BHM Book Giveaway | Culture Books

If you’ve not met Erica Richardson, founder of Culture Books, you’re missing out. Not only is she passionate about putting books with culturally diverse characters into the hands of children of color, she’s also a librarian at the Avondale YFD Center who can turn any frown upside down. She’s magic, y’all.

Our $3,000 grant went to purchase books like “The 1619 Project: Born on the Water” and “The Story of Rap” that are based on Black History Month and/or written by Black Authors. Books were distributed to kids at several schools with predominantly black and brown youth like Woodmore Elementary. Kids will have books in their homes that have representation of them, their ancestry and Black History Month in general. The kids were so excited to get books that they could keep forever. This is exactly what books should do for kids, right?

Restorative Practices Documentary | CALEB

We’ve all heard of the the school-to-prison pipeline, right? For low-income and minority communities expulsions and suspensions are one of the key contributors. Data from the Tennessee Department of Education and Hamilton County Schools (HCS) indicates that black students are four times more likely to receive suspensions than white students. In 2019, HCS was reprimanded by the state's education department for inequitable disciplinary treatment of minority students and those with disabilities. These facts speak to the need for discipline reform in HCS. So how?

CALEB is creating a documentary to show school board members, educators and staff how the use of restorative practices reduce the numbers of behavior referrals leading to suspensions and expulsions. Who is CALEB, anyway? CALEB is an institutional coalition of faith-based, labor, and community groups working to build power to affect change in Chattanooga.

Our $3,000 grant will be used for two dinner/documentary viewing parties showcasing restorative practices at Orchard Knob Elementary School. The two schools will be in Hamilton County school zones where “out of classroom” times (suspensions, expulsions, juvenile court referrals, etc.) are prevalent.

Binders for Kids | B4CK

B4CK stands for Binders for Confident Kids. What is a binder? It is a chest compression garment designed to give the appearance of a flat chest. Binders help queer youth feel safe, focus on learning and stay alive. Really.

A national survey by GLSEN has found that 75% of transgender youth feel unsafe at school, and those who are able to persevere had significantly lower GPAs, were more likely to miss school out of concern for their safety, and were less likely to plan on continuing their education. More than half of transgender male teens who participated in the survey reported attempting suicide in their lifetime and many transgender young people experience family rejection, bullying and harassment, or feel unsafe for simply being who they are - all of which can be added risk factors for suicide.

So, how did we help? $515 went to purchase and distribute binders, based on need, for Chattanooga queer youth.

Operation Warm | Rainbow at Ridgeway

Winter officially started on December 21st. While you probably have a nice warm winter coat and boots, not everyone does. Enter Lindsey Butler, the Resident Services Coordinator for Rainbow Housing Assistance Corporation at Ridgeway Apartments on the west side of Chattanooga. She saw a need and had the right partners to make it happen. Our $2,485 grant purchased 62 coats and 53 pairs of shoes for children who reside in the Ridgeway community through Operation Warm. They partner with community organizations such as Rainbow to use this gift (the coats and shoes are a really good deal) as a catalyst for community connection.

But that’s not all Lindsey wanted to accomplish. After receiving the items, kids were asked to write a letter to a child at St. Jude's spending the holidays in the hospital. Paying it forward as they say. Nice job, Lindsey.

Notes to Blocks | Music Therapy Gateway in Communications

Music Makes the World go Round. At least that’s what the song says. Music is also therapy. Enter Music Therapy Gateway in Communications (MTGIC). Founder, Dr Martha Summa Chadwick, is uniquely qualified to direct this organization, having enjoyed successful careers as a concert pianist, teacher, and Information Technologist. Yes, that’s right, IT. She is a great advocate of music therapy and partners with certified music therapists whenever possible even though she is not a certified music therapist herself. So what is she doing?

Notes to blocks is a project utilizing technology to better bring music creation to persons affected with Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, stroke, autism, or even neuro-typical individuals. How? Well, the Chattanooga Public Library already has electronic piano keyboards thanks to UTC. MTGIC painstakingly created hand drawn blocks like the ones in the grant image, but in order to make a more robust and customizable collection of songs we needed technology. Enter Riley Shipley. He is currently in his final semester of attaining a Master’s Degree in Computer Science at UTC and has agreed to develop the computer program that will automate the color-coded graphs using an xml file input.

Our $3,000 grant goes primarily to fund the computer development effort, then purchase a license for Logic Pro software/app along with a dedicated keyboard for creation of the xml files, and create a budget for the library to purchase scores and potentially print hundreds of color pages. Lee Dorsey Hope has agreed to be the library’s main point of contact for the project and will lead the effort there. Thanks, Lee!

Operation Build a Theatre | Chattanooga Prep School

Michael Howard teaches theater at Chattanooga Preparatory School (CPS), an all boys public charter school in Highland Park. Haven’t heard of it? It’s near CGLA off Bailey and was founded by Ted and Kelly Alling in 2018. CPS’s aim is to inspire, empower, and educate the men of tomorrow in the hopes that their successes will create generational change within our communities. Yes!

Michael Howard, the theater teacher, applied for an UNFoundation grant to cover the cost of a lighting system and a portable wireless 16 channel wireless microphone system. In the event he has additional money left over, it would be invested into costumes, makeup and props. Let the performances begin!

Youth Digital Media Program X CGR | Dynamo Studios

Look at their logos, it just makes sense that Chattanooga Girls Rock teams up with the team at Dynamo Studios. How? The Youth Digital Media Program.

A student-driven, magazine development and journalism program heavily emphasizing media production with a focus on unique stories within the music industry awaits the girls who rock. Dynamo Studios and Chattanooga Girls Rock offers unprecedented access to influential individuals, bands, and brands that can be directly interacted with by students in the program — From local acts all the way up to Grammy winners and celebrities (they aren’t joking). In addition to learning the ins and outs of creating content and running a magazine, the physical publication will serve as a portfolio for CGR rockers. Beyond working with artists and shooting for concerts, students will also be creating content (photos and videos) for some of the biggest brands in the music industry. Our $3,000 July grant will cover 15 student seats in the program this Fall. Rock on.

Sound, Safety and Support | Sanctuary Cafe and Performing Arts

June was Pride Month, so we just happened to fund a grassroots group dedicated to queer and trans Chattanoogans. But they do so much more. Sanctuary Cafe and Performing Arts was founded in 2020 amidst a tumultuous year due to the lack safe and transformative places for queer and trans people in Chattanooga. It is owned and operated by trans community members. The 4,600 square foot building is home to tons of programming including a flourishing performance group including a newly launched children’s theatre, a community closet, all age sober shows, community gardening, support groups for queer and trans people and a special support group for families and youth. Sanctuary’s mission is to lift marginalized voices and encourage community while integrating queer and trans culture into southern society in a safe and healthy way. Y’all means all after all.

So what did we fund, you ask? Well, we fixed a leaky roof (yes, they have a lease), purchased sound and lighting for the theatre, and added 7 Ring cameras to every room in the space including outside. Sanctuary has already benefited over 400 people and is growing fast. We hope our June grant gave them more momentum to do more good in our great city.