Category Archives: A2Awesome

Citizens for Prison Reform’s Lois DeMott, a recent Ann Arbor Awesome Foundation grant recipient, featured on NBC’s Rock Center

By Mark | March 24, 2013

The Ann Arbor Awesome Foundation recently awarded a $1,000 grant to Lois DeMott, the founder of Citizens for Prison Reform. I’d interviewed Lois at the time of the award, but I’d decided to hold off posting it for a bit, as she had mentioned to me that she was going to be interviewed by Ted [...]

Also posted in Civil Liberties, Michigan | Tagged Citizens for Prison Reform, Ionia Maximum Correctional Facility, Kevin DeMott, Lois DeMott, prison, prison industry, prison reform, prisoner advocate, prisoner rights, prisoners, solitary confinement, Ted Koppel | 10 Comments

More on the last three $1,000 grants awarded by the Ann Arbor Awesome Foundation

By Mark | November 10, 2012

For those of you who didn’t happen to see it, Tom Perkins, the heir to the

Also posted in Ann Arbor, Art and Culture | Tagged Amanda Uhle, AnnArbor.com, Bill Streety, Blues, Jazz, local music, micro-philanthropy, Perkins Pickles, photography, Tom Perkins, Trevor Stone | 2 Comments

A2Awesome gives out another $3,000 in grants to brilliant people doing inspiring things in the Ypsi-Arbor area

By Mark | October 29, 2012

Yesterday, the Trustees of A2Awesome convened in the secret writing lab behind the Liberty Street Robot Supply and Repair store in downtown Ann Arbor, and handed out another $3,000 in cash grants intended to make life the Ypsi-Arbor area more awesome. The cash awards were handed over in brown paper bags to artist Trevor Stone, [...]

Also posted in Ann Arbor, Uncategorized, Ypsilanti | Tagged Alice Liberson, Awesome Foundation, Dick Soble, Hans Masing, Heather MacKenzie, Jeff Meyers, Larry Grant, Linh Song, Monique Deschaine, Omari Rush, Paul Saginaw, Tanya Luz | 5 Comments

A2Awesome gives $1,000 to Ozone House for the creation of an in-house workout facility for at-risk youth

By Mark | March 28, 2012

A2Awesome just made our second $1,000 award. This time, the paper bag full of cash went to Ozone House, for the purchase of exercise equipment to be used by the homeless, runaway and at-risk youth they counsel, house and otherwise support. Following is the transcript of a quick conversation with Quinn Phillips, the Ozone House [...]

Also posted in Ann Arbor | Tagged at-risk youth, Awesome Foundation, exercise, LGBTQ, micro-philanthropy, Ozone House, Pride Zone, Quinn Phillips | 72 Comments

Walking the secret passageways of Harry Bennett’s heavily-fortified Ypsilanti castle

By Mark | February 21, 2012

I just received a note from Nathan Ayers, the guy who won the first $1,000 grant from A2Awesome. He wanted to let me know that, back in 1984, the television program PM Magazine ran a feature on Harry Bennett’s fortress on the banks of the Huron River, in Ypsilanti. Bennett, for those of you don’t [...]