Sheroes Hangout – Pam Grout

I want to give money away: Now taking pitches for the 2021 award of the Taz Grout 222 Foundation

October 23, 2020 16 Comments

“If you have love in your heart, then your very life will bring about a transformation of society.”—Krishnamurti

It’s that time of year, my friends, when I take pitches for the 222 Foundation I started to honor my magical daughter, Tasman McKay Grout, who died in 2018 from a cerebral aneurysm.

As I’ve written before, Taz landed here on planet earth with indiscriminate and generous love. She was beautiful, brilliant, had wild light running through every cell.

To honor her vision, the 222 Foundation is committed to changing the dream of the modern world from consumption and acquisition to the more meaningful pursuit of creativity and self-expression. We believe happiness comes from human solidarity, simple living, respect for nature and the empowerment of all people.

Here are the guidelines for the yearly award:

Each year on February 22 (2/22), Taz Grout’s 222 Foundation will award a $10,222 grant to an innovative project or person with a big idea to change consciousness and therefore the world.

We look for projects that support the following ideas:

1. All people long to be generous and create beautiful things.

2. The story of scarcity, lack and the need to fight for resources was made up and is no longer valid. We aim to prove that, once liberated from outdated paradigms, the world is generative and endlessly abundant.

3. We believe all humans are interconnected and that even tiny actions have great significance.

The more creative the project, the more likely it is to be chosen. In the past, we’ve funded a coffee shop in India run by survivors of acid attacks, a forest of 2222 trees (hey, every tree helps), a school in Nepal and a random acts of money project in the Pacific Northwest. The 222 Foundation also gave away grants of $222 to the favorite charity of the first 22 folks willing to post a Stay-at-Home dance during the beginning of the pandemic. I particularly loved that project because it involved all my favorite things: dancing, creativity, making a difference and spreading joy.

In the 5-week Laddership Pod I just finished with ServiceSpace, I met dozens of folks from all over the world who are doing beautiful things. I learned about an NGO that builds schools out of discarded plastic water bottles and another that figured out how to purify water using plastic bottles and the sun. These projects appeal to me because they incorporate the Course in Miracles maxim about “the holiest places on earth being where an ancient hatred becomes a present love.” And while my dislike of plastic water bottles isn’t exactly ancient (although I get closer to that description every day), it certainly represents a letting go of judgment, a transformation of, at least, my consciousness.

Above all, the 222 Foundation is committed to generating new possibilities.

Next year’s grant will be awarded in less than four months on February 22 (2/22).

If you or anyone you know has an idea to help bring about a change in consciousness, please consider applying for the 2021 grant. It’s easy to apply. Just send a description of your big idea to taz.grout.222.foundation@gmail.com.

I hope you, my friends here on the blog, will help spread the word.

Also for your listening pleasure, I’m posting my new favorite song by the indie band Cloud Cult whose music is informed by Kaidin Minowa, whose two short years on the planet has transformed countless lives.

And as always, go out there and have the VERY BEST weekend of your life. #222 Forever

Pam Grout is the author of 20 books including E-Squared, E-Cubed, Thank & Grow Rich and her latest book, The Course in Miracles Experiment: A Starter Kit for Rewiring Your Mind (And Therefore Your World).

222 Forever: A treatise on eternal possibility

February 22, 2019 57 Comments

“Love is not a gated community.”—Frank Ostaseki

Yes, my friends, it’s finally here. The auspicious date when Taz’s 222 Foundation announces recipient numero uno of its annual $10,222 grant.

Sheroes Hangout is an incredibly inspiring café/coffee shop in Agra, India, not far from the Taj Mahal where I left part of Taz’s ashes.

I discovered this colorful, creative hangout in November when I was in India with TribesForGOOD. During seven-day social impact journeys, this innovative program pairs volunteers with small social enterprises, uplifting both volunteers and communities. That, of course, is how it should be. Win-win-win-win.

My radiant daughter Tasman, in her short 25 years on the planet, was relentless in standing up for those who are marginalized. Her continuous fight for the underdog is why I chose Sheroes Hangout. It’s run by victims of acid attacks, 10 women whose lives have been turned upside down by having acid thrown on them by people who allegedly loved them.

For example, Geeta and her two daughters were attacked by her husband while sleeping. He was mad that she hadn’t yet produced a male heir. The acid melted their skin, burned their eyebrows and disfigured their lips, faces and necks.

Today, rather than hide, rather than feel like outcasts, Geeta, her daughter and eight other women who suffered the same fate joyfully run Sheroes Hangout. They do the books, they cook, they manage the library and boutique where their creations are sold. Most importantly, Sheroes Hangout offers coffee and free food to anyone who stops by, no questions asked.

Rather than protest their unfortunate situations, these women are changing society by choosing to give, by choosing to love, by choosing to demonstrate that, despite being culturally shunned, they are still beautiful and worthy and bursting with important gifts to bestow on the world.

Not long after I was in Agra, the road near the café had to be widened so the grant from Taz Grout’s 222 Foundation will enable them to relocate to their new hangout.

Sheroes satisfies the mission of the 222 Foundation because it overcomes norms inflicted by society—norms like being defined and judged by our looks. Norms like believing it’s more important to look good on the outside than be good on the inside.

Because of their difficult circumstances, the women who run Sheroes Hangout have learned the importance and truth of inner beauty. They’ve learned how to give unconditionally. They inspire all of us to turn tragedy into something that helps others.

Eventually, Taz’s 222 Foundation will be an incubator for brand new creative projects and ideas. I will put out a call for proposals in August of 2019 and every year moving forward.

For this first award–because it has taken me a while to get my bearings back and because I didn’t have time to receive proposals, do the interviews and make decisions–I chose Sheroes Hangout because they so deeply inspired me.

Here is the video about Sheroes that I played at Taz’s Celebration of Life.

Thank you all for joining me on this journey of eternal connection, joy and love.

Pam Grout is the author of 19 books including E-Squared, E-Cubed, Thank & Grow Rich and her latest book, Art & Soul,Reloaded: A Year-Long Apprenticeship to Summon the Muses and Ignite Your Daring, Audacious, Creative Side.