Mindful School for Teachers and Students | Lakeside Academy

In elementary school, everyone had math, science, and reading.  But did you ever have a Mindfulness class?!  Well, the students of Lakeside Academy will this school year!  When we were approached by educators at Lakeside Academy wanting to partner with Chattanooga's Center for Mindful Living, we jumped at the opportunity.  

Mindfulness experts will visit Lakeside Academy once a week and teach the Mindful Schools curriculum to one teacher at each grade level K-5 for 13 weeks.  A trained mindfulness educator from the Center for Mindful Living will meet with the teachers and students in their classrooms, and introduce one mindfulness lesson at the beginning of the week. The teachers and students will practice the lesson for the remainder of the week. All students and teachers will benefit.

This curriculum has been taught to over 300,000 students in 50 states and is based on a well-researched MBSR program started at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in 1979 by Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn. It is suggested that mindfulness training will help students and teachers enhance self-awareness, self-management, and expand the number of skills they have available for stress management. Mindfulness empowers better learning.

Movie Nights | Highland Park Neighborhood Association

Highland Park Neighborhood Association hosts Movie Nights in Tatum Park all summer long. This year they are partnering with “Dialogues Chattanooga”, a local independent documentary project, made for lifting up community conversation about important topics for our city’s future. Dialogues producer Robert Ashton Winslow will screen at Movie Night on August 19th and together they will invite Highland Park residents to host additional “living room” screenings with friends and neighbors utilizing the documentary content to share stories, questions, and ideas. The end result? Neighbors of all walks of life coming together to build progress in their community.

Support from The UNFoundation included the donation of a commercial popcorn maker with supplies (from one of our trustees) and $500 to market the events and provide necessities like snacks,  and a place to pee.  

Red Bank Elementary Lions' Wellness Den

At Red Bank Elementary, a Title 1 school with about 700 students, Annette Longoria Adams' primary duty is serving students with behavioral issues. Trained in mindfulness, Annette is able to teach students how to be aware and in control of their bodies and actions. When they are more aware, they are better able to self-regulate, be responsive rather than reactive, and make better choices. Those skills help keep them from repeating inappropriate behaviors.

Enter The UNFoundation. Our $2,500 will help Annette transform an unused room into a therapeutic, safe and dedicated space with a variety of interactive equipment and tools that provide students with personalized sensory input. What does that mean? We're going to help her buy things like a Beginner Yoga Poses Poster, a Hike & Seek Fred Crawling Tunnel, and a SensaRock Sensory Rocker. With these tools students can reset with Annette and return to class more calm and focused so they can be better prepared for learning and interacting with others.

OKMS Maker Space

Wow! Orchard Knob Middle School (OKMS) students will be welcomed back to school in August with halls filled with vibrant colors, new furniture, and loads of love and support from the local community. Thanks to the transformation that took place at the OKMS inaugural Beautification Week. A team of volunteers, contractors, artists  and organizers came together to tackle numerous projects throughout the campus in July.

Construction company, Tucker Build, and artists Rondell Crier & Brent Sanders teamed up to prep and refurbish an approximately 5000 square foot space that will be transformed from a storage and overflow area into a Multi-Purpose room that will be the prime location for numerous after school programs and a teacher collaboration room.

The Multi-Purpose room will include spaces for a conference area for collaborative work, a computer station, areas for small group or individual work as well as an exercise/dance area for after-school dance and yoga classes, Home Economics area (with brand new appliances donated by Lowes!), and a maker space. 

The team  received in-kind donations for plumbing, electrical, and general painting supplies, but needed additional funds in order to complete the various artistic elements and provide furnishings.

Sensory Friendly Concerts with CSO

The Chattanooga Symphony & Opera’s Sensory Friendly concerts feature performances by the String or Wind Ensembles in a space that allows for movement, interaction, or easy listening. Perfect for kids and families of all ages and abilities, these short performances feature themed programs with kid-friendly pieces, opportunities to meet the musicians and the instruments, and let kids (and parents!) experience the magic of music together!  Join us this season for one or all of our sensory friendly concerts in October, December, February, and April.  

We are excited to be partnering with the Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga to provide this sensory concert series at no cost to Chattanooga families.  

Homes and Havens | Kaysie Strickland

Homes & Havens, since its inception in September 2016, helps women who are overcoming crisis, homelessness, abuse, or addiction transition from having a place to live to having a home. Kaysie, a home decorator by trade, helps reimagine and renew their space with paint, furniture, home goods, and as much beauty as she can fit into four walls. Having a renewed home can help them continue to heal, overcome, and grow confident in their victorious new season of life.

On average, it takes about $800 to give one woman’s apartment/home a beautiful makeover. Kaysie takes thriftiness to a whole new level. Many of these women are in the process of trying to recover custody of their kids and having a home that is beautiful and equipped to support healthy relationships gives them confidence and excitement to keep moving forward. Our $3,000 grant will help transform 4 women's homes here in Chattanooga. Read about some of the women Kaysie has already helped here.

Instrument Acquisition for Chattanooga Girls Rock Camp

Chattanooga Girls Rock (CGR) is a non-profit whose mission is to "empower girls in our community to build confidence and celebrate their individuality through collaborative music education and performance." After an inspiring Summer 2016 rock camp for girls ages 10-17, 2017 is growing by 66%! Our $3,000 grant will help CGR build an inventory of gear and instruments of their own before camp this summer. Why buy used gear when you can just borrow?

First, one of the biggest hurdles, logistical quagmires and strains on resources is the process of having instruments and gear loaned out to them for camp. It involves seeking out donors willing to pledge their instruments, gathering the instruments, labeling them and then returning them to their owners at the end of the week. This year nearly 20 drum kits alone are needed for camp, not to mention the guitars, amps, PAs, cables and accessories. Even a small collection of owned gear would relieve organizational stress and energies could be redirected into the quality of programming for camp.

The second reason, and the really exciting part, is the ability to open inventory and gear up to the Chattanooga community at large (outside of camp/CGR programming dates). Imagine a free instrument and gear loan program for all youth in the city aged 17 and under! After camp last year there was a desire from campers to continue playing the instruments they learned at camp. Unfortunately the cost of those items, and the necessary accessories, is often prohibitively expensive. Step in, The UNFoundation. Problem solved, opportunity taken advantage of. Nice job, CGR leaders.

Film Awards for Chattanooga Film Festival

The fourth annual Chattanooga Film Festival brings something undoubtedly special to our city. Every spring, the cinema nerd comes out in all of us as the buzz of one of the city's signature events comes to life. We're proud to play a small part this this tradition by supporting, for the fourth year, the festival's Best Feature Film, Best Short Film, Best TN Filmmaker, and Best Student Filmmaker winner's prizes, $2,500 total. Investing in artists to give them the cash fuel to make more art is the bee's knees.