{"id":4506,"date":"2017-10-27T12:10:58","date_gmt":"2017-10-27T17:10:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/greenheartclub.staging.wpengine.com\/?p=4506"},"modified":"2018-09-13T19:37:31","modified_gmt":"2018-09-14T00:37:31","slug":"meet-your-october-2017-greenheart-service-grant-recipients-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/greenheart.org\/blog\/greenheart-international\/meet-your-october-2017-greenheart-service-grant-recipients-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet your October 2017 Greenheart Service Grant recipients!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Did you know that Greenheart awards service grants to sustainable, high impact projects around the world? Alumni can apply for grants of up to $1000 to implement their project in either their host or their home community. Meet your October 2017 Greenheart Service Grant recipients!<\/strong> Keep reading to learn about what\u2019s in store for their incredible projects.\u00a0
\n\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Ketevan Chitashvili<\/span><\/h4>\n

Home Country:<\/span> Georgia<\/strong>
\nProgram:<\/span> J-1 High School Program<\/a>, 2009-2010<\/strong>
\nFuture Leaders Exchange Program (FLEX)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ketevan is using her Greenheart Service Grant to implement a training for Georgian youth living in remote, rural areas. Young women will be empowered to break down gender-based stereotypes, support gender equality, and express their voices through modern digital technology.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that strengthening even one girl and giving her opportunities for self-development and providing her knowledge on women\u2019s rights and modern technologies makes her more globally involved. By educating her, you educate the future,\u201d says Ketevan.<\/p>\n\"\"<\/a>\n

Muksin “Jiro” Ibrahim III<\/span><\/h4>\n

Home Country:<\/span> Philippines <\/span><\/strong>
\nProgram:<\/span> J-1 High School Program<\/a>, 2014-2015 <\/span><\/strong>
\nKennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study Program (YES)<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Jiro is using his Greenheart Service Grant to organize a day of leadership training and workshops for youth living in the Province of Palawan. Community leaders and educators will be invited to present on topics related to personal development.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter my participation in the unforgettable and very eye-opening Greenheart Global Leaders Conference<\/a>, I realized that a leadership training can really change a person’s perspective and create great global stewards,\u201d says Jiro. \u201cBefore I became an exchange student, I did not really care about other things, but after my cultural exchange experience, the leader inside me awakened and made me really motivated to do great things for the world. I want others have the same realization. This project will enable me and other leaders here to share our insights and help more aspiring leaders grow.\u201d<\/p>\n\"\"<\/a>\n

Mac Highwater<\/span><\/h4>\n

Home Country:<\/span> Washington, DC, USA<\/strong>
\nProgram:<\/span> Teach Abroad \u2013 Colombia<\/a>, 2017<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mac is using his Greenheart Service Grant to purchase\u00a0classroom resources to support his English instruction and uniforms for the baseball team he coaches in Medellin – a low-income Colombian community. He integrates English into his coaching so that the children, ages 6 to 11, can practice their language skills.<\/p>\n

\u201cHelping to coach baseball helps me to better engage and connect with the kids I teach. This two-pronged strategy of coach\/teacher is a useful one. It allows students to see me in a different, more human light. As result, our relationships tighten. It shows I\u2019m investing more than just into their success as a student, but as a person as well,\u201d says Mac. \u201cA uniform would be impactful for both the kids and the community because of what it visually represents. The children would take more pride in their team if we can properly equip them and give them each a jersey and pants. A jersey is something these kids have never received before.\u201d<\/p>\n\"\"<\/a>\n

Ezekial Hale<\/span><\/h4>\n

Home Country:<\/span>\u00a0Oregon, United States<\/strong>
\nProgram:<\/span> Teach Abroad \u2013 Colombia<\/a>, 2017<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ezekial is using his Greenheart Service grant to revive the chess club for the students of Crist\u00f3bal Col\u00f3n in Colombia through the purchase of chess sets and team shirts. He is also organizing a community-wide chess tournament.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe objective of this project is to create a lasting positive impact by growing opportunities for the community. Sometimes there is only one chess set available, with ten or more students waiting to play. Particularly within public schools here, there are very few opportunities for supported activities which focus on challenging and engaging the mind more than the body,\u201d says Ezekial. \u201cOne student in particular has inspired fresh interest in chess in the community with her recent victories in local and regional tournaments. The students of this community are truly inspiring. Despite facing poverty, corruption, social and political turmoil, they remain positive and motivated to move forward. The younger people of Monter\u00eda are energized and optimistic about their future.\u201d<\/p>\n\"\"<\/a>\n

Danielle Schalk<\/span><\/h4>\n

Home Country:<\/span> Perth, Western Australia<\/span><\/strong>
\nProgram: <\/span><\/span>Teach Abroad \u2013 Colombia<\/a>, 2017<\/strong><\/p>\n

Danielle is using her Greenheart Service Grant to organize a series of workshops focused on community development principles for the secondary school students of Liceo Central de Nari\u00f1o. The series will culminate in the design and implementation of a community service project that serves an identified need of their Colombian community.<\/p>\n

\u201cThree primary tasks are vital in this process: empowerment, connection and networking, and responding to ideas and turning them into actions,\u201d says Danielle. \u201cI anticipate that by gaining an introductory understanding of community work, students might feel more motivated to be active and positive contributors in their communities in the future. Additionally, I hope that the project will highlight students\u2019 capacity and inherent power to create positive change in their communities.\u201d<\/p>\n\"\"<\/a>\n

Rachel Hardgrave<\/span><\/h4>\n

Home Country:<\/span>\u00a0Texas, USA<\/strong>
\nProgram:<\/span> Teach Abroad \u2013 Georgia, 2012<\/strong><\/p>\n

Rachel is using her Greenheart Service Grant to remodel a community learning space in Muxrani, Georgia. Rachel uses this space to host her weekend English classes. The remodeling would include roofing, cementing, and painting.<\/p>\n

“This room has not been remodeled in many years and I think it would create a very inviting and inspiring atmosphere for students to study in,\u201d says Rachel. \u201cI’d like to hire an artist to paint a world map on one side of the room and a map of Georgia on the other side. I’d also like to paint the animals that live in different parts of the world in their specific countries. This will also be useful in teaching English because we can discuss the map, country names, animals, colors, vacations, and especially our dreams about traveling. I hope this project will make this center a much more lively place for children to study and achieve their educational goals.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a><\/h4>\n

Shanica Thyme & Janiel Bryan<\/h4>\n

(Shanica pictured above. Janiel pictured below.)<\/em>
\nHome Country:<\/strong> Jamaica
\nProgram:<\/strong> J-1 Work and Travel<\/a>, Summer 2017<\/p>\n

Shanica and Janiel are teaming up and using their Greenheart Service Grant to organize a two-day seminar encouraging parent and community involvement in schools and children\u2019s education. The seminar will conclude with the distribution of textbooks and school supplies for two primary-level schools in Kingston, Jamaica.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe aim of the project is to lead by example in creating relationships between the primary schools and their respective communities,\u201d says Janiel. \u201cWe would like to teach the communities that giving as little as a pencil or notebook does make a difference in the life of a child who is in need.\u201d<\/p>\n

Want to know how these amazing service projects turn out? Keep an eye out for follow-up stories on our blog! Are you interested in organizing your own impactful\u00a0community project?\u00a0Apply for a Greenheart Service Grant<\/a>\u00a0before our next application deadline \u2014\u00a0January 1, 2017. \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Did you know that Greenheart awards service grants to sustainable, high impact projects around the world? Alumni can apply for grants of up to $1000 to implement <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3890,"featured_media":15811,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[218],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4506","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-greenheart-international"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/greenheart.org\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4506","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/greenheart.org\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/greenheart.org\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greenheart.org\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/3890"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greenheart.org\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4506"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/greenheart.org\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4506\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greenheart.org\/api\/wp\/v2\/media\/15811"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/greenheart.org\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4506"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greenheart.org\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4506"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greenheart.org\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4506"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}