June 18th, 2008
Take Action Grant Winners [Update]
Take Action Grants, empowered by MySpace Impact, the Hot Topic Foundation and Hopeless/Sub City Records, were awarded to 9 amazing young people who want to make change in their communities, with a focus on everything from music and art education to suicide prevention and poverty. Find out what they’ve been up to below..
Sub City Records Grant
James Bearden, Age: 18, State: New Mexico
I Love Life
James was inspired by the need for suicide awareness, while understanding that 75% of suicides had given notice or warning to a friend or a family member, the answer of an initiative for awareness was a clear beginning. James and his organization set out to raise awareness through education, in the hopes that a person in need may not want to talk right away but an informed friend, family member, or teacher would know from this suicide prevention program to be persistent, and through persistence the distraught person would be willing to get help.
In order to address the problem James and his organization created an awareness and prevention month at their high school, which kicked off March 1st. He used the grant money to create the event and rent the space in order to host a dance and a rock show, both for charity to support the I Love Life Foundation and the Second Wind Foundation. The events were a success and encouraged the participants that teenagers can make a difference in any community. Their fundraising has continued as they are now selling t-shirts with profits going to support their selected charities.
Sub City Records Grant
Naima Green, Age: 21, State: California
eXchange (Cape Town-East Palo Alto Music Program)
Talisman is a group of singers dedicated to the sharing of stories through song, through a repertoire rooted in the musical traditions of the African Diaspora, they strive to reach across the many borders of today’s world. This year, Talisman will embark on a project connecting young artists in Cape Town, South Africa and East Palo Alto, California. Talisman will use ‘eXchange’ to explore common circumstances affecting youth communities in both America and South Africa. Talisman’s tour to South Africa, we will culminate the project by filming a music video with the students in both East Palo Alto and Cape Town. By drawing on the everyday lives and cultures of these students, the hope is to facilitate mutual understanding that will be culturally enriching and help to develop artistic abilities and self-expression.
Sub City Records Grant
Chester Eastwood, Age: 22, State: New Hampshire
Alpaca Paper Service
Alpaca Paper Service wants to help lead the way to a promising future and creative change for the developmentally disabled population, as a small business that was designed with developmentally disabled adults in mind to work jobs through which they can interact within their community. This paper service has brought awareness of the capabilities of the DD Population, while it is staffed fully by DD Adults, as the employees have an opportunity to interact with their community as they make their daily deliveries. The Alpaca Paper has used its grant money to start the business, and is already a success in the mind’s of the community at-large, as well as the employees who now have a new experience within the realm of their careers. Chester and the Alpaca Paper Service hope to eventually sponsor an adaptive sports team to further interact within their own community.
Hot Topic Grant
Arielle Barrientos, Age: 17, State: Mississippi
Strings with Wings
After volunteering in Saltillo, Mexico, Arielle was inspired by the need for a classical music experience in the area, where she had brought her passion of music to teach underprivileged children to play violin. Working with her organization, Strings with WINGS, she set out to create an education program to teach underprivileged students, and involve them in a bilingual theatrical piece, to prove that music can transcend poverty lines. The students have begun their instruction, and with a benefit dinner she has had great success in raising money and awareness. Arielle has received a donation of 10 retired violins, and over 40 music books, while using her grant money to promote the program through benefits, and has raised over $11,000.
Hot Topic Grants
Jourdan Urbach, Age: 17, State: New York
Children Helping Children
Jourdan founded Children Helping Children in order to raise funds for national medical organizations, hospitals, and cutting-edge research organizations targeting neurological disease, as well as to inspire and empower young musicians. By hosting “Concerts for a Cure” all across the globe, Children Helping Children hopes to save lives through music. Jourdan recruits entrepreneurial philanthropists and the country’s young, talented musicals to step up and join forces to create high visibility and profits for their targeted charities and medical research through these benefit concerts. CHC has raised over $1.4 million to be used for vital music therapy materials, surgical scholarships, home healthcare, and progressive research. Recently, he performed at Red Carpet 2008 Associated Television International Heroes Among Us Awards, and received the Young Hero Award from ATI; and his work continues to raise money and awareness, through holding concerts around the world, including his next planned concert for 2009 in El Salvador.
Hot Topic Grant
Linda Salinas, Age: 23, State: California
Arts as a Vision for Change
Inspired by her community of Richmond High School, where a high crime rate and increasing violence between students has lead to a need for action, Linda organized Arts as a Vision for Change. Working to increase awareness and to bring students from different ethnic backgrounds together, the organization has created a mural project where students will come together to work for the benefit of the school. By creating a dialogue for change, and building a vision for a better community, people now feel invested in the school as a part of the larger community. Linda used her money to buy supplies for the Graffiti Battle, which was a great success, and now the students can reflect upon their visions for the future, as their bright and hopeful murals will be displayed around campus.
MySpace Grant
Stevie Peacock, Age: 14, State: Florida
Project KINDNESS (Kids In Need Deserve New Elementary School Supplies)
Stevie created Project KINDNESS, and for four years she has collected donations of school supplies to children in need. Recently she has focused her efforts in the Memorial Elementary School in Arcadia, Florida, which was affected by Hurricane Charley in 2004. In addition to donating supplies, Stevie has read to the students, brought juice and cookies, and even delivered Holiday gifts. She has been very successful and able to use her grant money to buy essential supplies for the classroom such as crayons and glue sticks, and this year was able to expand her efforts and donate 150 backpacks to Habitat for Humanity families, as her successful project is ongoing.
MySpace Grant
Andrew Chow, Age: 22, State: New York
East Harlem Health Outreach Partnership (EHHOP)
EHHOP was founded in 2000, by Mount Sinai medical students who banded together to explore ways to more fully connect with the East Harlem community, where the large volume of uninsured patients became the impetus for the project. In 2004 East Harlem ranked worst out of 42 New York City neighborhoods in the category of “avoidable hospitalizations,” where 29% of residents have no personal doctor. Since its opening in May 2004, EHHOP has been staffed by Mount Sinai medical students, and volunteer workers; and functions as a primary care clinic that often serves as the first step for many patients with potentially disabling acute and chronic medical conditions to obtain much needed medical care, and education. Andrew and EHHOP used their money to aid in the costs of supplying entirely free medications to their patients, which is a unique feature to their clinic, and ran a total cost of $23,905 for the 2007-8 fiscal year. The program is ongoing as it continues to serve the underserved and uninsured in East Harlem.
MySpace Grant
Elliot Goldstein, Age: 16, State: California
Carts for the Homeless
With a desire to create a new form of help for homeless people that focused on improving their lives within their own lifestyle, Elliot began his organization, Carts for the Homeless. By creating a durable, plastic cart with specific features such as a tarp for rain, water basin, and lockable storage mechanism, CFTH hopes to increase the quality of life for many homeless people in Los Angeles. He will use his grant money to help build the prototype cart, and buy materials, and then work with members of his organization to build these carts, with the hope of impacting the lives of others.
