THE AKIA UWANDA PROJECT
Who is Akia Uwanda? Entertainer, Consultant, Humanitarian, Philanthropist
Raised as an only child, Akia left much to her imagination. During the first 11 years of her life, she grew up in an underserved area called Washington Heights in Jacksonville, Florida. Although she had two hard working parents, times were still hard due to her crime stricken community environment. Her only retreat at times was imagining swimming along side of her real backyard friends, Mr. Alligator, Miss Manatee and Cousin Black Moccasin in the Ribault River. That’s when the arts came to her rescue. With a vivid imagination, she explored and appreciated different genres of music, art, and culture, which have groomed her to be the entertainer she is today. Coming from a gospel background, coupled with classical piano training, Akia’s talent was nurtured at the early age of seven. Her classical voice training began at the age of 12 and modeling at 15. As a student at Florida A & M University, majoring in physical therapy, she made use of her spare time by modeling in the Epicurean Fashion Experience. To further invest in her craft, Akia Uwanda continued to sing and take classical voice lessons followed by acting classes for film and theatre. With 20 years of experience in the Beauty, Health and Entertainment industries, Akia Uwanda McDaniel is a CREATIVE POWERHOUSE TO THE TRADE. Her expertise in Special Event Planning and Promotions of individuals, companies and brands speaks
volume. She has volunteered for several Non Profit Organizations’ Fundraisers in the Community; one of which being The Clara White Mission. Akia has been a “Friend of Clara” for the last 6 years singing Jazz evert first Friday of the month at St. Johns Cathedral for Clara’s Cafe as well as performed at their Annual Miracle on Ashley Street, Cocktail for A Cause, Pearls & Cufflinks, Graduations of their students and Feed the City Events. She served on the Lymphatic Lymphoma planning committee board for Fashion for a Cure and The Cystic Fibrosis Jacksonville TailGate Kickoff for a Cure; served as an Organizer and Logistics Chair for New York’s SENSATIONNEL Hair Show and Competition in Jacksonville, Florida; Artist and Brand Development with 3P Entertainment Company; Formal Owner of MOSAIC Model & Talent Management; Co-Chair and Organizer of The 1st Annual Springfield Music Festival at 3 Layer; served as an Ambassador at The NFL Commissioner’s Party during Superbowl XXXIX in Jacksonville, Florida; currently the CoFounder of The Ndustry Entertainment Network via online radio; President of Green Tulip Productions Event Planning Firm and Visionary Consulting Solutions where they help brings VISIONS TO LIFE. A more extensive bio can be found at www.akiauwanda.net.
What is the A.U. Project? THE AKIA UWANDA PROJECT (A.U. Project) mission is to spark hope in the lives of youth ages 6-18 through Art Education, Development and Awareness. Northeast Florida community and underserved kids will learn musical instruments, music production, film production, creative writing, voice, dance, visual art, graphic design, interior design, fashion design, public speaking, media relations, culinary and other art areas as they matriculate through programs in Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Personal and Professional Development with hopes of stimulating Cultural and Social change. Our initiatives are geared towards making a positive dierence in the youths’ lives to produce sustainable results. It is a future goal for The A.U. Project to provide scholarships for higher learning institutes in various art areas as well.
INITIATIVES Spark It Up -
The Spark It Up campaign provides lessons in various art areas enhancing the youth's cognition through the science of the arts.
Heal It Up - The Heal It Up campaign promotes hands on health and wellness activities with our A.U. Project program participants by initiating proper diet and exercise regimens, engagement in health screening by health professional partnerships, providing field trips to Abundant Harvest which introduces them to organic farming, and facilitation of seminars and forum with the youth and their families on health disparities plaguing our community (ie. mental illness, juvenile diabetes, and ADHD and more).
Build It Up - The Build It Up campaign focuses on building character through Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Personal and Professional
Development workshops our staff, volunteers, business and community partners.
FUND IT UP -
The Fund It Up campaign provides scholarships to be involved in the A.U. Project, for higher education needs and other enrichment activities to students who fulfill artistic and academic requirements of the A.U. Project.
GIVE IT UP - The Give It Up campaign teaches kids how to give of themselves through volunteerism and community service which is a requirement of the A.U. Project. “Our youth are truly our future. Encourage them to read and to be the best they can be. Stimulate their minds with intellectual conversations for they are smarter than you think. They may not understand everything you are saying at the moment but your impression will sparkle a flame in them when they need it the most. I feel that a genuine drive towards investing and nurturing a youth's natural talent and abilities can have a positive impact on them which can result in decreasing truancy and lessen the likelihood of them going to jail later in life. Teach them to be whole. Show them that they matter. Give them options. Exposure them to possibilities. Let’s help empower our future generations with tools to fulfill their God given purposes and create extraordinary leaders for the days to come. ” - Akia Uwanda Note: Our 501(c)3 status is in progress. We will have our non profit,tax exempt status in January 2016. For more info, contact Akia Uwanda at 904-469-7511 or email at
akiauwanda@gmail.com. To donate to the cause, go to www.gofundme.com/akiauwandaproject.