Non-Profit

By: Molly Flodder— Muncie, IN—The Ross Community Center, Inc. (RCCI) southwest of downtown Muncie, is a tribute to the past and a pivotal element of Muncie’s future. Its metamorphosis in the past five years and plans for the future make it a crown jewel in the line-up of bright happenings along the South Central and Thomas Park-Avondale neighborhoods that surround a stretch of Memorial Drive. In the mid-20th century, the area was inhabited by factory workers in a town booming with industry.  At the beginning of the 21st century, most of those jobs were gone, and many of the children and grandchildren…

By: Tom Farris— Muncie, IN – Matt Howell, member of the Muncie Rotary Club, received the Merrill Greene Award for 2019.  The award honors Merrill Greene, CPA, long-time Muncie Rotarian and volunteer who served as Club treasurer for over two decades.  The award recognizes a member for their outstanding volunteer efforts for the Club and the community. Howell is Vice President of Farmhouse Creative and active in Rotary projects and served as Public Image Chair for Rotary District 6560 for 2018-19; redesigned and maintained the District 6560 website; and also promoted Club and District events and happenings via social media….

By: Sarah Shaffer— Muncie, IN—Cornerstone Center for the Arts is excited to announce the grand opening of the Muncie Altrusa Foundation Beulah Frogge Digital Arts Studio on Saturday, August 24 with a stop motion animation workshop led by Disney artist and animator Brad Condie.  This workshop is free and open to the public, but does require pre-registration. The grand opening will offer two 2 hour stop-motion animation workshops focusing on the art and principles of animation as well as how to animate a character with clay and other materials using a digital tablet and animation software.  All attendees will participate…

By: Jud Fisher— Muncie, IN—Four local organizations were recently awarded Ball Brothers Foundation grants to build-out spaces and programming that inspires innovation, entrepreneurship, and collaboration inside MadJax, an 80,000+ square foot maker space in downtown Muncie. The grants—awarded to Ball State University, Purdue Polytechnic Institute, Ivy Tech Community College, and Sustainable Muncie Corporation—will support efforts to build better linkages between the four institutions, K-12 schools, and local employers. “Our region has a tremendous legacy of ‘making’ things that extends back for over a century. As forces like automation, technology, and globalization reshape workforce demands, we hope to build on the…

By: Tom Farris— Muncie, IN – Tom Bracken, retiring 2018-2019 President of the Muncie Rotary Club, recently presided over the installation ceremonies of new officers and directors for the 2019-2020 Rotary year, which began July 1st.  Officers are elected to 1-year terms, while members of the Board of Directors are elected to staggered 3-year terms, so a new class of three directors is elected each year to replace the retiring class. 2019-2020 Muncie Rotary Club Officers President: Kelly K. Shrock President Elect: Ana Pichardo Immediate Past President: Thomas C. Bracken Secretary: Kate Stoss Treasurer:  Linda S. Gregory   Members of…

By: Betty Brewer— Muncie, IN—As chair of the Muncie Arts & Culture Council Board, I am looking forward to this year’s Mayor’s Arts Awards to be held at Muncie Civic Theatre on Friday, September 13, 2019. Planning has been underway since April, and we can’t wait to celebrate Muncie’s arts and culture communities this fall. The ceremony is open to the public, and we hope you’ll consider joining us! The Call for MAA Nominations has been announced and we’re in the final stretch of accepting nominations. Awards may be granted in eight categories – Arts Advocate, Arts Leader, Arts Educator,…

By: Kallie Sulanke— Muncie, Ind. – The Community Foundation of Muncie and Delaware County, Inc., through the Town of Yorktown Endowment Fund, is awarding $3,345 in grants to three organizations serving the Yorktown Community. BY5 Early Childhood Initiative has been awarded $545 to support Kickoff to Kindergarten at Pleasant View Elementary School. The program, which will run in the weeks prior to school’s start, is designed to improve readiness of incoming kindergarteners. The Yorktown Council for the Arts has been awarded $1,800 to purchase audio/visual equipment to support their free outdoor events in Yorktown. The new outdoor projector and movie…

By: Kallie Sulanke, Community Engagement Officer— Muncie, IN – The Community Foundation of Muncie and Delaware County, Inc. has announced that Chris Caldwell has been awarded the 2019 David Sursa Leadership Award to recognize his dedicated service to United Way of Delaware and Henry Counties. Caldwell was nominated by United Way of Delaware and Henry Counties, where he served on their Board of Directors since 2013. During his time on the Board, Chris has been involved with United Way at a very high level and has served on the executive, governance, resource development, community investment, and finance committees. Chris served…