Dear Applicant:
Through Each Others Eyes™ is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that encourages people around the world to understand and appreciate diverse cultures through photography. TEOE is offering a $1,500 grant to a Maricopa County high school teacher to execute a student project involving photography.
The grant honors Paul O’Neill, a Through Each Others Eyes™ member from 2004 to 2012. Paul was drawn to TEOE because of his love of travel, his love of capturing life through the lens of the camera, and the group’s focus on using cultural exchanges between photographers for educational purposes. He loved to meet new people and was truly a lifelong learner himself. Paul was committed to helping others live peaceful, meaningful lives, and was very involved in bully prevention and advocating for those with special needs, especially those with autism. He was a gifted photographer and videographer who approached each subject with appreciation, sensitivity, and thoughtfulness. Paul lived life with a sense of adventure, tenderness, and courage. He passed away on October 5, 2012.
The 2016 Paul O’Neill Grant will be awarded to an educator who creates a student project that embraces and supports a specific humanitarian or environmental work using the medium of photography. For example, the humanitarian project might help those with autism or physical handicaps or advocate for peace and non-violence, while an environmental project might address air quality, water quality, or energy issues. Use your own creative ideas or ask your students to come up with something meaningful to them.
The proposal for the project you plan to undertake with your students must be e-mailed to me by November 15, 2015. The award check will be mailed by December 15 to enable you to begin your project when school resumes for the second semester. The project should be completed by April 17.
A digital copy of the application is available on our website—http://www.teoe.org. If you have questions, please contact me at teoe1@cox.net or (602) 708-0045, or Marilyn Buehler, TEOE Education Committee Chairperson, at marilynbuehler@yahoo.com or (602) 616-2171. The Through Each Others Eyes Board of Directors and Associate Photographers look forward to receiving your grant application.
Regards,
Kim Morgan
Executive Director
“I was very honored to be the first recipient of this award. This award afforded my students the opportunity to use quality cameras and lenses that they would not otherwise have had access to. It gave them the ability to spend time with special needs students, and to see the struggles these students face in learning on a daily basis, but also witness how a helping hand could make all the difference. My students felt proud to be a part of this project. Everyone at TEOE was a caring individual who saw my vision and helped it come to fruition. Thank you for the “Helping Hand.”
Denise D. Franczak-Johnson, Independence High School
Helping Hands Project
2015 Paul M. O’Neill Grant Award Winner
