John Lusink, broker of record at Royal LePage York North Realty, is a trustee at the Awesome Foundation Chapter within Newmarket (Ont.) Chamber of Commerce. The Awesome Foundation is a community-based movement spreading throughout North America and Europe. Unlike other community improvement organizations, is not an official foundation or a registered charity.

“Traditional foundations face huge costs as a matter of their legal structures and overheads, and it does not really work for them to offer many grants below a certain amount. We saw this empty space in the grant market where all sorts of innovations were happening on a small scale but had difficulty materializing,” says Tim Hwang, Awesome Foundation founder.

The November winner of a $1,000 micro-grant from the Newmarket chapter went to Troy Mitchell, who launched a project to help children purchase and present cycling helmets to kids who need them, as well as to teach and promote cycling safety for kids.

A previous grant went to an opera that was written, directed and performed by grade-school children. It is the goal of the group to award grants that will make a difference to Newmarket youth in the areas of education, employment and/or the community.