Where would you be today without your education? Would you know how to read or write? Would you be able to support yourself? Melbourne’s June grant was awarded to One Girl, an organization that’s made it their mission to educate girls from the poorest rural communities of Sierra Leone, West Africa. One Girl was founded in 2009 by Chantelle Baxter and David Dixon and has given 100 girls the opportunity for an education and a better life. Their upcoming campaign Do It in a Dress will raise $25,000 to send another 50 girls to school by 2012. The difference an education in Sierra Leone can make is astounding.  See what these girls are up against: – 1 in 6 chance of attending high school. – 62% chance they’ll be married before their 18th birthday. – 50% chance they’ll be sexually abused before they turn 18 and it’s almost guaranteed that they’ll experience some kind of sexual violence in their lifetime. Do It in a Dress plans on raising the $25,000 by recruiting 100 “rock star” bloggers from around the world to set a personal challenge for themselves like run 5K, go to a yoga class, bungee jump or just go to… read more →

Here are a couple Rotobooth shots from tonight’s Awesome Foundation NYC Party at Babycastles.  Babycastles, an independent video game arcade, were the co-hosts of the party and the recipients of the latest $1000 grant from Awesome NYC.  Rotobooth, a project by fellow ITP alum Mike Kelberman, is an automated photo booth that uploads pictures directly to Flickr. Above: Posing with fellow Awesome NYC trustee Catherine White and friends from Purpose. Below: Awesome Foundation NYC trustees: Catherine White, Jesse Chan-Norris, and myself More photos on Flickr

Awesome Foundation NYC’s next party will be at Babycastles in Brooklyn (285 Kent Avenue) on June 27th, 8 pm-10 pm-ish. Babycastles, an independent video games arcade, is both the co-host of the party and the recipient of the latest Awesome NYC grant. Free entry, and cash bar. There will be arcade games, fun, and some awesome surprises. See you tonight! RSVP on Facebook Babycastles 285 Kent Avenue Brooklyn, NY

It’s with great pleasure that AF Sydney can announce our May recipient, Scott Brown and his awesome project – Experiential Media & Autistic Spectrum Disorders. This is a video of some of Scott’s work. Here’s what appears to be a design of the device Scott will be building. I am an Honours student at COFA in Sydney, studying Digital Media and focusing on interactive and experiential design. Currently, I am working on a year-long project which will look at how children with autistic spectrum disorders (ASDs) respond to physical interaction with digital devices. The format of the project will be that of a case study, working with the generous assistance of Aspect (Autism Spectrum Australia). Occupational Therapists from Aspect will shortly source three families with an autistic child who are willing to participate in the study. Once confirmed, unique physically interactive devices (based on each child’s individual sensory issue) will be introduced to the family home, where the parents will observe its impact and pass feedback on to myself. Based on this feedback, further developments will be made over the next six months (for a total of 3×3 devices, ie one device for each child, re-developed three times). A grant such… read more →

Extra! Extra! The Institute on Higher Awesome Studies is tickled pink to announce that we’ve been awarded a Knight News Challenge grant to start the first ever Awesome Foundation around journalism and news. We’d like you to meet Awesome News Taskforce, a regionally-rooted and topic-based Awesome Foundation that will be nurturing small, awesome innovations in community news in the great city of Detroit. We’re now starting the process of looking for trustees—the 10-15 brilliant people at the core of the News Taskforce who will make monthly decisions on what they think is best for their community. Ideal trustees are innovative, enthusiastic, hard-working, and widely-connected people. In assembling this taskforce, IHAS seeks a balance of diverse professional backgrounds and sectors, genders, races, and ages that reflects the city it intends to serve. If you have suggestions, please let us know!