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Posted: May 24th, 2010 Liz Barrett

Applications are now available for the 2010-2011 Front Porch Grant Program. You can learn more about it, here, on the Foundation For The Carolina’s website.  Front Porch Grants support the creation of small-scale gatherings that build relationships by exchanging ideas, experiences or actions. The grant program is named to honor the power of a simple gathering place, such as a front porch, where people can meet and begin to build relationships. The Front Porch Grants program is open to neighborhood associations, social clubs, school groups and other civic organizations. Grants will be awarded up to $2,500.

Applications are due June 18th. There will be two Technical Assistance sessions held to answer questions and to provide help with projects and applications. The first session will be Thursday, May 27th, 5:30pm to 7:30pm and the second session will be Wednesday, June 2nd, 11:30am to 1:00pm. Both sessions will take place at the Foundation.

Front Porch Grants foster bridge building between individuals, communities, neighborhoods and organizations. The goal of the grant program is to increase trust and expand social connections and informal networks.

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Posted: May 24th, 2010 Liz Barrett

Last week the 2009-2010 class of Front Porch grantees gathered at the Levine Museum of the New South to celebrate another successful year of building social capital in the community. Through 30 different projects and organizations, individuals of different generations, cultures, ethnicities, and sexual orientations come together to learn to understand and trust each other, overcome their differences and build bridges. From neighborhood block parties to potluck dinners to community garden workdays, the recipients of Front Porch grants bring the community together and make a big impact with just a little money.

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Posted: January 26th, 2010 Rhiannon Bowman

Local poet and playwright, Quentin Talley (a.k.a. Q), channeled Aretha Franklin's famous "R.E.S.P.E.C.T. (Find out what it means to me)" lyrics when he asked participants in a Jan. 23 workshop at the Mint Museum to write down what respect means to them. Called "Eye to Eye: Building Respect One Relationship at a Time," the workshop included poetry, art, storytelling and "talking stick" lessons.

However, contrary to Aretha's anthem, participants in the workshop, made possible by a Front Porch Grant, quickly found that respect is more about listening and paying attention to others than it is about explaining your own needs for R.E.S.P.E.C.T.

The day began with a guided tour through the Mint Museum's exhibit of Lois Mailou Jones' work. Q instructed everyone not to just stare, but to think about the lessons in respect Jones was conveying through her paintings of Haiti, North Carolina and Paris.

After lunch, Q asked the crowd to share the words of respect that came to their mind. Some of those words were acceptance, tolerance, listening, character, manners, understanding. No one mentioned teaching others to respect them, rather the focus was on offering respect to others.

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Posted: November 11th, 2009 Liz Barrett

This past weekend at the Levine Museum of the New South, the Charlotte Symphony competed against a gorgeous fall Sunday and a Panthers game and easily packed an enthusiastic crowd into the Museum performance space. The event “We Are What We Sing: Music and Cultural Identity” explored the role music plays in serving as a bridge to cultural understanding and featured performances by the Catawba Cultural Preservation Project, CPCC Early Music Consort, Charlotte Symphony Musicians, and the Piedmont Open IB Middle School Chorale. Anthropologist Dr. Richard Chacon of Winthrop University opened the event by sharing some experiences where music has provided common ground for people of diverse backgrounds.

The performances explored music of Peruvian, Japanese, Spanish and Catawba Native American tradition and ranged from solo operatic singing to an all female drum group. With musical expressions representing cultures from around the world, the performances brought together a cross section of local Charlotteans for an enjoyable afternoon of the arts.

The program was made free to the public through a Front Porch Grant and is part of the larger Orchestra on Campus 2009 series, a project that encourages collaboration among students and professionals from different disciplines and provides students with hands-on learning in the arts.

See more photos of the event on Flickr.