Toyvention: An Adaptive Learning Toy Workshop

The Enterprise Center, in an effort to show off the new Edney Building have fueled something amazing. 225 toys were hacked to help disabled children of Chattanooga. Partnering with Signal Centers, Art/Dev, and PEF, The Edney Center hosted a day-long workshop to adapt new electronic toys for use by children with disabilities. During the workshop, volunteers took the toys apart, install adapted switches on them and then reconstructed them.  All 225 toys at the November 12 Toyvention workshop have been hacked and will quickly be placed in the toy lending library of Signal Centers, making them available for holiday distribution to families of children with disabilities.

The UNFoundation grant played a role in purchasing toys for this event. Even though our grant couldn't fund the entire project we were so pumped to be part of this inspiring and heartfelt project.

Anti-Gang Weekly Mentor Program Books

Raised in Chattanooga, for 18 years Chris Newby was a high ranking member of one of the most violent gangs in Chattanooga and America, the Vice Lords. Working with him is Reginald Peck, a former member of the Bloods. They have created a weekly mentor program through Fathers to the Fatherless for what Orchard Knob, Tyner, and Brainerd call their most high risk students. They have 20 students at each of the schools- half boys and half girls. Meeting for 1 hour during the school day every week for the whole school year they are running programs on conflict resolution, negotiation skills, self confidence, positive collaboration and communication.

Sounds pretty amazing, right? What do they need? Books. We will be purchasing 4 books for each student. These aren't just any books, these are relevant and highly sought after books (we know because one of our trustees is a librarian). On the docket to read is The Skin I'm In, Tears of a Tiger, Monster, and Bronx Masquerade. The goal? To create a love for reading that comes from books chosen just for them.

Brainerd Farmers Market Double SNAP

Since 2009 the Brainerd Farmers’ Market (BFM) has been providing a platform for fresh, healthy, local food each Saturday from 10am to noon. The Market began to accept SNAP funds from patrons receiving food assistance in 2012 and has, thanks to grant funds and individual donations, matched dollar-for-dollar what SNAP patrons can spend at the market with the "Double SNAP" program. What does this mean? Use your food stamps at the market to buy $40 worth of groceries and instead get $80 worth of groceries.

Our $1,500 should sustain Double SNAP through the end of the regular market season on December 3rd. We are so proud to help bring fresh food to those that might otherwise not have access to it. 

The Passage: A mobile learning classroom

Hardy Elementary School is the proud new owner of a used short bus that is being converted into their new mobile classroom. Once tricked out and put into use this educational tool will be called The Passage. At the helm of The Passage is Colleen Ryan and Brittany Harris, teachers at Hardy. The kind of teachers you hope your child gets when they go to school. This was their idea. And they are going to volunteer their time to make a difference. And other teachers and volunteers as well. The Passage will help parents learn essential and effective strategies with their student and a teacher together. Their goal? Have 90% of third grade students reading on grade level.

They already had the bus, so how did we help? Oh you know, little things like Chromebooks, mobile wifi, a generator, a compressor, and some other supplies. We are pumped to fund applications from do gooders like Brittany and Colleen trying to make a difference in the education of our kids. Rock on, ladies.

East CHA Makers - 3D Printing/Modeling on Glass St

East Chattanooga Makers lives on Glass St just down the road from Hardy Elementary School. The space is designed to be a kid friendly environment to foster creativity and learning using technologies typically not available in the neighborhood. Spearheaded by Ron Fabela, ECM will be open every week for 'free learning' time and in the future have milestone based projects where they bring together multiple sub-skills to work a community project. The UNFoundation turned up the dial on it just a tad. Our grant will provide 3D printers along with some necessary filament to kickstart more technology adventures. 3D printing and modeling will have an immediate impact on the kids in the neighborhood. Engaging our youth is paramount. When sports, art or reading aren't for you, maybe this will be.

Imagine a technology center in East Chattanooga. Whoa. It's happening folks.

McKamey's Homeless Camp Project

We all know what McKamey Animal Center does. They address animal control and care problems in the City of Chattanooga. Well, did you know McKamey also helps homeless pets? Now you do.

McKamey partners with Relevant Hope, a nonprofit that establishes relationships with homeless people and connects them with the services they need. Thanks to them we now have an avenue to reach homeless camps all over Chattanooga. A volunteer veterinarian, Dr Angelika Lingl donates her time and expertise to go visit pets in the camps on a monthly basis. While McKamey volunteers the time of one of their vet techs and Dr. Lingl volunteers her time as well, the cost of the vaccinations, medication, supplies, and spay/neuter surgery for homeless pets needed funding. For the next 12 months our $2,400 grant will fund these much needed resources.

This TFP article from May 2015 nicely highlights the work Dr Lingl, Relevant Hope and McKamey all accomplish when partnered together. They are the homeless pet protectors. They are super heroes in our collective mind. The UNFoundation is just honored to tag along with this trifecta in the form of our July grant.

Battle Academy Welcome Dinner

Inspired by the Causeway challenge about transforming public education, Battle Academy PTA wanted to host a Welcome Dinner. Their goal is to use the dinner as a first step in breaking down walls by allowing families to come together with educators over a simple meal to create an educational bond that will support better learning. Slated for August 17, 2016 alongside Kindergarten and First Grade Orientation, this event has the potential to reach 160 students, their caregivers, and indirectly our Chattanooga community.

So, what will happen exactly? In keeping with the theme of building connections, the key is to have food provided by a restaurant connected to the area, not just a corporate pizza chain. They’ve reached out to Miss Griffin’s Footlong Hotdogs, located on Main Street, to provide the main course and T and T Produce to provide healthy fruit and vegetable sides. During the evening, kids will work on a friendship mural together with the art teacher, Mrs. Bowling. Allowing the students to work together away from the parents, gives parents and teachers a time to meet each other, connect, and start building relationships. Joseph Schlabs, a local photographer has generously donated his services to be on site with a backdrop, lighting source, and professional camera doing studio style family photos which they will be able to download for free. The key is that all of this is FREE for the families. The PTA will also have a presence during the evening with opportunities for parents to sign up as a room parent, mentoring, and more.

Chattanooga 2.0 highlighted the need to create a community with parents, teachers, and kids. Battle Academy PTA decided to take action. The UNFoundation wanted to be a part of this critical piece of our education revitalization. After all, we fund cool ideas.

Women Helping Women

A lot of people come of age thinking about the day they start their family. Babysitting, spending time with nieces or nephews, and supporting friends with children give some insight to the time when that life altering decision is made. The part nobody talks about? 49% of pregnancies in the US are unplanned. That number's 80% for young women under 19. The magic moment where a woman decides to bring a life into the world just doesn't happen half the time, limiting those women's opportunity for greater educational attainment and higher earnings with it. 

A Step Ahead Foundation Chattanooga has been working in our area for two years to facilitate access to free, long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs) for women with the fewest barriers possible—that means assistance setting appointments, free transportation to a healthcare provider, and payment for the LARC of her choice. To further their reach and to help ensure the three groups identified as most at risk: single women, black women, and women with less education or income, are educated and empowered about their reproductive choices, A Step Ahead will be hiring community ambassadors. Their $1500 grant will provide training for 10 women of color to spend 150 hours in their own communities advocating for more dependable birth control options in settings ranging from health fairs to one-on-one counseling. With birth control that allows women to really plan for their families, we'll have healthier babies and a more equitable future for our city.