Imagine walking into a room full of tools and supplies for just about any hobby, including 3D printers, laser cutters, woodworking tools, powerful sewing machines, an electronics store, and more, all available for use at any time. hour, day or night.
If that sounds like a dream, wake up: it exists here in Tallahassee at Making Awesome, a community of makers, artists, and artisans organized around a shared workspace for philanthropic, educational, and scientific purposes.
Community Building Space is one of six local nonprofits recognized by the Bliss Foundation and GiveTLH, a community initiative funded by philanthropist and businessman Rick Kearney. Each organization's story will be published in the Democrat along with information on how you can help.
Councilor Extraordinary Will McCluskey said: “We are committed to advancing public and collective knowledge in the arts, science and technology; Encouraging, encouraging and providing resources to entrepreneurs and innovators; and train and inspire the next generation of leaders. And all this for just $25 a month.
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Making Awesome was founded in 2011 when founder David Brightbill was considering opening a creative space in Tallahassee. “He saw the excitement and empowerment that a creator could create in a community, and he wanted to make it happen here,” shared McCluskey.
“He held numerous meetings with the community to determine what would be best for the area and quickly formed a core team. Not to reinvent the wheel, we visited over 30 manufacturers and in 2012, a core group was able to create Making Awesome as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.
Since then, Making Awesome has grown to over 100 members, created and supported eight different workshops, and offered hundreds of classes and events to the community. "As a small non-profit organization run entirely by volunteers, our money and time is usually spent on basic operations, such as making sure the lights are on, the equipment is working and the space is safe," McCluskey said. “We want more people to know that we exist. »
Classes open to the community include woodworking, welding, jewelry making, laser cutting, sewing, garment making, vinyl cutting and Arduino. Many instructors volunteer their time to teach classes, but some classes require payment, especially if you need materials that are not available in the workshop.
For those interested in becoming a member, a monthly membership fee of $25 grants access to eight different workstations, including traditional woodworking and CNC machining, high-performance and standard sewing machines, 3D printers and scanners, a pattern workshop and electronic tools. McCluskey hopes to soon add a photography darkroom, a video production studio, a bicycle repair shop and a multimedia art space.
Participants can work on their own projects using the workshop's free tools and supplies, including wood, 3D printing filament, and electronic components, and have access to a public classroom, meeting room, library, hallway, and project storage. "GiveTLH grants can help us grow by increasing our staff and expanding what we can offer," McCluskey said.
Curious crafters can check out the space at Making Wonder's monthly "Last Friday" open house. All events can be found at www.makingawesome.org. Mass classes, open days and festive children's days are regularly held here. "We want to hear from the community about what might be needed," McCluskey said. “If we manage to integrate education, activity and communication, I don't think life will get any better.
Each GiveTLH award winner receives a $1,000 grant from the Bliss Foundation and a 12-month membership in United Partners for Human Service, a collaboration of more than 200 human service organizations dedicated to community advocacy, engagement and education.
After voting by readers in November, the top three organizations will receive grants of $2,500, $5,000 and $10,000, respectively, as well as free registration and booth space at the United Partners for Human Services conference. The first place organization will receive $5,000 in services from BowStern Marketing as well as LocaliQ for a total of $10,000 in marketing services.
#GiveTLH, hosted by the Bliss Foundation and Rick Kearney, features six nonprofits in our community and how you can help them with their grassroots work. At the end of the series, Kearney will award a grant to the nonprofit that received the most votes in an online poll. For more profiles, visit give.tallahassee.com.
This article originally appeared in the Tallahassee Democrat: Give TLH: Entrepreneurs and Artists Find their Place in the Making of the Extraordinary.
