We're just two weeks into the 10/100/1000 Challenge, a collaborative project of Creative Loafing and Creative Tampa Bay. On Jan. 13, we launched a 100-day search for great ideas to make Tampa Bay a better place to live, which will culminate in the announcement of the Top 10 ideas and the $1,000 winner in April. One of the Top 10 will be selected by reader vote; you can cast your votes and submit your own great ideas at cltampa.com/ten100.
We're already seeing a groundswell of support for certain proposals. Their popularity is a credit both to the quality of the ideas presented and, I suspect, to the quality of the presenters' social networking. So let this be a lesson to every applicant — if you want to get your project into the top 10, tweet it, link it and Facebook it to everyone you know.
Here are excerpts from five proposals: some of them early favorites, others that haven't yet won a following but are worthy of your attention. Check out the website to read more about them and about all the submissions to date.
• Companion animal care in the classroom
Granted, the cute doggies that illustrate this proposal are pretty irresistible, but it's also a clear statement of need — "the high numbers of unwanted companion animals in Tampa" — with an interesting potential solution: "an elementary school-based program that focuses on companion animal care and hurricane preparedness." College students will teach the classes as a "service learning project," and "funds won through this contest will help to secure resources for the lessons as well as help to establish a non-profit organization to continue the work of this project."
• Organic community gardens for familiesin need
"Throughout Hillsborough and Pinellas counties there are many plots of land that are either government or privately owned that could be donated for this use," the proposal explains. "The Giving Patch will work with these entities to develop this land into the needed gardens." The food from the gardens would provide healthy, organic produce for participating families and assistance to food pantries. "The $1,000 prize money will be the 'seed' money that will allow us to secure our non-profit status… buy organic seeds and other start up supplies."
• An annual Florida Shakespeare Festival
"Though there have been festivals in the past with the title Florida Shakespeare Festival, this venue [the new GO Pavilion at Eckerd College] and the arts renaissance currently underway in St Petersburg make for a terrific opportunity… A temporary stage and seating structure could be easily erected under this eye-grabbing, Cirque-like permanent tent…"
• Eat Share Learn: A series of dinner parties celebrating the diversity of Tampa Bay
"A series of 10 dinner parties with 10 guests who are eager to learn new, delicious recipes. Each party will focus on a specific culture represented in Tampa Bay… We'll document everything online, sharing how-to videos and recipes for everyone to replicate at home." The proposal concludes with a tempting example: "My Hmong mother and aunt will teach 10 lucky guests how to make homemade tofu (just like our great grandmother did at the street markets in Laos), savory crepes with minced chicken and herbs, and spicy sausages similar to these recently featured in Food & Wine magazine."
• Promoting local, independent businesses
A proposal from localshops1.com, "a grassroots effort to connect local independent businesses with community-minded shoppers," offers the novel idea of giving the $1,000 back: "If we win, we will use the $1,000 to continue our efforts to promote local, independent businesses. Specifically, we will be planning a contest to find the most community-minded shopper in Tampa Bay. So the prize money will go back to one of you, to be spent at local shops, restaurants and service providers."
This article appears in Jan 27 – Feb 2, 2011.