Non-Profit

By: Mike Rhodes— Don’t you just love it when dozens of volunteers come to your house and donate their time to spruce it up? And bring their own equipment and materials with them? Wait, you mean that hasn’t happened to you? Well it has for the Boys & Girls Club of Muncie. And things are looking very good, indeed. For the last two days, dozens of volunteers from the Lowe’s Home Improvement Heroes project have donated time, materials and equipment to spruce up the Boys & Girls Club of Muncie.  Lowe’s has an interest in community revitalization and a history of…

By: Juli Metzger— Fundraising to support 29 programs aimed at conquering generational poverty, illiteracy Muncie, IN – United Way of Delaware County (UWDC) announced its 2017 Campaign Leadership Team today, assembled to address the goal of conquering generational poverty in Muncie and Delaware County. Led by third-generation Chair Casey Stanley, the team will run a campaign that will ultimately support 29 local programs provided by 26 partner organizations aimed at collectively reducing youth illiteracy, with a specific target of bringing all third graders up to Indiana state reading standards by 2024. The team is comprised of 26 business and community leaders, nonprofit…

By: Tracy Dishman— Muncie, IN—Going to the grocery, eating out at a local restaurant, or grabbing a snack from the cabinet…it’s just something we do. We all have this in common. We eat food. In tough times, keeping the kitchen stocked with food can be a challenge. It’s a challenge that folks right here in our community are living with. Delaware County is number one in the State of Indiana for food insecure and vulnerable children. One out of every three children is living in poverty…and hungry. “It is a very sobering statistic,” said Bob Ball, Executive Director of Inside…

By: Erin Moore— Devotion. Commitment. Enthusiasm. Collaboration. Inspiration. Inclusivity. These six words only begin to describe Mary Dollison’s legacy in the Whitely neighborhood and Muncie at-large. Her significant contributions to our community were nationally recognized at the 42nd annual Neighborhoods, U.S.A. (NUSA) conference in Omaha, Nebraska, this May. Mary was a recipient of NUSA’s “Who’s Who in America’s Neighborhoods” award, which recognizes individuals across the country who promote neighborhood development, participation, and collaboration. Mary’s nominator, Heather Williams of Ball State University’s Building Better Neighborhoods initiative and the Muncie Action Plan, noted her key roles in building the Whitely Community Council…

By: Sherri Contos, Executive Director, Muncie Arts & Culture Council— Muncie, IN—The Muncie Arts and Culture Council (MACC) in conjunction with the City of Muncie, would like to announce the 2017 Mayor’s Arts Awards to be presented September 26, 2017. The Mayor’s Arts Awards are the most prestigious honors conferred by the city on individual artists, teachers, nonprofit organizations and patrons of the arts.  Nominations are now being accepted. Nomination forms are available at this direct link:  http://munciearts.org, by email request at munciearts@gmail.com, or at the following locations: MACC office in the Rose Court building (125 E. Charles Street; Suite…

Editor’s note: Steve Bell spoke to the noon Muncie Rotary Club on Wednesday and presented a :30 minute rough cut of a documentary covering his life and experiences as a television journalist. The documentary is being produced by Bob Mugge and his wife Diana Zelman. Lisa Renze-Rhodes, Director of Media Strategy at Ball State University interviewed Steve about his life and experiences as a television journalist.  Her story is below.  Muncie, IN—Every push and pull of his bike pedals meant adventure for Steve Bell and his grammar school pals as the trio cruised past familiar landmarks in their comfortable hometown. Past the…

By: Polly Craig— Muncie, IN—The Youth Opportunity Center (YOC) celebrated its 25th anniversary with a dinner and program at the Horizon Convention Center on Thursday, June 8, 2017. Surrounded by more than 370 friends, donors, board members and staff the evening celebrated visionary retired circuit court judge Steven Caldemeyer’s commitment to youth and families, honored direct-care staff who work on the frontline with the kids, and planted a vision for the care of the next generation of children in our community. Following dinner, a tribute video highlighted Caldemeyer’s passion and commitment to our community’s families and children through the establishment…

By: Juli Metzger— Muncie native will become first third-generation chair, seventh from Ontario family of companies Muncie, IN – Casey Stanley, a lifelong Muncie resident, was named the 2017 campaign chair for United Way of Delaware County, the first time in the organization’s 92-year history to appoint a third-generation chair. As the Vice President of Products & Marketing for Ontario Systems in Muncie, Stanley is the seventh chair to be employed by this family of companies, which has produced more UWDC campaign chairs than any other employer. Stanley’s grandfather chaired the campaign in 1957, and his father led the effort in…