On the Upside is a brand new podcast based in Louisville, KY hosted by Against the Grain Brewery co-owner, Adam Watson. On the Upside is a bi-monthly show featuring some amazing people doing amazing things. Here's a taste of what's to come.

Trailer

The Kentucky State Parks Foundation is one of our third-quarter Looking Up Grant recipients. Their mission as a non-profit organization is to connect people to the outdoors, immerse them in our rich history and culture, and to ultimately help them experience our beautiful state and all it has to offer. 

Molly Caldwell, President of KSPF, talks about the organization's use of private funds to help maintain the quality and beauty of Kentucky's 49 State Parks when Kentucky state funds cannot. 

KSPF will use the money provided by On the Upside's Looking Up Grant to connect and transport 100 school-age Louisvillians out to one of Kentucky's State Parks as part of their Inside Out Education Program.

Want to help out KSPF? Check out their recent initiative to raise funds for our parks, Kentucky Parks & Crafts. 


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Episode 1 | Kentucky State Parks Foundation

Why is imagination so important for kids and adults alike? It’s free.

On this episode of On the Upside Adam talks with Sean Hennessey, Director of Marketing and Development at Squallis Puppeteers, a nonprofit organization that uses the art of puppetry to free imaginations, create fantastic characters, and to tell the stories that are important to our community.

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Twitter: @OntheUpSidePod ‏

Squallis Puppeteers | Shawn Hennessey

“A lot of kids don’t feel they are successful because everything is about how well you do on a test and music makes students feel successful. It gets them out of the academic cloud they are in every day.” - Penelope Quesada

On our third episode of On the Upside Adam talks with Looking Up Grant recipient, Penelope Quesada. Penelope is the general music teacher at Semple Elementary, a title one school in Jefferson County where 80% of the students are on free or reduced lunch. Due to budgetary constraints, Penelope found herself teaching music largely without musical instruments. She will use the funds from the grant to purchase 35 ethnic percussion instruments for her classroom that will serve her 600 students so that they can learn about music from around the world.

You can donate or simply reach out to Penelope at penelope.quesada@jefferson.kyschools.us.

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Semple Elementary | Penelope Quesada

Fresh food is a basic human right. 

On this episode of On the Upside, you'll learn about New Roots, a non-profit organization uniting communities to spread food justice, and how they’re using money provided from our Looking Up Grant to give food insecure families access to fresh, healthy food this winter. 

Learn more about how you can become a “veggie cheerleader” at newroots.org. 

This episode’s featured book is *Harold and the Purple Crayon* by Crockett Johnson.

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Episode 4   New Roots

It's hard to put your finger on what trees do because it's hard to find something trees don't do.

Over the past four years, Louisville Grows has planted several thousand trees across Jefferson County. On this episode of On the Upside, you'll find out how Louisville Grows is making an impact on our community via urban agriculture and how they're planning to use the funds from our Looking Up Grant to plant 10 new trees in the Shelby Park/Smoketown neighborhood this March.

Learn more about Louisville Grows and how you can get involved at Louisvillegrows.org.

This episode’s featured Carmichael's Kids book is The Lorax by Dr. Seuss.

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Louisville Grows | Ked Stanfield

Corporate Social Responsibility, or CSR, is a bit of a buzz phrase these days. In short, it refers to what a company does to make the world a better place with the result being something other than simple profit. Adam talks with Scott Koloms, Co-founder of Canopy, a non-profit startup with a goal to make Kentucky first in good business. Canopy aims to provide the tools and certifications to help for-profit businesses mind their environmental wake and help solve social problems in Kentucky.