7 Activists on Community Outreach as a Means of Changing the World

by | Feb 6, 2019 | Seeds: Our Blog

Breaking the Stigma and Discrimination project is working to mitigate discrimination based on sexual orientation, identity, and gender expression within the LGBTI community in the Dominican Republic. They make visible the violations of human rights that often affect this base population, and collaborate with the formation of vulnerable groups. The group carries out training courses in the field of human rights of the educators and target population, serving as multipliers and replicating this information to other people in different vulnerable groups of the LGBT population, with special emphasis on the trans population that is the most discriminated according to studies shared by the Observatory of human rights of vulnerable groups.

Located in the Kigoma Municipality of Tanzania, the Kigoma Organic Farming Project exists to promote organic farming amongst the community. The project will be managed by a group of 20 women with the intention to grow it over the coming months and years. The women who oversee the operations aim to generate income and promote improved nutrition amongst their neighbors, thus supporting the Sustainable Development Goals of reducing poverty and hunger Organic farming has proven to conserve soil and produce vegetative plants. Alpha Ntayomba was inspired to start this work to promote women in the community. Funds from The Pollination Project will help procure okra, tomato, cabbage, and eggplant seeds, organic fertilizer, and organic pesticide, alongside trainings and monitoring activities measuring impact.

Thrive Clermont‘s Teen Volunteer PlugIns is a year-long program that aims to connect teens to their community and increase feelings of self esteem and self worth through volunteerism. The program begins with a half-day volunteer training program (offered quarterly), which will help teens discover what it means to be a volunteer, uncover their natural skills and abilities, and gives them the chance to meet with local organizations that share their beliefs and goals. Once teens have been trained and matched with an organization, they will then be able to volunteer at regular intervals, developing essential job skills and making lasting connections along the way.

Created in 2017, The Ian Cramer Podcast interviews doctors and scholars of Lifestyle Medicine and Plant-based nutrition and then shares their information and insights, for free, with a world-wide audience. Gaining and maintaining good health need not be impossible, expensive, or exclusive. In his podcast, Ian Cramer illuminates that idea and spreads an encouraging message that empowers all people to take control of their health. He speaks to guests remotely from his Rochester, NY office or joins them, in-person, to create podcast episodes that combine practical evidence-based information on best health practices and disease prevention. The Ian Cramer Podcast sparks dialogue directly with the best and brightest who care for patients and prescribe plants, not pills.

Kakamega Village Arboretum project conserves endangered and threatened tree species by propagating them in a village botanical garden. This garden will be used as a learning tool for students from the neighboring schools as well as the community at large. By opening this Village Arboretum, it will help to cultivate a culture of conservation in the youth and in the wider community. People tend to love what they know, and this is a perfect opportunity to raise awareness hence allow people to freely participate in conservation initiatives.

Over the next ten years, 500,000 teens with autism will reach adulthood. While autism prevalence is increasing, the unemployment rate for these individuals is estimated to be between 80-90%. The Youth Empowerment Seminar will better prepare teens with autism for their transition to life after high school. Youth participants between the ages of 14 to 17 will attend a series of skill-building workshops that are designed to increase self-confidence, support independence, and explore self-awareness. Teens who successfully complete the program will develop the necessary skills to engage in meaningful employment or post-secondary education and ultimately achieve a higher quality of life.

CatarActive runs a free cataract screening services across rural India through trained, trusted, and neighborhood medicine shops. The results of these screenings connects and refers patients to eye doctors and hospitals in the region. This project raises awareness, schedules appointments, coordinates transport, and helps patients acquire subsidies from government and nonprofits. It is through these referrals that CatarActive aims to increase diagnosis and surgeries for millions of patients across India.

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In the heart of Nkwen Bamenda III Sub Division, Northwest region of Cameroon, the pilot project "Youth and Visual Arts Activism for Social Change" unfolded at Teken Quarter Youth Community Hall. This initiative, running from January to April 2023, targeted fifteen disadvantaged youths—including school dropouts, drug addicts, and other vulnerable groups. The project, supported by a seed grant, was launched by the Collective Arts Development Association (CADA), which provided six art facilitators. These experts delivered extensive training in various artistic skills, from sketching and drawing on canvas boards to graphic design and T-shirt printing.

Participants were introduced to the fundamentals of colors, composition, and proportions, along with practical applications in screen printing on diverse materials like jeans, nylon, and polyester. The primary goal of the project was to leverage art and social entrepreneurship as viable alternatives to drug use, abuse, crime, and poverty in the local community. Furthermore, the project included an outreach program involving sixth-grade pupils from the Government Primary School in Teken Quarter.

The success of this pilot paved the way for a flagship initiative titled "Empowering Marginalized Youths through Life Skill Education Art and Entrepreneurship Skill Development." This ongoing program offers six-month intensive training sessions to thirty disadvantaged youths, teaching them not only visual and graphic arts but also audio-visual skills and crafts essential for economic independence and social inclusion. Moreover, the program includes mental health education, counseling, rehabilitation strategies, and connects participants with mental health professionals as needed, continuing to transform lives thanks to the foundational support of The Pollination Project grant.

#art #socialchange #activism #youthempowerment #mentalhealtheducation #cameroon #heartivism #grants #thepollinationproject
WINNERS!!
Our grantees Manjushree Abhinav and Aanchal Raturi won the Swarnali Roy Vegan Advocacy Awards 2024 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 

Manjushree received a grant for her project "My planet and my plate", inspiring students to become climate activists themselves, to plant the seed of change into the hearts and minds of students, hoping that these seeds will sprout into far-reaching effects. 

Aanchal founded Project Re-Learn, conducting workshops in Uttaranchal colleges to sensitize future agriculturists about ethical practices. 

Join us in congratulating these two incredible heartivists! 🧡 

@hsi_india 
@hsiglobal 
@manjushreeabhinav 
@earthling_anna_raturi 

#animalrights #animalwelfare #vegan #plantbased #veganlifestyle #nocruelty #crueltyfree #heartivism #grants #animaladvocacy #india
🌟 Volunteer Week 🌟  Celebrating our family of Grant Advisors!

Today we celebrate our grant advisors dedicated to #animalprotection .

🔸 April King (Montenegro/United States) 
🔸 Elphas Ongongo (Kenya) 
🔸 Mohini Sharma (India) 
🔸 Evans Okumu (Kenya) 
🔸 Fernanda García Naranjo Ortega (Mexico)
🔸 Leandro Franz (Brazil) 
🔸 Jeremy Gregory (United States)
🔸 Kate Luke (Australia)
🔸 Andrew Alexander (United States) 

@granjitatyh 
@kotorkitties 
@littleoaksanctuary 

#volunteerweek 
#animalrights  #animalwelfare  #heartivism  #grants  #animaladvocacy #advisors