Articles by Mike Rhodes

By Stacey Shannon— MUNCIE, IN—With the mission of empowering the Muncie community through food-based initiatives, Inside Out has been serving healthy food to children since 2014. The local non-profit organization, which grew out of Blood-N-Fire Ministries, now serves 68,000 meals per year. Since one out of three children in the community are food insecure and around 18% of families are below poverty, Inside Out plays an important role in helping kids get healthy meals. Inside Out program administrator, Angelica Lasley…

By Robert G. La France— MUNCIE, Ind. —At 11:30am on Tuesday April 11, 2023, the Muncie Noon Rotary Club and Sunrise Rotary Club will celebrate the annual Very Important Volunteer Awards (V!VA) luncheon at the Horizon Convention Center. This year’s generous sponsor of V!VA is PrimeTrust Federal Credit Union. The V!VA Awards were developed as a gift to the Muncie community in 1993 by the Muncie Rotary Club to recognize Delaware County’s proud volunteer heritage. This year, five individuals will…

By Colleen Cooper, Altrusa Club Member— MUNCIE, IN—Altrusa International of Muncie, IN is hosting a Storytime Tea and Auction to raise funds for the District Six Club and Foundation to support local projects focusing on literacy, food insecurity, and meeting various needs in the community.  Lunch and tea will be served and the main focus will be participating in the lively auction featuring goodies supplied by members of the District Six Club as well as by the community. Tickets are…

By Michelle Kinsey, Office of Community Engagement, Ball State University— MUNCIE, IN— “How many of you are at an IDEA conference for the first time?” Heather Williams asked the audience of more than 100 at the start of the eighth IDEA Conference on March 4. Dozens of people in the L.A. Pittenger Student Center ballroom at Ball State University raised their hands. Williams beamed. As the Associate Director in Ball State’s Office of Community Engagement, the program manager for Building…

By Kelsey Harrington, Program and Analytics Officer— MUNCIE, IN—More than $365,000 was awarded to ten community organizations by the George and Frances Ball Foundation. On February 24th, members of the Foundation’s Board of Directors met to review and make funding decisions for first quarter requests. Many of the funded efforts will build the capacity and fuel strategic, collective action of Cradle to Career Muncie, a community-wide and equity-centered educational attainment initiative driven by more than 40 community organizations and facilitated…