Coffee By Design names 2015 Rebel Blend Fund recipients and donates a total of $5,900 in arts grants
PORTLAND, Maine – Coffee By Design announced today that four Maine organizations and individuals will receive funding from this year’s Rebel Blend Fund Grant. Presented annually, the fund has been awarding arts grants in Maine for 18 years. This year’s total fund of $5,900 will be split between: Cultivating A Pollinator – Friendly Yard: A Seasonal Guide for Mainers, “White Like You, Mommy,” Salvaged Crafts, and Maine Burundi Drumming World Connect.
About the Rebel Blend Winners:
Cultivating A Pollinator – Friendly Yard: A Seasonal Guide for Mainers, submitted by Hannah Rosengren, will receive $575. To address the rapidly declining population of bees, Rosengren created a poster in 2013 illustrating plants known to attract bees. The illustration went viral. Since then, she has shifted her focus to Maine specifically, outlining steps residents can take to help all native pollinators and to care for their yards in an eco-friendly way, going beyond not just what to plant, but why and how.
The funds will be used to produce a seasonally specific illustrated zine to communicate this information in a user friendly way. Find more information online at www.hannahrosengren.com.
“White Like You, Mommy,” submitted by Lesley MacVane, will receive $943. There are two main goals for this project: to introduce people to the art of documentary story telling through video and to create a visual, personal piece that reflects a part of the population that is not normally recognized. The project grew out of the artist’s experience when putting her then three year old biracial daughter to bed. It opened the artist’s eyes to the responsibilities that come with mothering a child of color in the USA, with the added complexity of being a white mother whose heritage was not fraught with racist prejudices.
This documentary film shares the stories of white mothers, their black children and in some cases their grandchildren. These stories are an increasingly important part of the changing face of the New Maine. For more information please email photolesley@hotmail.com.
Salvaged Crafts, submitted by David Frazier Johnson, Jr., will receive $2,493. The Salvaged Crafts project is managed by Enactus at the University of Southern Maine. The group will implement this project through Creative Works Systems and their ‘YES Art Works’ program to offer an opportunity for individuals living with developmental disabilities to generate their own source of income. It will simultaneously reduce the amount of non-recycled paper waste being disposed of by local businesses. Participants will be taught to make handmade crafts, specifically craft paper, through a special process using recycled paper products. Project leads will then assist in marketing these products throughout Maine as well as online. Find more information online at enactususm.weebly.com.
Maine Burundi Drumming World Connect, submitted by Leandre Habonimana and the Batimbo Beats, will receive $1,889. In 2011 a group of Burundians living in Portland and trained in the ritual dance of Burundi Drum organized to form the Batimbo Beats. Since its creation, the group has shown its commitment to Southern Maine by performing throughout the area. The group addresses the needs of the Burundi community while introducing its unique form of dance to the area.
Batimbo Beats use their performance to promote societal development and grow awareness of cultural diversity in Maine. The group will use Rebel Blend funding to purchase materials, particularly those that they can only be acquired from Burundi such as Ankole skins to repair drums and traditional costumes. For more information please email habonaleandre@gmail.com.
Rebel Blend winners are chosen each year by a team of CBD employees from each of the coffeehouses and the roastery, who review all applications and determine where the grant money will be most beneficial. To be considered for Rebel Blend funding, applicants must submit art projects within the state of Maine along with a detailed description of how their projects would benefit from the grant money. This year there were a total of 22 applicants.
The fund is supported through the purchase of the company’s Rebel Blend coffee. Rebel Blend was created as Coffee By Design’s Community Arts Fund Blend and combines beans from all three major growing regions: Asia, America, and Africa. $1 from each pound sold or brewed in CBD coffeehouses is contributed to the fund and the total amount from yearly sales is awarded to the winners. Since its start, over $70,000 has been awarded through the Rebel Blend Fund Grant.
Rebel Blend submissions are accepted annually from May 1 – August 31. Further information can be found online at coffeebydesign.com.
Androscoggin Bank proudly supports Coffee By Design’s Rebel Blend Fund by recognizing this year’s recipients in an upcoming Mainebiz ad.
About Coffee By Design:
Coffee By Design, a Maine owned and operated coffee company since 1994, is dedicated to changing the world, one cup of coffee at a time by providing customers with sustainably sourced, traceable coffee. Owners Mary Allen Lindemann and Alan Spear were named Maine SBA Small Business Person of the Year, 2014. Coffee By Design recently opened a roastery and coffee house at One Diamond St, Portland, bringing their total number of coffeehouses to five. In addition to serving some of the world’s finest coffee, Coffee By Design is committed to running a sustainable business dedicated to the arts, the environment, and the community. With over 450 select restaurant, cafes and gourmet stores and online retail sales, their coffee is enjoyed nationwide. For more information, go to www.coffeebydesign.com.
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