Our Blog
The stories behind the grants
Abby Hylton, Queer Youth Circus, North Carolina
When I first talked about this idea many people told me was far-fetched, didn't make sense logistically, and would be too expensive. When I received the grant, the support that I got was not just financial. The award made me feel like others believed in my idea and...
Introducing Our Hub Team – Suzan Joy
Suzan Wilmot grew up straddling the line between poverty and privilege, a foot in each world as her father struggled to raise her single handedly while doing odd jobs for wealthier families. These contrasting experiences gave her the chance to determine what is truly meaningful in life. The history we go through shapes our future and determine what we can become in life, and Suzan didn’t let this situation stop her dreams.
Yaminah Childress, JD, Dream it Forward Foundation, Atlanta, Georgia
When I was awarded the grant I served about 15 children in Atlanta, GA. Now, I serve hundreds of children in Hampton, GA. I have expanded to offer free food to food insecure children, serving supper and late night snacks before they go home at night. I am finalizing...
Aaron Kitchens, Bikes for Brazos, Brazos Valley, Texas
Receiving the TPP grant spurred myself and other community members to action! We used the momentum from receiving the award to gain community support, as well as additionally sponsorship. Before receiving the grant, I did not believe that Bikes for Brazos would ever...
Introducing Our Hub Team – Jimmy Amone
In 1994, when Jimmy Amone was about 7 years old, he and his parents left the village to settle in the City of Kampala due to the civil war in Northern Uganda. While living in the city, he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Information Technology from Nkumba University. Upon completing his degree course, and with the spirit of volunteerism and compassion that he possessed towards life, he wanted to use his new acquired knowledge, skills and experiences gained in Information Communication Technology, leadership, debate, and sports to help his community. So, in 2010, he returned to Northern Uganda and settled in Kitgum village.
Introducing Our Hub Team – Sitawa Wafula
Women never cease to amaze me. I am in awe of the superlative dedication they put in to whatever they do. Every time I read about people changing the world, I am introduced to strong-willed women who would give their life to make the world a better place. As a 2016 Fellow with the Pollination Project’s East Africa Hub, I have met an incredible woman who is transforming the world of mental health, one blog, video, or training session at a time.
Sitawa Wafula is a rare bird. As a rape survivor living with a dual diagnosis of epilepsy and bipolar disorder, she has dedicated her life to providing people in Kenya and Africa with the vital information and support that they need to handle mental health conditions and deal with everyday life.
Introducing Our Hub Team – Vincent Atitwa
The story of the Pollination Project is one that is often best told through the stories of its grantees. This is certainly the case for Kenya, and a good place to start is with the story of Vincent Atitwa.
Born as the 11th child in a family that survived largely on subsistence farming in rural Western Kenya, Vincent grew up with little access to basic needs like food and education, and even suffered from malnutrition throughout his childhood. As a young man, Vincent realized that “for many people in the world, no matter how hard they choose to work, they cannot achieve the same level of security and access to resources.”
Belamin Nkem, African Law Center, Inc., Houston, Texas
Your grant was the first we ever received. And because of that, many local organizations are now approaching us for partnerships. We have also been able to establish a positive relationship within our communities and all of this is thanks to the outreach we made...
David Omondi
David graduated with a BSc. Medical Biochemistry Degree of the University of Nairobi and returned to his community of Obunga Slum where he founded Riley Orton Foundation Org (ROF), Kenyan nonprofit supporting underprivileged girls to break the cycle of poverty by...
Healthy Heart, Healthy Habits
Admit it: Sometimes as adults we are just not in the mood to eat our vegetables and become bored of the same old salads. In inner city Los Angeles, how do you get kids excited and willing to eat GREEN and healthy when there is a McDonald’s or other fast food option on...
Listen Up, Parents! The Keys to Developing a Rock Star Kid
At the age of 4, Kim Ponce’s son, Thomas, said to her that he wouldn’t eat anything with a face. At age 5, Thomas would go online and google about his interest in animals – and he found Peta Kids. In Kindergarten, a teacher suggested to his mom that he start watching...
Francis Odupute, Wash @ Schools Project, Benin City, Nigeria
The TPP grant made a great difference to our project. It gave us boldness to approach people and even government agencies, the State ministries of Education, Health and others. The Pollination Project grant is our first corporate grant to my growing organisation,...
Maria De La Soledad Saburido Alvarez, Somos Semilla: A Mobile Seed Library, San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico
This funding helped us realize the huge amount of good we can do with a little bit of financial resources. The Pollination Project grant made the difference on a personal level, encouraging me to go ahead with the mobile seed library project, and made me believe that...
Meagan Cain, Girls Moving Mountains, Kumari, Nepal
After the earthquake, many people lost hope. Our village, Kumari, was being completely neglected by the government and received no aid. For my Nepali team, knowing that they hadn't been abandoned by the outside world was so incredibly important. This grant allowed me...
Can You Be “Drawn to Help”?
Are you amazed when someone actually does something to help others? I mean, how many times do you wish you could help the world but you go back to your routine and forget about it? Steve Barr lost several people he knew to cancer, watching as they struggled, and...
Christopher McGilvery, Give More Hugs, Lamesa, Texas
The TPP seed grant has helped transform our work. It has also inspired others to join our team. This grant award has recognized the work we do and has vetted us publicly in The Huffington Post and social media. This has helped us gain more support especially with the...
Michelle Carrera, Chilis on Wheels, New York, New York
The Pollination Project grant inspired us to dream bigger. While Chilis on Wheels was born out of a need to teach my son about community, going through the process of applying for the grant challenged me to think about broader opportunities for community engagement....
Tabith Sikana, Sisari Farmers Eco-Enterprise, Kakamega, Kenya
The Pollination Project grant provided me with the start up seed capital that allowed me to purchase seeds. I had tried to look for and secure a grant but nothing came my way, I think because my project was too small. Truly speaking I was almost giving up in looking...
Ariel Nessel
After an epiphany in 1997 changed the way Ari related to food, his heart opened up to the impact every person’s life has on countless beings and the world at large. Soon after this insight, Ari had a vision of himself attaining his worldly goals & dreams, yet left...
Stephanie Klempner: the Founding Cheerleader of The Pollination Project
I recently sat “virtually” with Stephanie Klempner, co-founder of The Pollination Project (TPP). The first thing I notice about her is her cheerful smile that is just simply contagious. Rarely you meet someone who smiles with her eyes and her lips and she was...
Lilian Mayieka, Anti-Female Genital Mutilation Campaign, Monyerero, Kenya
At personal level, Lilian Mayieka before TPP initial funding and Lilian Mayieka after TPP first batch of the TPP grant are two different personalities: The former Lilian Mayieka was that battered woman engulfed in self pity with bottled-up emotions-a victim of female...
Wren Kilian, Valley of The Flowers Project, Bozeman, Montana
Just being chosen to receive a grant was inspiring in itself, because the support and recognition from like minded people who are funding amazing projects all around the world is a big deal. I really appreciated the note of moral support that came with the grant. It...
Jeanine Jesberg Project Little Spark, U.S. & The Carribean
The Pollination Project's endorsement helped us implement the project quickly and demonstrated to our supporters that our project is sustainable over time. The grant allowed us to ship supplies directly to our partner school without any delays or extra charges through...
The Ties that Bind Us: Mary Justine Todd
After nearly three years of thoughtfully and tirelessly working through regional, cultural and political challenges, Pollination Project grantee Mary-Justine Todd has just opened a full scale crisis center for victims of domestic and sexual abuse in the Middle East....
Helping Fiji Weather the Storm: Rebuilding, Resiliency & Returning Home
On February 20th 2016, Tropical Cyclone Winston hit Fiji. The strongest storm ever to make landfall on Fiji, this category 5 cyclone caused devastating damage to communities all over the islands. Efforts to rebuild have already begun, and in this guest blog post we...
Ashley Busby, ArteSana Foundation, Peñas Blancas, Nicaragua
Receiving the Pollination Project grant was the first time an outside organization expressed an interest in supporting our work financially. Since being awarded the grant I have: managed our first successful crowdfunding campaign (with HIPGive), been awarded a second...
Yang Yang Shi, Opening Doors Foundation, San Jose, California
The main benefit of the grant was not so much in the monetary benefit but rather in the publicity benefit. As a result of the grant being posted online and being featured on Pollination's Huffington blog post; we were given an air of legitimacy. We were able to raise...
Marguerite Andrich, Bag up the Love, Sarasota, Florida
We constantly see everything that is wrong in the world, for good or bad, via social media these days but being part of the TPP community has given us hope- hope that many, many people really care about making the world a better place. We have a front row seat...
Kaganga John, Community Innovation Resource Center, Kikandwa, Uganda
The Pollination Project Grant impacted me and my staff by increasing on our connections with potential individuals and institutions which is helping our effort,it has helped to raise our profile,we have gained more knowledge in our professionalism in food security,...
Jemima Laurent, College Lingual, Newark, NJ
When I first received the email from the Pollination Project stating that they have agreed to fund our project, I was beyond ecstatic. To me, it meant that somebody other than myself believed in College Lingual and its potential. Starting College Lingual was a...