Every day for the past two years, The Pollination Project has made seed grants to an up and coming social change leaders around the world. We are happy to share the extraordinary people and projects that we are honored to support this week.
Veg Kids in Massachusetts.
Healing in the Philippines. Reiki practitioner Laura Scalet offers healing to islanders affected by the 2013 Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines. She is now training islanders in the art of Reiki with her project Reiki Bantayan. Training graduates will be to offer Reiki to themselves and their families, and also the animals, the waters, the earth, the community and quite honestly the world.
Endangered Species in Florida. Experienced conservation biologist and documentary filmmaker, Jennifer Brown, is producing 'Smoke & Mirrors: The Tale of the Florida Grasshopper Sparrow', a film that explores different ideas and characters in the mystery of the endangered sparrow's decline. After working on the Florida Grasshopper Sparrow field crew during the 2013 breeding season, Jennifer became familiar with the sparrow, the prairie habitat, and the people involved in its recovery. She proceeded to conduct her own extensive research and development to craft an innovative, personal film in hopes of benefiting the sparrow, instead of simply documenting its extinction. Jennifer explains, "The power of visual media to inform local land managers and a national audience about the critically endangered, underrepresented, Florida Grasshopper Sparrow is priceless."
Combatting Ebola in Sierra Leone. Safiatu Farma, a gender equity advocate and trainer, is using her training and facilitation skills to bring ebola prevention measures and best practices to rural communities in her severely impacted region. Safiatu is an existing Pollination Project grantee, and we are lucky to be able to give funds directly to a trusted person on the ground to carry out this very important work. Safiatu chose to partner with the Alliance for Social Justice and Development (ASJD), and the Community Organization for Mobilization and Empowerment (COME-SL). The Ebola Awareness and Prevention Project will teach the selected communities that Ebola is real, and that people are dying every day.
Community Garden in Reno.
Cartooning with Kids in North Carolina. In the past few years, Steve Barr, a professional cartoonist living in Columbus, North Carolina, has lost four loved ones to cancer. His losses made him reexamine his priorities, and inspired him to want help others in similar situations. Steve decided to create Cartoon Classes for pediatric patients, to offer his services completely free of charge to any hospital or institution that treats pediatric patients. "I want to bring happiness, distraction, hope and a sense of accomplishment to these young patients and their families, and help build sweet memories for them," he said.
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