers as a space for socialization and interaction. This grant provides the necessary funding we need to get the project off the ground and finish the construction of the platforms.”

The Art Barge will function as an artificial island of sorts, consisting of several floating hexagonal modules or stages which can be linked together to create a variety of shapes, resulting in a venue that can transform to serve the needs of the exhibition or event. Ideas that have already been kicked around include a “paddle-in” movie theater, a winter desert island, a concert stage, a museum for objects dredged from the river bottom, a miniature campsite, and a floating cafe. Art Barge will accept submissions for guest projects beginning in March and expects to implement four projects in 2012. For additional information, go to http://artbarge.tumblr.com.

That’s another $1000 awarded to a team with a great idea for bringing more awesomeness to the region. Do you have the next one? If so, the deadline for the next award is February 15th. Check out what we think of as “awesome” and start on your submission today. Filling out the application takes a few moments, but the competition is tough – a lot of you have really amazing ideas and we can only pick one every month. So keep those awesome juices flowing!

UPDATE 2/13/12: Essential Public Radio covered our awardee (now called “the Drift”) here.