Author: Jes Beals

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Neighborhood Association Organization Guide

This workbook has been prepared for Muncie’s neighborhood organizers under the direction of: Muncie Action Plan’s (MAP) Task Force 2 Initiative and the Building Better Neighborhoods (BBN) program in Ball State University’s Office of Community Engagement.

The following information is based on publicly available information, and the activities of current Muncie neighborhood associations.

In this workbook, you will find a guide to forming and maintaining a neighborhood association, sections addressing issues and challenges faced by neighborhood organizers, and a collection of ideas and resources.

click to downloaddownload the handbook (pdf)

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Storytelling and Social Justice

With one third of children currently living below the poverty line, poverty is perhaps the most pressing issue facing Delaware County. The students in “Storytelling and Social Justice” are addressed this issue head-on by partnering with Circles of Delaware County/Second Harvest Food Bank of East Central Indiana to share stories about the challenges that individuals living in poverty face. Specifically, “Storytelling and Social Justice” students worked with members of the Circles/Second Harvest community to create both a polyvocal memoir (a compilation of many first-person narratives) and several YouTube videos featuring stories of poverty and empowerment. We circulated the memoir and YouTube videos to the Muncie community and beyond. Circles and Second Harvest Food Bank will also be able to use these materials to both raise awareness and galvanize community support.

Faculty Mentor: Emily Ruth Rutter
Department: English
Community Partner: Circles of Delaware County/Second Harvest Food Bank
Students: Adore Davis, Meredith Dickerson, Hunter Garrison, Britney Kendrick, Malikah McMillan, Dillon O’Nail, Ciara Smith, Zoe Taylor, Levi Todd

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Provider Survey for Second Harvest Food Bank

Second Harvest Food Bank of East Central Indiana, our community partner, is a non-profit food distribution organization that serves an eight-county area: Blackford, Delaware, Grant, Henry, Jay, Madison, Randolph, and Wabash. We were asked to gather data from the partner agencies (food distribution sites such as church food pantries and community centers) for the purpose of program improvement. Second Harvest was interested in knowing how their partner agencies make decisions about what food/products to acquire from the food bank,whether the services that they provide are currently meeting the needs of their client populations, what additional services/products are needed by their client populations, what agency services they currently use (e.g., volunteer training, food storage training, etc.), and what additional agency services they would use if available. The students designed and distributed the survey, analyzed the results, and created a report and presentation.

Faculty Mentor: Lisa Pellerin
Department: Sociology
Community Partner: Second Harvest Food Bank of East Central Indiana
Students: David Current, Elisabeth Gates, Sunni Matters, Kaitlin Purdy, Staci Quire, Madison Ream, Amber Sheets, Erica Somerson

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Professional Development, Differentiated and Digitized (PD3): Muncie Community Schools Learning Management System Adoption and Implementation

The Professional Development, Differentiated, and Digitized (PD3) immersive learning project has the primary goal of assisting Muncie Community Schools (MCS) develop teachers who adopt and integrate different technologies within their instructional practices.This was done in several ways. First, PD3 students focused on assisting the district in the adoption and implementation of a new Learning Management System (LMS) Schoology. Students created professional development opportunities, helped teachers create digital curriculum and assessments, and promoted use of the LMS. These included creation of a Schoology professional development course within the LMS, individual technology mentoring between BSU students and MCS teachers, and a district wide professional development session. Second, students designed, developed, and implemented a four-week Science, Technology, Engineering, & Math (STEM) unit on electricity for kindergarten through third grade students at a MCS after school program. BSU students modeled effective pedagogical practices and meaningful technology integration as they implemented the unit with teachers and for K3 students. In the Fall 2017, students have continued working with Muncie community school teachers and are developing content within the Schoology LMS. They are also developing the initial stages of the Professional Learning Program (PLP) for teacher education candidates, faculty, and community partners. The PLP will focus on the National Technology Standards for Educators and is intended to aid educators at all levels to learn more about meaningful technology integration for learning and teaching.

Faculty Mentor: Jon Clausen
Department: Educational Studies
Community Partner: Muncie Community Schools
Students: Karen Huey, Demi Novinger, Katlyn Redman, Sarah Schlosser, Jeremy Svoboda, Carli Vose, Sam Walden, Jordan Wallace

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NAMI Delaware County – Reaching Out to Persons with Severe Mental Illness in Local Criminal Justice Contexts

The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) is the primary advocacy organization for persons with mental illness and their families in the United States. Over the past few years, the local NAMI chapter in Delaware County has established innovative programs for persons with mental illness and their families, including support groups, suicide hotlines, and education for law enforcement on crisis intervention. In this immersive project, students met with the NAMI Delaware County Executive Board to discuss how the organization supports these programs. Students then formed teams to plan and carry out activities for NAMI DC, including two fundraisers at local restaurants to support Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) for law enforcement officers, and donation and distribution of flyers educating the community about mental health resources.

Faculty Mentor: Monte Staton
Department: Criminal Justice and Criminology
Community Partner: National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)
Students: Abdul Aldhiroy, Hussam Alghamdi, Abdulrahman Alhasani, Nader Alluoh, Faris Alruthia, Will Boston, Martin Dyrcz, Christy Garke, Caleb Gramman, Conner Hobbs, Shauntanyse James, Kyla Kettell, Katie Kunzman, Justin Lewis, Justin Miti, Dametrea Mixon, Destini Pugh, Dakota Schaefer, William Stone, Nicholas Wise