Articles by Mike Rhodes

By: A Voice For Kids— Muncie, IN—Muncie resident and Ball State student Matt Peiffer, a former child in Indiana’s foster system, has received a national award for helping other foster children get the extra support they need. Peiffer’s Muncie-based organization A Voice For Kids is one of 30 winners in T-Mobile’s second annual Changemaker Challenge, a contest that asks young people ages 13 to 23 to submit ideas to improve their communities. Peiffer’s inspiration for A Voice For Kids is…

By: Jenni Marsh— Muncie, Indiana—In every iteration of Muncie Action Plan (MAP), community members identified developing a “mentoring program” as a priority. Yet, it has been one of the most challenging action items within the plan to address. “People want to be sure kiddos have mentors in order to prevent them engaging in risky behaviors, and they also want mentors for themselves,” said MAP Board President Jenni Marsh. Derek Peterson is an international speaker and founder of the Institute for…

By: Juli Metzger— Muncie, IN—United Way of Delaware County, for the third consecutive year, surpassed its campaign goal, raising $1,506,070 million. The goal was $1.5 million. And the United Way Board of Directors, signaling its high regard for Pat Botts, a former long-serving board and committee member, who died last fall, named its volunteer of the year award in his honor. “Pat Botts was the kind of board member, volunteer—human being that the rest of us aspire to be more…