Scribble Animation | Matt Nassar

Meet Matt Nassar, a Chattanoogan, an accomplished brand designer, and 3D animator who has worked with startups and Fortune 100 brands. From Nike to Snickers, Matt has led the art direction and animation for various campaigns amongst much more.

Scribble Animation is his community project. In partnership with CCA, Dynamo Studios, Tech Goes Home, and the city's Youth & Family Development centers, he will target high school students at Howard and CCA as well as low-income and historically marginalized learners of all ages.

With what? A creative, forward-looking curriculum and project-based learning coursework to teach them 3D animation skills. Our grant will be used for two main things: $2,395 will pay for a 6-month subscription to Disco, an online learning platform. Disco will allow Matt to create interactive course materials with online lessons, quizzes, multimedia, learning assessments, and track student progress and engagement.

The other part of the grant will be $450 to pay for a 2-month subscription to Maya, a professional 3D animation tool. The course itself will make use of Spline and Blender, both free and widely accessible 3D animation tools. This approach ensures the course remains free to all learners in Chattanooga who have access to a computer and an internet connection.

Bring on the tech!

Back to Work | Re-Wake

With nearly one in three adults in the United States having some sort of criminal conviction, odds are you know somebody who has been convicted of a crime or suffered as a result of someone else's offense.

Re-wake is a non-profit organization that assists families that are justice-involved. What is justice-involved? The term "justice-involved" is used to describe people who have had contact with the criminal justice system, either as a victim, offender, or both. This can include people who have been arrested, charged with a crime, convicted of a crime, incarcerated, or on probation or parole. The term "justice-involved" is often used in place of terms like "criminal" or "felon" because it is seen as more respectful and less stigmatizing. It also recognizes that people who have been involved in the criminal justice system are still human beings who deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.

So how do they assist these families? With mentoring, counseling, coaching, and wellness. Those who complete the program and become employed will receive a pair of work boots. With our $3,000 grant, they will be able to provide 60 pairs of steel-toe boots to those who are justice-involved entering the workforce.

ICYMI: The founder of Re-Wake is City Council Member Demetrus Coonrod. In 2008, she was a scared returning citizen.  There were no resources available to assist with re-entry into society after she left prison. She found herself alone.  Re-wake was born from her lived experience.  The organization focuses on the whole family to break mental incarceration.

Showers of Love | Fabrice Medastin

It’s a first, we’ve funded a project where the entire budget is insurance. All $3,000.

In October of last year, homeless outreach nurse, Fabrice Medastin, lost his job due to a lack of funding. That didn’t stop him from his calling. In partnership with the City of Chattanooga Outreach Team, The Regional Outreach Cooperative, and the Community Kitchen, he plans to continue serving as a volunteer nurse to meet basic first aid and hygienic needs to promote health. How? With a shower bus to provide hot showers, haircuts, grooming, and laundering services for his friends in the Chattanooga area.

Fabrice already owns the bus and will operate it himself, but needs commercial insurance to get it up and running. Our $3,000 will cover one year of it.

Testing Drinking Water for Lead | UTC Master of Public Health Program

Lead in drinking water is bad. It can cause childhood lead poisoning which results in developmental delays, especially in children under the age of six. Lead in drinking water has been found in several schools in Hamilton County and has been addressed through remediation (water source taken out of service until fixed). Lead testing in schools is required by the state. However, lead testing is not required in childcare centers, where the most vulnerable children spend their time. The EPA funded the state of Tennessee five years ago to offer free lead testing of drinking water to licensed childcare centers. Unfortunately, very few centers have done the testing; only 3 in Hamilton County over a 5-year period of time through August 2022.

Enter UTC students. UTC has an agreement with TDEC and a small amount of funding of $12,750 to reach out to childcare centers about the free testing available. The funding pays students to work on the project ($15/hour). Since August 1st, they have been reaching out to centers in Hamilton County about the lead testing. Less than 20 centers agreed to test (of nearly 200), and only 9 actually sent water samples to the state lab. Students can collect the water samples and mail them to the lab, or Center staff can do it themselves. They have tried getting the word out through media outlets, including a front-page story in the Times Free Press.

Why aren’t centers agreeing to the free testing? Center directors are busy, it is not required, and it takes some work on their end. Also, if a center has elevated lead, they will be required to take the water source out of service until it is fixed – so there is a lot on the line for something that is not required.

Enter us. $1,500 went to buy $50 gift cards to incentivize the childcare center directors to participation in the program. With the gift cards, the focus will be on low-income areas first (South Chattanooga, East Lake, etc), where children are most at risk.

Even More Bunk Beds | Sleep in Heavenly Peace

Sleep in Heavenly Peace (SHP) is a volunteer 501(c)3 charitable organization that builds bunk beds for local children who are sleeping on floors, couches, and other uncomfortable situations without beds. In the Summer of 2019, we funded SHP, they won again in October 2020 and they have now achieved a three-peat! Not only do they deliver these beds, equipped with mattresses, sheets, pillows, and a blanket to kiddos in need, but they partner with organizations, churches, businesses, and individuals to build them at events called Build Days! Follow them on Facebook to keep up with the next build day.

How do we know the beds are going to the kids that really need them? All applicants are qualified through the national selection committee. They have an online application here. Our $1,500 funded even more beds so fewer Chattanooga kids are sleeping on the floor or on a couch. The goal? No kid sleeps on the floor in our town.

Grow Hope Urban Farm + Hope for the Inner City

Hope for the Inner City is an organization that serves those who are economically and/or spiritually poor in East Chattanooga by engaging, investing, and empowering them to be relieved of poverty for good. Part of what makes this area susceptible to remaining in the cycle of poverty is the lack of food systems in East Chattanooga. They strive to fight this through food distribution as well as their Grow Hope Urban Farm.

Our $3,000 grant went to purchase materials and supplies as well as rent machinery to move soil and compost. Material needs will also consist of seeds, plants, permanent beds, perennial borders, and pollinator strips for the 2023 season. Let’s get excited for the 37404 and 37406 community. This summer they can come together over produce, herbs and the journey to health equity.

TNR, Traps and Tuna | Chattanooga Feral Cat Alliance

Well, probably not tuna, but you get the gist. Because of the demand for TNR in Chattanooga and the lack of organizations or individuals providing it, Megan Morris with CHAFCA applied for a $3,000 grant to spay and neuter feral cat populations. Doesn’t McKamey (or someone) do that? Yes, but it’s complicated. McKamey limits any individual or organization to only two cats three times a month. Hopefully, that will change in 2023. The other option outside of private vets is Chattaneuter. They only accept 12 feral cats twice a week out of the entire Chattanooga area (Georgia included), and CHAFCA has been turned away for weeks despite showing up more than an hour before they open. Makes things complicated when you are trapping feral cats.

CHAFCA has a wait list two months long, so our grant will be used primarily to partner with one or more private veterinarians willing to offer their services at a cost that’s less than what they would charge for a pet cat spay or neuter but will be more than the current $35 average cost at Chattanooga’s two low-cost clinics. So, our $3,000 will pilot a $50 spay/neuter, rabies vaccine, and an ear tip for 48 cats over the course of a year plus some more traps and bait.

If you have a feral cat colony and need help, reach out to our friends at CHAFCA. We’re proud to support their efforts to reduce the overpopulation of feral and community cats.

Life Saving Equipment for CHA Police | Jessica Russell

We know what you’re thinking. Isn’t life saving equipment what the EMS is for? Yes. But sometimes police officers need it too. Many times, especially with gun violence, the EMS can’t respond to a victim until the scene is secure. Police are there even when it isn’t secure and, if they have the tools, can save lives with tourniquets and chest seals in their trunks.

Enter Jessica, spouse of a local CHA police officer. She applied for funds to purchase $3,000 worth of this life saving equipment (at a discount, mind you) and handed it out to officers at a Front Porch Lineup. Did you know you can host a Front Porch Lineup at your neighborhood meeting, residence or business? Read more about the processs here.