Teddy Music was awarded a grant that allowed them to produce a benefit concert for Huckleberry House and Kaleidoscope Youth Center. The goal was to provide a free concert for the community while asking for donations of food, toiletries, clothing, and home essentials to assist these groups, specifically targeting at-risk teens 12-17. The pandemic has been a struggle for all but has certainly targeted low-income, housing insecure people the most. The concert was held May 21st and we celebrate their success.
Striving to conduct their lives in harmony with the environment, the next grant recipient is The Garden Club Project. Te'Lario Watkins II founded The Garden Club Project to help end hunger and encourage kids to eat healthier. This bright young person has the goal to teach local youth & families who live in low income areas and/or food deserts, how to grow and prepare their produce. He will teach at-risk youth about entrepreneurship and careers in agriculture. This project will help increase the health and wealth of our most vulnerable community members in the future. Paying it forward while still a teen!
The group This Must Be The Place is also a grant recipient this year. These activists formed ListenUp, a program that will distribute Narcan to attendees of the Wonderbus Music Festival this August in Columbus. Listen Up was born out of a reaction to the fact that accidental fentanyl poisoning is now the number one accidental cause of death for Americans aged 18-45. Unfortunately, fentanyl has made its way into many recreational drugs (Columbus Police estimate traces of fentanyl can be found in 95% of all drugs in the city) and unaware individuals are paying the price. Their goal is to distribute Narcan at the festival with the hope that no one ever needs to use it.
Period P.R.I.D.E through The Period Pantry is the fourth grant recipient this year and embodies the ComFest principle that the basic necessities of life are a right and not a privilege. The goal is to create a consistent source of menstrual hygiene products available to anyone in the Central Ohio region who needs them. This group was launched in 2021 to specifically address the period needs of the LGBTQ+ community. They recognize that not everyone who menstruates is female and that can contribute to mental health/social-emotional issues. They provide free pads, tampons, and reusable period products like menstrual cups and washable pads to anyone in Franklin County who needs them through direct no-contact delivery and through community partnerships.
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