Muncie Waypoint: A guide for greater community and neighborhood engagement

Article by Charles Taylor

Do you care about Muncie but feel overwhelmed by where to start or how to make a difference? Muncie Waypoint turns local engagement into a tangible, rewarding challenge helping you shift from passive news consumption to active leadership by shaping issues that matter, such as the quality of your local neighborhood.

When you sign up for Muncie Waypoint, youโ€™ll receive weekly email newsletters with information that will help you engage with local government or your neighborhood. Recent newsletters have covered issues like providing effective citizen input at a local government meeting or conducting a walk with your neighbors to identify neighborhood conditions that need attention.

You can take the next step by acting on what you learn. Muncie Waypoint provides a long and flexible list of activities for learning, building community, and influencing politics. When you take these actions and log them using our online form, you earn points for advancement, a prize, and an invitation to a year-end celebration.

You can learn more about Muncie Waypoint and sign up by visiting https://munciewaypoint.substack.com

Want to see who racked up the most points in April? View the leaderboard.

April showers brings exciting events on campus this month!

people holding umbrellas walk down a rainy campus sidewalk

Nervous about visiting campus? Take a look at the Office of Community Engagement’s handy Getting to Campus resource for parking/public transit information!

Click the links for more information. Some events may be off-campus or have registration requirements.

Wednesday, April 1, 2026

Thursday, April 2, 2026

Friday, April 3, 2026

Saturday, April 4, 2026

Monday, April 6, 2026

Tuesday, April 7, 2026

Wednesday, April 8, 2026

Thursday, April 9, 2026

BSU Animation Showcase – 10 a.m.

Conversations in Entrepreneurship and Leadership Series with Marcus Hall – 11 a.m.

A Journey in Microcosm – An Artist Talk with Jiyong Lee – 6 p.m.

Student Recital: Cam DeVore, voice – 7:30 p.m.

Spring Senior Capstones – What the Constitution Means to Me – 7:30 p.m.

Friday, April 10, 2026

Saturday, April 11, 2026

Sunday, April 12, 2026

Monday, April 13, 2026

Tuesday, April 14, 2026

Wednesday, April 15, 2026

Thursday, April 16, 2026

Friday, April 17, 2026

Saturday, April 18, 2026

Sunday, April 19, 2026

Monday, April 20, 2026

Tuesday, April 21, 2026

Wednesday, April 22, 2026

Thursday, April 23, 2026

Friday, April 24, 2026

Saturday, April 25, 2026

Sunday, April 26, 2026

Monday, April 27, 2026

Tuesday, April 28, 2026

Wednesday, April 29, 2026

Thursday, April 30, 2026

BFA Studio Art Senior Capstone Exhibitions I, II, and III – 10 a.m.

Neighborhood Cleanups

Spring is right around the corner and we all know what that meansโ€ฆitโ€™s time for our spring cleanups! The Muncie Sanitary District put a call out for neighborhoods to request help. Hereโ€™s a copy of that document in case you didnโ€™t receive it. (This link will download a Word document to your computer).

Iโ€™m also including the Release of Liability and Assumption of Risk Agreement. Anyone 18 or older riding on the back of a trash truck must fill one of these out.

The deadline for Spring applications is April 6th.

You must submit your form by scanning and emailing it to Tammy Branson at tbranson@msdeng.com. You can also drop them off or mail them to the Muncie Sanitation Dept. office at 2121 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Muncie, IN 47303. If you have questions, please reach out directly to Tammy via email or phone (765.747.4865).

CenterPoint Scholars Class of 26-27

2026-2027 SCHOLARS:

Paige Brown, Elisabeth Edgell, Kim Hampton, Danielle Heimlich, David Robbins, Monique Vargas, and Kylee Tremaine

THE PROGRAM:

The CenterPoint Scholars Program kicks off with a weekend retreat that sets the framework for the year-long program and builds connections between participants.

Regular meetings are held monthly at the E.B. and Bertha C. Ball Center (400 W. Minnetrista Blvd.)

THE SCHEDULE

Tuesday, April 22, 5-7 PM
Local Government 101
Tuesday, October 20, 5-7 PM
City Department Heads – CD, Human Rights, Parks
Tuesday, May 15, 5-7 PM
Food Insecurity
Tuesday, November 17, 5-7 PM
Celebrate! Project Pitch Night
Tuesday, June 16, 5-7 PM
Schools and Libraries as Community Stakeholders
Tuesday, December 16, 5-7 PM
Project Work Day
Tuesday, July 21, 7-9 PM
Community Safety
Tuesday, January 19, 5-7 PM
Mental and Physical Health
Tuesday, August 18, 5-7 PM
UBHA Mock Meeting
Tuesday, February 16, 5-7 PM
Mental and Physical Health
Tuesday, September 15, -7 PM
DMMPC – Kylene Swackhamer
IDEA Conference – March 6, 9 AM – 3 PM

PROVIDED IN PARTNERSHIP

Muncie Action Plan Logo
BBN logo
Shafer Leadership Academy Logo

SUPPORTERS

Logo for the Muncie & Delaware County Community Foundation

The 5:50 Alliance Free Food Fridge: Bridging the gap in food insecurity

An open fridge filled with milk and other staple foods

Article by Napoleon Price Jr., CenterPoint Scholar Alumnus

The 5:50 Alliance Free Food Fridge aims to bridge the gap in food insecurity by providing essential ingredients such as meats, proteins, and fresh produce. We believe that sharing a meal fosters the communication and sense of belonging necessary to sustain a community. The concept is simple: we stock the fridge, and it remains available to anyone in need. By eliminating most barriers to access, we only require a household count and zip code. This allows us to track our impact, which currently exceeds 31,000 pounds of food provided to residents from various areas.

Our mission is powered entirely by volunteers whose dedication turns this concept into a daily lifeline. Their efforts have transformed the Common Market into a hub of mutual support where neighbors look out for one another. We would like to extend a special thanks to the YMCA for supporting our first non-perishable food drive this January. While many individuals have contributed to this project’s success, please know that your influence is deeply appreciated.

For those interested in volunteer opportunities, please contact me at napoleonprice7@gmail.com or follow the Common Market Muncie IN on Facebook. Monetary donations can be made directly to curehunger.org by mentioning the 5:50 Alliance at the Common Market.


CenterPoint Scholars is a program of the Muncie Action Plan, funded through generous support from the CenterPoint Energy Foundation and the City of Muncie. 5:50 Alliance is one of the 2 groups of the Inaugural Center Point Scholars program