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Forest Park Senior Center Ice Cream Social – July 9, 2016

The Forest Park Senior Center is hosting an Ice Cream Social on Saturday, July 9th from 1-3:30 pm on the grounds of the center.

They will kick off the afternoon with an hour of America’s Hometown Band followed by a small break, then have the Grand Spinners Square Dancers  demonstrate their moves. The audience will be invited to participate!  The Forest Park Neighborhood Association will also be giving away some small door prizes.

Muncie Police Department and the Muncie Fire Department will have representatives to talk with children or adults who are interested in safety and crime prevention.

Come and relax and enjoy the music and ice cream and cake, bring your family.  Forest Park Senior Center : Where Aging Becomes Fun!

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8twelve Coalition

Vision: Revitalized, inclusive neighborhoods where people choose to live.
Mission: Through planning and action, the 8twelve Coalition advances the goals and aspirations of residents.

The 8twelve Coalition is comprised of residents, non-profits and businesses working to revitalize the 8twelve target area bordered by 8th Street, Memorial Street, Perkins Avenue, and Madison Street.

The 8twelve revitalization plan was developed as a result of several community meetings spearheaded by Greater Muncie Habitat for Humanity and the Vectren Foundation. The plan focuses on improving housing, beautifying the neighborhood, and supporting local businesses.

IMPACT MAP (pdf)
8Twelve Coalition Builds Community Poster (pdf)

Read the report (pdf)

8-12reportscreenshot

8twelve Steering CommitteeSteering Committee Oct 2015

  • Josh Arthur, Avondale UMC, Resident
  • Lindsey Arthur, Muncie Habitat for Humanity, Urban Light CDC, Resident
  • Jena Ashby, Greater Muncie Habitat for Humanity
  • Frank Baldwin, Muncie Mission
  • Sarah Renee Beaver, Resident
  • Emilie Carpenter, Urban Light CDC, Resident
  • Andrew Draper, Urban Light Community Church, Urban Light CDC, Resident
  • Leslie Draper, Inspire Academy, Resident
  • Angelia Gordon, Urban Light CDC, Resident
  • Dori Granados, Urban Light CDC, Resident
  • Craig Graybeal, ecoREHAB
  • Mark and LeiAnne Lloyd, Residents
  • Lezlie McCrory, Resident, South Central Neighborhood Association President
  • Ray Montagno, Greater Muncie Habitat for Humanity
  • Tom Moore, Vectren Foundation
  • Annette Phillips, PathStone
  • Chris Reid, Indiana Academy, Resident
  • Wes and Sherry Russell, Residents
  • Heather Williams, Building Better Neighborhoods, Ball State University Office of Community Engagement

8twelve In the News

Muncie Habitat for Humanity and Partner Organizations Receive Lowe’s Grant
Lowe’s Volunteers Spruce Up the Boys & Girls Club of Muncie
Habitat unveils new neighborhood focus
How Habitat plans to change a neighborhood
Lowe’s Contributes $70,000 Grant to Muncie Habitat for Humanity
Muncie’s Habitat for Humanity Receives Grant from Vectren Foundation
CAP Students Design, Help Dig in to Enhance Community Garden

Video

To learn more about the work of coalition please watch this short video produced by the Vectren Foundation:

Gallery

IMG_3201 (1)    Community Meeting 1

Community Meeting 4   Staff Meeting NR

8twelve-map

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Thomas Park – Avondale Neighborhood Action Plan

The Thomas Park/Avondale Neighborhood Action Plan (TPANAP) is a citizen-generated policy regarding the future of the neighborhood, containing initiatives that will developed by the residents of the neighborhood with the assistance of the students.  The TPANAP will fall under the umbrella of the Muncie Action Plan (MAP), which is a strategic guide for the city to create an action agenda for the future.  A partnership has been established with MAP and Ball State University to help with the organization of neighborhoods, to assist with needs assessment/goal setting and to develop collaborative projects that meet the unique needs of each neighborhood.  In addition to the Action Plan, a TPANAP Handbook will also be produced as a document to aid citizen planners when they begin to enact initiatives from the Plan.

Learn more by visiting their website: Thomasparkavondale.wordpress.com.

Faculty Mentor:  Lisa Dunaway
Department:  Urban Planning
Community Partner:  Thomas Park – Avondale Neighborhood Association
Students: Unai Miguel Andres, Robin Behery, Simran Bhinder, Zane Bishop, Jessie Boshell, Julia Chanen, Chelsea Fenimore, Tiffany Gehrke, Cody Hedges, Amber Janzen, Paul Jones, KyeongHyun Kim, Sravani Mikkilineni

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Serve to Learn Youth Development Project and Focus Groups

The Whitely Community Council would like to create a youth focused TimeBank.  This project team obtained data from community youth about the experiences they would like to “withdraw” as well as the assets they could “deposit” as participants in the program.  This information would be used to increase students’ awareness of and interest in the “Serve to Learn” TimeBank program as well as help them articulate their personal interests and assets.  To gather the asset data and foster program engagement, BSU students conducted activity-based focus groups with Muncie area youth.  This data gathered will help the committee members design the TimeBank program.  In addition to developing research skills, BSU students connected with and increased empathy for the Muncie Community and learned about the principles of TimeBanking.

Youth Development Project Faculty Mentor:  Dorshele Stewart
Departments:  History
Community Partner:  Whitely Community Council
Students: Elyssia Anderson, Lauren Borst, Michelle Caneva, Hayley Eckert, Victoria Fehr, Thomas Harrell, Victoria Harris, Deidre Henderson, Mercedes Hoover, Samantha Maethner, Kirsten Neal, Samantha Reason, Brianna Refner, Nina Richardson, Eleonora Smith, Eric Southerland, Danielle Wellman, Kaylyn West, Justice Williams, Brandon Wyllie

Time Bank Focus Groups Faculty Mentor:  Melinda Messineo
Department:  Sociology
Community Partner:  Whitley Community Safety Committee
Students: Sonia Brewer, Victoria Foster, Hallie Johns, Grace Kelly, Braderick Morrison, Jessica Oracheff, Keanna Peppers, Danielle Staley, Abigail Stellwagen, Christina Valdez, Brianna Williams

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Whitely Community Safety Committee Focus Groups

The Whitely Community Council Public Safety Committee has been discussing the national dialogue regarding police and community tensions and how those feelings may be reflected in Muncie Delaware County.  This project team conducted interviews and focus groups with Muncie Delaware County residents and police about their perceptions of local police-community relations.  This data will help the Public Safety Committee design programming with the objective of improving communication, understanding, and safety.

Faculty Mentor:  Melinda Messineo
Department:  Sociology
Community Partner:  Whitley Community Safety Committee
Students: Nathan Ayers, Denasiha Christian, Brett Donley, Asia Flemings, Autumn Huse, Alicia Klingerman, Patrick Kluger, Savanna Paddock, Erin Phelps, Lara Schneider, Matthias Tankersley

 

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Muncie’s Sports Tourism Potential: Strategies to Make the SportsPlex Serve the Community Better

This project involved students taking the lead in a research project to learn about how the Muncie SportsPlex could be made to be financially viable and serve the Muncie community better.  Students gathered data and wrote a report that gave Mayor Tyler actionable business intelligence to assist in improving the product, services and financial viability of Muncie SportsPlex.

Faculty Mentor:  Craig Webster
Department:  Family and Consumer Sciences
Community Partner:  City of Muncie
Students: Cheria Averitte, Leah Beebe, Nicole Box, Cade Carter, Jeshua Drown, Alex Hurt, Anna Johnson, Kyle Jones, Bailey Kelley, Colleen Kinninger, Sarah Kniesly, Ed Landreth, Taylor Lipinski, Michael Lorenzano, Maddie McMurray, Mike Melton: Graduate Assistant, Kim Scott, Jessica Stanton, Taylor Stiffler, Katherine Sutton, Brandi Tuzinski, Alexandria Vaden, Sarah Von Raesfeld, Ciara Whitaker