New Sun Rising will return to the Millvale Food + Energy Hub this Saturday for the 2023 Vibrancy Awards for Opportunity, celebrating and awarding one grant each to three local organizations dedicated to accessibility.
“Part of our drive is to advance culture, sustainability and opportunity in the region,” says Alyse Horn, New Sun Rising’s manager of communication. “So, when we can, we like to host these award ceremonies, the Vibrancy Awards, to honor organizations in our region that are doing the same.”
The event, which costs $20 to attend, will run from Dec. 9 from 7 to 10 p.m. at the hub, located at 112 East Sherman Street. In addition to the awards ceremony, the Bill Henry Band will play a set of R&B music. This marks the first large public event at the hub following a fire at the building early this year — attendees will be able to see the newly renovated first floor. Tickets can be purchased online.
New Sun Rising, a social justice group that focuses on community development initiatives, hosts three award ceremonies a year, each with a different focus: culture, sustainability and opportunity. This weekend’s event will honor three organizations that New Sun Rising believes promote opportunity: Landforce, Outdoor Inclusion Coalition, and All-Abilities Media. Each organization will receive a grant for $2,500 to use without restriction.
When picking candidates for the awards, New Sun Rising considers organizations it already assists but also others with missions in line with its own goals, according to Horn.
Unlike the other two organizations, Landforce is not already financially sponsored by New Sun Rising. The organization trains and employs individuals who face barriers to employment due to factors such as race, according to its website. It particularly caught the attention of one of New Sun Rising’s members who follows its work, Horn says.
Outdoor Inclusion Coalition promotes diverse access to outdoors activities and venues. Horn praised founder Marcus Shoffner for his vision for the organization.
“He started his organization because… he wanted to make the outdoors inclusive and make it welcoming for all populations, not just white people,” Horn says.
All-Abilities Media helps people with disabilities create multimedia journalism.
“Being able to make journalism inclusive for different groups of people, making it accessible, is something that really resonates with me,” says Horn, who has a journalism background.
New Sun Rising shares the event’s venue, the hub, with other nonprofit organizations such as 412 Food Rescue and Sprezzatura. While renovations are not yet complete in the basement, this awards ceremony will bring the public back to the building on the first floor.
“I think it looks great,” Horn says. “To me, it looks the same but just a little different.”
After an electrical system malfunction created a fire in the building’s basement, New Sun Rising created a GoFundMe page asking for $25,000 to restore the building. It received $32,012.
“As a nonprofit, I think people get involved in that work because you want to help people,” Horn says. “And, you don’t necessarily think about people helping you, because you’re in the position as the giver, not necessarily the receiver. So to know that we had that kind of support was really humbling.”
This article appears in Nov 29 – Dec 5, 2023.
