Membership to INRC is FREE!

INRC VOTING MEMBER

Neighborhood and Homeowner Associations: voluntary organizations of residents who work together to improve and maintain the quality of life in their neighborhood. 

INRC ASSOCIATE MEMBER

Other Groups: Faith-based organizations, community development corporations, multi-service centers, businesses/business associations, and public and quasi-public agencies (including city and county agencies and utility companies). 

* Please note: Associate members are not eligible to vote.

Membership includes:

Training

• Access to INRC training and educational opportunities, including Neighborhood Empowerment Workshops, Community Leadership Certificate at Ivy Tech Community College and the Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) Institute.
• Direct technical assistance offered to member organization free of charge.
• Use of INRC’s Resource Library, containing a variety of information on Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD), Study Circles, best practices and more.

Networking

• Use of INRC’s multi-functional facilities for meetings and events.
• Listing of member organizations in the INRC Annual Report.
• Promotional support; including listings on INRC’s website, a link to your web page on the website, and at member events.
• Publicity provided for members’ community events via the current news and events section of INRC’s website.
• Invitations to INRC-sponsored events.

Voting

• Eligibility to recommend nominees and vote for INRC Board of Directors (must be member by May 1, 2012).
• The ability to count your organization among the membership of Indianapolis’ premier resource center dedicated to the practice of Asset-Based Community Development and resident empowerment.

According to the INRC bylaws, to qualify as a voting member of INRC, an organization must:

1. Subscribe to the purposes of the INRC, which include but are not limited to facilitating the delivery of information, technical assistance, and other resources to Marion County Neighborhood Based Organizations.
2. Have adopted written bylaws.
3. Have its principal place of business in Marion County.
4. Be neither controlled by or under the direction of individuals or entities seeking to derive profit or other financial gain from the organization.
5. Have as one of its primary purposes service to residents within one or more Marion County neighborhoods.
6. Maintain accountability to residents within the neighborhood(s) it serves by maintaining at least 51 percent of its governing body’s membership for residents of such neighborhood(s).

Organization and Title:  Martin Luther King Community Center,

                                         Volunteer for Senior Program and Kinship Care Program

 What first brought you to community work/volunteering?

When I was a little girl (1940’s), I taught my Grandmother how to read and write her name.  I can see that was my first experience volunteering and I remember how proud my Grandmother was when she could write her name and read.

While employed, I worked with seniors and saw that we were losing some of them because they had to raise their grandchildren. They could no longer attend our daily senior programs.  Our agency put together a program for these seniors who were raising their relative children, called the Kinship Care Program.  After retiring in 2007, I wanted to continue my work with the seniors and kinship care program and became a volunteer at my former place of employment.  Since I am a senior, I was living some of the issues as a senior in our community and wanted to stay involved to help others.  Also I currently am a volunteer with the program called “Rebuilding the Wall”, which helps families obtain housing.  

Describe a moment when you saw your actions have an impact on your community.

We have focused on bringing activities to our senior program that affects health and wellness. One that has a very positive outcome is our “Tai Chi” exercise classes.  The instructor gives exercises that we can do from a chair or standing. We seniors can do these exercises at home.  Often times before the Tai Chi classes started, some seniors report how they were having a hard time moving around their homes. Since the “Tai Chi” classes, more of the members are reporting they can move around better than before.   

What accomplishments are you most proud of?

I had a concern about one of our senior members who lived by herself and had only one relative in the community who did not check on her very often.  She was having some health issues while at the Center, so our intern and I set up a home visit and we saw that she did have some serious health concerns. I contacted her nephew to report that he needed to get her to a doctor as soon as possible. She was admitted into the hospital and is now thriving in a nursing home. Our senior program goes to visit her once a month to let her know she is still part of our program and that we care.

Since the time you started your work/volunteering, what changes have you seen? 

There has been an increase in our program memberships and our members are more engaged in current events in our community. The monthly events in our calendar have become more diverse in activities. The seniors report that they do not feel isolated because of belonging to our senior program. We seniors always look to give back to others and teach those who are working with the senior population about “US”. 

What do you see as the greatest asset of your community?

The greatest asset is our Seniors/elderly. they have so much wisdom and experience to share with the generations under them.  I would like to see more opportunities for seniors and the other generations to get together and work together on community projects. I would like to see where seniors and the other generations are teaching each other such as, seniors learning about computers and seniors teaching someone about making a quilt or carpentry.

On April 17, 2010, neighborhood volunteers gathered to lead dozens of interested friends and neighbors on tours to highlight the treasures of this historically rich area.  Miller Transportation provided trolley cars to carry passengers on the winding roads beginning at the Millersville Masonic Lodge. Tour highlights included the Brendonwood and Ladywood Estates subdivisions, as well as many historic homes, including the William Winpenny home, the Marmon home, and the John R. and Sarah E. Johnson home.  During the tour, guides shared interesting stories about the history of the community, the homes and their former owners.  Another noteworthy stop on the tour was Millersville’s oldest relic, a boulder that is 2.2 – 2.4 billion years old!

The tour guides and the tour booklet, Treasures of Millersville, highlighted a study conducted by the IUPUI Department of Earth Sciences on the erosion of the Fall Creek bank, which has led to major flooding problems in the community. In response to this continuing threat, residents of the Fall Creek Valley area pooled together their own funds to build a retaining wall to protect the bank from further erosion.  Thus far the efforts have helped to reduce the damage caused by floods.

At the close of the tour, guests were invited to tour Laurel Hall, former home to the Fletcher family, prominent bankers, and now home to Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity, to enjoy treats prepared by Lincoln Square Pancake House. Residents were encouraged to submit their ideas to the community association and commit to helping the neighborhood development efforts take shape. It was the perfect ending to a beautiful spring day, and a successful and educational tour.

Check out the tour booklet, Treasurers of Millersville in INRC’s library, or go to their Facebook page by clicking here.

Anne-Marie Taylor
Executive Director
Phone: (317) 920-0330 Ex: 101
Email: director@inrc.org

The Hip Hop Congress project provided instruction in DJing, breakdancing, Hip Hop history, musical production and writing. The group also provided the students with an opportunity to showcase their talents at a local performance venue called Urban Elements. Finally, the project hosted a large scale showcase at the annual Hip-Hop Summit. They struck a cord, finding something young people want to learn about.

The classes are held twice a week in the lower level of the Martin Luther King Jr. Multi-Service Center located at 40 W. 40^th Street. Some of the teachers include notable turntable masters DJ Top Speed, as well as, DJ Stylistic and DJ MetroGnome. All the teachers volunteer their time. The future DJ’s not only have the best teachers, but also access to great equipment. There are 6 turntables, a drum set, a piano, stacks of records and a sound room stocked with a microphone, and a computer! A $5 fee covers the cost of equipment maintenance.

The initiative led to an abundance of connections within the community. Connections were established with area schools, the Girl Scouts of Central Indiana, and other community-based projects and organizations. The group even received an On-Air interview with DJ Wrekk 1 of 96.3 fm shortly after starting. The IMAGINE grant project was an opportunity that shined (or shed) light on Hip Hop Congress’s community involvement and drew in new students. Through the outreach program, community members of all ages became engaged.

The project continues to be highly successful. The anticipated participation figures have been greatly surpassed. Many youth from the Butler-Tarkington attend the classes. Numerous parents and grandparents have brought their children and grandchildren to the DJ classes. To date, an estimated 25-30 individuals from the neighborhood, as well as another 40-50 students from outside the Butler-Tarkington boundaries, have participated. On a weekly average, 5-10 from within the neighborhood attend and an additional 5-10 from outside the neighborhood also participate. One student that lives within the neighborhood developed so quickly that he now helps teach the Wednesday night class! The group looks forward to keeping these classes going well into the future.

Martin Luther King Jr. Multi Service Center Boundaries: 71st Street on the north, 22nd Street on the south, Michigan Road/White River/Spring Mill Road on the west, and Fall Creek/Binford Boulevard on the east.

Brenda recognized that it was important for neighbors to know their history, and believed that they should be proud that they lived in Norwood Place. Brenda gathered a few of her neighbors who grew up in the neighborhood. They decided that one of the things that Norwood Place needed was a constant reminder of who they are and where they lived; they needed an identity.

The neighborhood elders felt that the creation of a neighborhood sign with a special symbol was critical to establishing their identity. They applied for an IMAGINE Grant to help cover the costs of creating signs for the neighborhood. It would have been easy for them to come up with some basic concepts to give to a graphic artist for the creation of a beautiful design. However, they did not believe that such an approach would begin to reestablish the pride that they were hoping to achieve. Instead, they decided to gather as many kids from the neighborhood to think through and create the new symbol for the sign. The neighborhood elders felt that in order to renew the neighborhood’s pride it needed to start with the youth of the community.

Over 35 children came together at Pride Community Center in the heart of Norwood Place, to create the designs that would become the neighborhood’s new symbol. That day, over 50 ideas emerged from crayons and markers. A local artist then scanned all the children’s work to capture the elements from a number of their ideas. This allowed more than one child to feel like their art work was represented. In all, portions from eight different young artists were pulled together and made up the new Norwood Place signs. Everyone in the neighborhood eagerly anticipated the finished product.

Always trying to take every opportunity to build community, Brenda and her neighbors decided that to unveil these new signs, they needed something that would pull together as many of their neighbors as possible. They decided to throw their neighborhood’s largest block party ever. This would also provide the opportunity to get to know some of the new neighbors and to tell the history of Norwood Place. Over 200 people attended this block party and new relationships were built that have continued to grow over the last few years.

If you go to Norwood Place today, on just about every corner you will find this new symbol of the unity and pride that the neighborhood residents created to reflect the history and the people of their community.

Neighborhood Boundaries: Southeastern Avenue on the north, Terrace Avenue on the south, the railroad (west of Vandeman Avenue) on the west, and Sherman Drive on the east.

Treasured Homes, LLC was born out of the Springdale Neighborhood Association to preserve the historic architecture in the neighborhood. There are no fees required for membership, just volunteering time and talents in renovating neighborhood homes. The group meets to discuss how the neighborhood’s value will increase by keeping the homes’ historic architecture in good shape. Once a home has been renovated, there are covenants and restrictions put in place so that the architectural value is not damaged. There has been some resistance to the changes, but the neighbors have learned that Treasured Homes is not attempting to gentrify the neighborhood, because they are neighbors themselves, not investors.

The 2009 IMAGINE grant project, entitled “Spring into Art”, was developed to attract more members to the Treasured Homes group. The group was already renovating two Springdale homes to sell, and decided to engage more neighbors by hosting a three-day open house and art show. In addition to bringing potential buyers into the neighborhood, the art show was designed to reach out to members of the local fine arts community to showcase their work, and to draw attention to the community’s affordable housing and nearby studio space. Four visual artists and a musician provided entertainment for the potential homebuyers. Neighborhood caterer, J.S. Reutz, was recruited to provide the refreshments. In all, ten volunteers donated over 70 hours of service.

Prior to receiving the IMAGINE grant, the group noticed that the neighborhood children spent a lot of time observing them as they renovated homes. As part of their IMAGINE grant project, the group decided to use this opportunity to further engage them, and to educate them about the art of a home and explain how art contributes to the value of the neighborhood. At the open houses, nine children participated in arts and crafts activities at a special table set up for them. The children made magnets, picture frames, sculptures and collages.

As a result of the project, the artists sold seven pieces of their work as a direct result of the open house; two of the artists later moved into the neighborhood. Over 115 people attended the weekend “Spring into Art” open house. Thirty-eight of the attendees were residents from the Springdale Neighborhood. Best of all, both homes were sold to people who attended the open house!

Springdale Neighborhood Boundaries: Brookside Parkway Drive on the north, 10^th Street on the south, Rural Street on the east, Jefferson Avenue on the west

The organization initiated the Cold Springs Road Community Engagement Initiative project and received an IMAGINE grant to support these efforts. They partnered with numerous community stakeholders including Marion University Allison Fellows, IUPUI School of Social Work, the City of Indianapolis, Public Allies Indianapolis, Riverside Civic League, New Life Christian Church, and area businesses. This IMAGINE grant project was launched during the same period as the City of Indianapolis’ 30^th Street Corridor planning, providing an opportunity to leverage shared interests.

Four focus group meetings were held throughout the community targeting specific groups such as religious organizations, businesses, etc. Neighborhood residents also attended several 30^th Street Corridor plan meetings.   During the spring of 2009, a survey was conducted in the neighborhood. The surveys addressed public transportation, public parks, and ideas for neighborhood change, committee formation, and use of neighbors’ individual gifts. 1,600 surveys were distributed with over a 10% response rate. Marian University‘s Allison Fellows performed sixty door-to-door surveys and IUPUI School of Social Work students processed the results.

Several positive results have been realized as a result of the project. First, the Kessler-Wides at 30^th Street Neighborhood Association, known as KW30, was born. The new neighborhood association was assisted by the Public Allies Indianapolis Collective Roots team in developing an annual community garage sale and other marketing efforts. Second, a pocket asset-map identifying the neighborhood’s resources and assets was developed and distributed throughout the neighborhood. Third, Marian University committed to hold regular and frequent communications with its neighbors. Marian has engaged the community by sending a representative to the neighborhood meetings and hosting community discussions regarding their expansion plans. In addition, they allow the neighborhood to utilize the University’s’ recycling program. Finally, the group created a shared vision for the City of Indianapolis 30^th Street Corridor Plan. The plan can be viewed at the following link: www.indy.gov/west30thplan.

Cold Spring Road Neighborhood Boundaries: 38th Street on the north, 16^th Street on the south, Cold Spring Road on the east, and Kessler Boulevard North Drive on the west.