AWAKENING 8: WEAVE THE PEOPLE was inspired by a David Brooks column in The New York Times, “A Nation of Weavers,” sharing that our current cultural pain is due to “our lack of healthy connection to each other, our inability to see the full dignity of each other, and the resulting culture of fear, distrust, tribalism, shaming and strife.”
WEAVE: The Social Fabric Project (Aspen Institute) was created to identify individuals and groups nationwide who are healing social isolation and fragmentation, called Weavers who share an ethos that “puts relationship over self.”
Calling All Community Weavers
Weavers are individuals and community leaders who shift our culture from hyper-individualism to relationalism - putting relationships at the center of our communities. They are people who selflessly engage in opportunities to foster dynamic relationships amongst neighbors. They speak positively and insightfully about the strengths of our combined cultures, encouraging social interdependence and respect.
Please help us identify community weavers so Enough Pie can help them support and realize their vision to make more connected, woven communities! Nominees for Community Weavers should exemplify selfless actions to end loneliness and isolation, and take proactive measures to weave inclusive communities — a weaver who has a project they would like to create in the Upper Peninsula is encouraged. Self nominations are welcome!
Artwork by Mimi Shackleford
COVID-19 RELIEF EFFORTS
COMMUNITY BUDDY SYSTEM
Enough Pie pioneered a brand new telephone buddy system to support Charleston’s low-income elder neighbors during the COVID crisis. An initial base of 35 volunteer buddies were matched with 100 vulnerable neighbors to provide a caring ear, medical and supply delivery, support, and up-to-date COVID 19 information.
Volunteers signed up online and completed a 30-minute online orientation and training. They agreed to contact up to five elders at least twice a week to be a conduit for important information, and to check-in, listen, and assess the elder’s needs.
We partnered with Rent Sons to deliver needed prescriptions, food, and other supplies to the most vulnerable neighbors. The program is slated to transition to less of an involved status following Friday, May 15th.
1,000 MASKS BY MAY DAY FROM EP MASK MAKERS
EP has been working with artists and neighbors to provide community elders in the Upper Peninsula with beautiful and effective cloth masks. Mask sewing was led by EP-supported artists and makers and Enough Pie coordinated delivery to our staff via Rent Sons. Cloth masks have been and will continue to be distributed to elders and to people with hearing and speaking disabilities.
IN BLOOM: FRESH FRUITS & VEGGIES
Enough Pie and GrowFood Carolina are partnering together to distribute 15 lb. fruit and vegetable food boxes to residents and families in the Upper Peninsula. Beginning in May, 75 boxes of fresh and nutritious groceries were available for distribution. In July, the program was graciously extended to allow for 40 boxes of produce to be distributed each week through December 31st, 2020.
PUBLIC ART PROJECTS
IN BLOOM: AWAKENING VIVIAN ANDERSON MOULTRIE PARK (FALL 2020)
Working in collaboration with the City of Charleston’s Parks Department, Charleston’s only creative placemaking non-profit, Enough Pie, will ignite IN BLOOM: Awakening Vivian Moultrie Park, rejuvenating the existing underutilized park beneath the popular I-26 underpass off of Upper King Street. This community-inclusive creative project, originally slated for Spring 2020 but postponed due to the onset of COVID-19 pandemic, will begin Fall 2020, bringing this underpass park to life through a series of vibrant botanical murals. This space is the gateway to Charleston (just off 26 as drivers come into downtown via Mt. Pleasant St.) and currently has basic service by the City of Charleston Parks Department, but very little community engagement due to drainage issues and aging infrastructure.
IN BLOOM: AWAKENING VIVIAN MOULTRIE PARK - A COLORING BOOK
Enough Pie and artists have created IN BLOOM: Awakening Vivian Moultrie Park Coloring Book featuring some of the mural concepts for Vivian Moultrie Park for kids to color while they are out of school. Each artist that participated in the coloring book project received a stipend. Thank you to Underpass Artist, Rosemary Dillon, who leads arts programs for the City of Charleston’s Recreation Department, for suggesting the idea.
1,000 copies of the full coloring book were printed thanks to support from The Post & Courier Foundation and others in late May and will be distributed to the youth in the Upper Peninsula, with a focus on Bridgeview Village, in early June.
COMMUNITY-ORIENTED PROJECTS
TALES FROM THE MANOR: SEASON ONE GETS PUBLISHED!
Season One of Enough Pie’s Tales from The Manor radio show is getting published! The show features interviews with residents of the Joseph Floyd Manor, a 12-story home for low-income elderly and disabled citizens run by Charleston County Housing & Redevelopment Authority. Each episode features a resident who shares their life story, including their history of Charleston and the challenges and triumphs of the Upper Peninsula then and now.
“I commend the residents and staff at Joseph Floyd Manor for reminding us about who we are and how our city lives in their memory” says Dr. Ade Ofunniyin of The Gullah Society
The power to share history lies in the stories of the privileged. Tales from the Manor spotlights the generational wisdom of mainly African American elders rarely included in history books. What began as a weekly podcast on 96.3 OHM Radio in Charleston to explore the lives of residents often pushed to the side of society, Tales from the Manor has become an important conversation about building communities, neighborhoods, and economies that serve the needs of all.
This collection of interviews from Season One, envisioned by local non-profit Enough Pie, provides an alternative history to the city and our society at large. “I don’t work well with stereotypes,” says Carolyn Jones, guest of the first episode. “I deal with people from all different walks of life in my building.” Prepare to be forever changed.
Want to know more about Tales from the Manor? All past episodes are available on iTunes, Spotify and SoundCloud – search Tales from the Manor. Special thanks to Books-A-Million for support of this project.
Past episodes can be found on iTunes Podcasts or Enough Pie’s Soundcloud (https://soundcloud.com/
TALES FROM THE MANOR: SEASON TWO
Join us for Season Two of this popular radio program on 96.3FM, where residents of the Joseph Floyd Manor, Charleston Housing Authority’s home for the elderly and differently abled, speak about their lives, the history of Charleston and the challenges and triumphs of the Upper Peninsula then and now. It is an opportunity for listeners and readers alike to step into the lives of often unknown elders in our community. Many lessons are imparted, many heartbreaks are witnessed, but the common thread is the resilience of the human spirit and how we can all learn, love and heal if our hearts are open. A book for Season One will be published this year as part of WEAVE THE PEOPLE.
INDIGO VAT SHACK (SEPTEMBER - NOVEMBER 2019)
Back by popular demand, Enough Pie’s Indigo VAT SHACK offered community dye days from the back parking of Redux Contemporary Art Center starting Saturday, September 14th. This off-the-grid, mobile arts unit provided the Upper Peninsula with a new space for community engagement, outdoor learning, and textile art exploration. Attendees learned the art, science, history, and culture of indigo through a hands-on learning experience in natural dyeing. Perfect for all ages!
HEART @ DART - FREE VERSE POETRY FESTIVAL (OCTOBER 2019)
Celebrate poetry at the John L. Dart Library with HEART & Free Verse! Join EP on October 15th from 6-7:30pm pm as poets and patrons write poetry on typewriters. An open mic event featuring HEART, an arts community for adults with special needs, will be from 6-7:30pm. HEART artists will read from their debut pocket poetry zine, printed by Enough Pie and written with Charleston Poet Laureate Marcus Amaker. The open mic is for all ages, and all are welcomed to participate. Amaker will be present at the library from 2-4pm writing poetry on typewriters.
BOWLS & BINGO - JOSEPH FLOYD MANOR, 2106 King Street (JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2020)
Every Wednesday in January and February, Enough Pie & friends gathered at the Joseph Floyd Manor (2106 King Street) to enjoy fun rounds of bingo over a delicious bowl of soup. The New Year was a perfect time to get out and enjoy our shared spaces, especially when food & prizes are involved! These community gathering days were co-hosted by Stone Soup Collective who provides nourishing vegan soup and upper peninsula business prize sponsors. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have had to temporarily cease these events.
THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS
Weave The People is EP’s creative approach to address social fragmentation throughout the Upper Peninsula. Our goal is to provide creative ways to increase community trust and engagement through cooperative acts that are rooted in respect, dignity, and social integrity.
Meet the AWAKENING 8 Steering Committee:
K’Lani Green - Charleston County Public Library | Radia Heyward - Charleston Promise Neighborhood | Julie Hussey - Civic Communications | Jae Smith - Charleston County Housing & Redevelopment Authority | Ali Titus - American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) | Meg Thompson - City of Charleston Neighborhood Services | Rae Weeks - HEART | Jennifer Williams - Bridgeview Village