The Eagle Endowment recently awarded a total of $1,500 to three student community service projects in the D.C. area. The projects include a documentary about gentrification issues in Southeast D.C., a clean up of the Anacostia waterfront and an arts program for homeless children.
There were a record number of applications for grants this semester, according to Eagle Endowment Director Mark Seaman.
"The Eagle Endowment grant was a great start," said Kristen Apa, a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences who is creating an arts program with the children at the D.C. Village Emergency Family Shelter for her Honors Capstone project.
"I wanted to combine my art history and sociology background to create an interdisciplinary project that would make positive change in a D.C. community," said Apa.
Apa is working with the Homeless Children's Playtime Project that provides 150 children "with a safe environment to pursue constructive learning activities," she said.
"The word is definitely getting out about funding from the endowment," he said.
Seaman said that the committee had a hard time choosing between the eight applications. He said the amount of money granted was based on how much applicants needed to successfully carry out their project.
Apa said her program would provide children with the supplies to express themselves creatively. "Visual art is an incredibly important component in the development of a child...Our weekly sessions with the children are important to both the children and the volunteers," she said.
The Eagle Endowment granted Jes Therkelsen, a graduate student in the School of Communication, $750 towards a documentary on economic redevelopment in Southeast D.C. His documentary focuses on the struggle of the owners of the Washington Sculpture Center, which is being torn down to make way for a new baseball stadium.
The government was able to take the land of 23 property owners through eminent domain in exchange for just compensation. "The scary thing is that public good and just compensation are relative terms," said Therkelsen.
Therkelsen started his project last September after reading an article in The Washington Post, and hopes to finish it by the end of the year, but that depends on how the story develops. "It's exciting to watch the story as it unfolds," he said.
The last award was given to the Students for a Better Anacostia Community Boathouse to renovate the boathouse and clean the Anacostia River where the AU rowing team, local high schools and others row. The money will also pay for the AU-Anacostia Knockout, a regatta on April 22.
Sarah Haney, a sophomore in the Kogod School of Business and the School of International Service said she hopes the competition "will bring noteriaty to the boathouse and open people's eyes to the problems in Southeast D.C."
Haney said she hopes the project will show people that there are good things in Southeast D.C. and help it flourish and become a cleaner, safer place.
All the projects are important to the D.C. community said Seaman. He said that even though the projects are small, they can focus on issues that bigger projects couldn't take.
"To the students, they're very big because they require a lot of time and attention. Their dedication is really outstanding. It really makes a difference," Seaman said.
