The Center for All Abilities is a NYC-based nonprofit that celebrates and nurtures the multi-faceted talents of the young people with special needs (autism and other developmental disabilities) by promoting growth in social and motor skills, mental and physical health, and creative expression. They provide information and resources to their families through free or affordable, culturally sensitive, and informative workshops and services in Chinese dialects.

In their own words:

We want to print 1,000 printed paper cups with artwork created by our students from the Center for All Abilities.

The paper cups will allow the student's artwork be showcased in a non-traditional medium (coffee cups) and reach a different audience than typical CAA supporters. We want to empower the students as artists and members of society that contribute great beauty through creative work.

The $1,000 Awesome Foundation grant will allow us to print two different prints onto the coffee cups and use it to pay for postage to send the paper cups to two coffee shops (Dirt Coffee in Denver, Colorado and Cultural Cafe in Ontario, Canada). These two coffee shops empower individuals with disabilities through hiring them as employees. Partnering with these two like-minded businesses/social enterprises is a powerful way to empower our youth and their artwork.

We are excited by this unique opportunity to bring CAA's mission and work to a wider audience. While this first round is limited in scope, it's our hope that this first run will inspire more coffee cup artwork in the future!