Projects

Helping the Hive: lifting the ALICE above the line

Participants: Leah McRath-Hinton, Anna Caroline Mullis, Amy M. Oakley, Brad Westlake, Tina Zmick

Goal: Find ways pantries can collaborate to fight food insecurity more effectively and efficiently

Youth Build Feasibility

Participants: Christine Banister, Christina Bizzell-Redden, Prince Butler, Gabby Thomas, Melanie Vehslage

Goal: Build support and momentum through a feasibility study to begin a Youth Build Program in Monroe County

Letters Across Generations

Participants: David Bush, Kevin Goodman, Danielle Willis

Goal: Create a group-based letter exchange designed to foster reflection, encouragement, and intergenerational connection between older adults and youth

SPARK

Participants: Josh Hall, Jackson McKinney, Steve Rico, Sean Sangl

Goal: Increase donations and participation in and with local non-profits by creating awareness of the many organizations and improving the ease of finding areas of interest

Unhoused Support Capacity

Participants: Meredith Jagutis, Annalise Janke, Dave McKinney, Crystal Ritter, Shelby VanDerMoere

Goal: Empower the laypeople of Bloomington to approach potentially stressful interactions with the unhoused population with easy-to-understand de-escalation tools

Creative Littles

Participants: Cole Engel, Chris Hammond, Samantha Majors, Rick McGarvey, Michael Sinanis

Goal: Inspire the creativity and curiosity of youth in South Central Indiana by receiving donations of art and STEM supplies

Bridging Gaps: Resource Awareness for Monroe County’s Latino Community

Participants: Stephanie Hancock, Samantha Hyde, Esteban Mancheno Chiriboga, Frank Meza, Olivia Sullivan

Goal: Increase awareness of and access to local resources available to the Latino community in Monroe County through culturally and linguistically inclusive strategies

Adopt the Commons  Brighten Bloomington

Participants: Nikki Benich, Miranda Chaudion, Melissa Fulton, Yannic Gagnon, Samuel St. John, Michael Waterford

Goal: Expand Brighten Bloomington by enhancing individuals’ lives and providing labor for community projects that keep our common areas safe and clean

Financial Wellness for Students

Participants: Chris Bomba, Jr., Eldon McCabe, Ronnie Shields, Jordan Smith

Goal: Create financial education literature, tools, and events for students based on topics that are appropriate for various age levels.

Ellettsville Park Project

Participants: Alec Blake, Stacy Bruce, Cindy Chaifetz, Matt Gargiulo, Manda Hayden, Jordyn Meyer, Aubrey Williams

Goal: Create a welcoming experience for parkgoers that connects them to the outdoors and the town of Ellettsville and reflects the community at large.

Reach Out Monroe County

Participants: Colby Babbs, Melissa Biggs, Marci Hibbard, Jay Phillip Morgan, Melissa Nam, Michele Suttile

Goal: Identify an area in town in need of access to (or improved access to) reliable food sources.

Mobile Health Resource Connection

Participants: Anne Crecelius, Cynthia Herrington, Max Litwin, Amy Meek, Charlie Nixon

Goal: Create a universal waiver that can allow resources in the community to work seamlessly together towards addressing the gap in healthcare.

Veteran’s Outreach

Participants: Alicia Hoffman, Susan Johnson

Goal: Create a lasting system, with the support of employers and community organizations, to reach Veteran’s and get them the benefits for which they qualify.

The Period Project – Period Empowerment

Participants: Kayla Dusseau, Julie Beth McFall, Gillian Thiebe, Mandee Weissert

Goal: Develop a plan to provide products, education, and advocacy for menstruating humans in need.

Project SOS (Safe Outdoor Spaces)

Participants: Chaz Mottinger, Daniel Schlegel, Tim Street, Myrick “Mick” Williams

Goal: Provide local decision-makers in Bloomington-Monroe County with current info and local research regarding the potential establishment of temporary safe outdoor spaces for people experiencing homelessness – especially those experiencing street homelessness, who by choice or circumstance may not utilize existing methods of shelter

Accessible Bloomington Childcare Directory (ABCD)

Participants: Megan Effner, Laura Sargent, Jeni Waters

Goal: Create a one-stop-shop where individuals can go to view childcare costs/availability and learn about government assistance

Mobile Health Literacy Project

Participants: Marisa Churchill, Julius Hanks, Rosalind Mark, Carrie Stillions, Janett Thomas

Goal: Provide mobile healthcare literacy services to marginalized communities to improve health outcomes

Career Pathways Awareness & Exploration

Participants: Shaun Ballard, Brandi Hamilton, Sandra McGow, Amie Stringer, Eryn Wisler

Goal: Provide earlier exposure to non-college careers in our community and to show that there is a need for skilled workers locally

Community Sports Connection

Participants: Alan Biggs, Pam Chapman, Dawnetta Cooper, Jenni Druckery, Dayna Thompson

Goal: Increase access to knowledge about youth sports opportunities and increase numbers in youth sports in the county

Bell Trace Reading Buddies

Participants: Bill Bennett, Tabitha Cassani, Scott Mitchell, Brent Pierce

Goal: To connect a senior living community (Bell Trace) and a youth center (Boys & Girls Clubs of Bloomington) to develop a reading buddy program

Find Help = Get Help

Participants: Theresa Claire, Noelle Conyer, Hilary Fleck, Alex Semchuck

Goal: To raise awareness of the helpingbloomingtonmonroe.findhelp.com website in the community

Friends of Foster Closet

Participants: Carter Challance, Alyssa Davis, Stacie Marotta, Abby Mitchell, Shatoyia Moss, Erin Zody

Goal: Provide foster children with a semblance of ownership, consistency, dignity, and empowerment through providing belongings that they may need

S.P.A.C.E.s (Safe Places for Art, Culture and Education

Participants: Nia Jones, Gavin Everett.

Goal: To provide venue space and promote culture for under-represented artists and artist groups.

Bloomington Shelter Tails

Participants: Christina Smith, Andrew Krebbs, Amber Riley, Andrew (AJ) Gianopoulos.

Goal: To increase awareness of the role of the animal shelter while educating pet and non-pet owners in the community about adoption care, helping animals, and city ordinances around pets.

My Life!

Participants: Abigail Murphy, Cherelle Hines, Megan Dennis, Ryan Heeb.

Goal: Educate and empower teens/young adults (age 16-19) by designing an interactive game to help them develop life skills and financial literacy.

Sleeping Out for Shalom

Participants: Ashley Pirani, Kelsey Haislip, Erin Erwin, Landry Culp, James Carnes.

Goal: To raise awareness of individuals experiencing homelessness in our community; fight the stigma attached to individuals experiencing homelessness; raise funds for Friend’s Place.

Public Food Pantry at Ivy Tech

Participants: Laura Blaker, Esthela O’Neill, Morning Wilder.

Goal: To increase access to no-cost groceries for low income residents on the West side of Monroe County.

Supercharge Bloomington

Participants: Christopher Emge, Matt Kavgian, Matt Neer, Skyler Parrish, Lauren Travis.

Goal: Increase prevalence of Electric Vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure and informational resources for current and future Bloomington-area EV owners.

ALICE for Monroe County (ALICE = Asset, Limited, Income Constrained, Employed)

Participants: Amalia Shifriss, Jessica Jacobs-Tuttle, Jim Wiltz.

Goal: To create an awareness effort to educate businesses on the ALICE population, needs, and best practices.

Celebrating Monroe County

Participants: Dr. Pierre Atchade, Adrienne Evans Fernandez, Felita Lucas, Danielle Peter, Zerina Razic, Kennedy Rostenkowski.

Goal: To create a plan to help stakeholders address the real and perceived barriers between the city and county social infrastructure through an annual, county-wide event.

Giving Animals a Voice

Participants: Jodi Baker, Sue Eckes, Katherine McHugh, Ryan Pedigo, Kaylin Worthington.

Goal: To work with local organizations and the city to help not only the animals of Monroe County but also pet owners – included resources about feral cats, and a possible amendment to the City’s municipal code to protect pets in times of extreme weather.

Intergenerational Connections

Participants: Tara Ali, Susan Dyar, Lisa Fukuda, Yuan Zhou.

Goal: To Increase engagement in order to reduce isolation in populations within the community, and foster environments of comfort regardless of stage of life. Cross barriers and create connections with seemingly disparate populations. Create programmatic events in order to connect generations.

M.A.A.P. (Mobility Accessibility Acceptance Plan)

Participants: Hannah Hirsch, Morgan Taylor.

Goal: To work closely with resources in the city to provide the framework for the city accessibility study — defining areas in the county that are or are not accessible to varying degrees of ability.

Project R.E.A.C.H. (Real-time Extensive Available Community Help)
Participants: Teddie Gambler, Elizabeth Gray, Jason Moore, Steve Owens, Karen Smith

Goal: To leverage technology and SMS platform to connect people in need to various services, providers, missions, and assistance in our community.

Quality Affordable Childcare.

Participants: Anne McCombe, Kira Richardson, Kim Van Lue.

Goal: To improve the current landscape of quality affordable childcare in Bloomington and Monroe County by creating communication plans and different tools for use in the community and specifically with the Community Foundation.

Self-care, Reduce Stress and Live a Healthy Life

Participants: Brett Day, Nate Nickel, Maggie Reisdorf, Michael Reschke, April White.

Goal: To create a life skills program for young children, age 5-7 at the Boys and Girls Club that promotes a healthy lifestyle through self-care, mental and physical health and stress reduction.

Young Adults and Finance

Participants: Heather Calloway, Joe Christley, Steven Dirk, Joe Fuschetto, Amy Joyner, Monica Queen.

Goal: To partner with Hoosier Hills Career Center to design a four-part, Life Skills financial competency course including Credit, Budget, Business Plan, and Legal to be incorporated into their existing programming.

Backpack Blitz

Participants: Ashley Durcholz, Lisa Koontz, Megan Parmenter, Noah Poellnitz, Santiago Sotomayor, Moriah Sowders.

Goal: To expand the scope and provide additional support for the current school supplies drive serving K-8 students in Monroe County, managed by the Salvation Army and area churches.

Hiking for Health

Participants: Eric Hendrix, Debbie Jones, Kevin Larson, Danielle Lucas, Diana McKamey.

Goal: To encourage members of the community to spend more time exploring the wilderness; to further the health of the community; and to bring people together who would not normally interact through a shared interest in hiking.

Homelessness Tent Event

Participants: Teresa Crevier, Dan Deckard, Stuart Fleck, Gina Hembree, Tom Wappes.

Goal: To bring together multiple organizations and potential volunteers under a tent for a single day to expand support for Bloomington’s homeless community; and to raise awareness, establish support networks and initiate collaboration opportunities.

Kirkwood as a Community Asset

Participants: Denean Gillenwater, Adam Gross, Darren Hudson, Ross Neely, Brandon O’Leary, Christopher Reinhart, Eric Scott.

Goal: To bring together multiple community stakeholders for a discussion about the future, and community potential, of Kirkwood Avenue.

Opioid Prevention Program

Participants: Matthew Clay, Jason Greer, Patricia Wykes.

Goal: To address the gap in opioid prevention services for youth in Monroe County; and to prevent youth from falling victim to opioid addiction by developing a sustainable strategic plan that youth-serving organizations in Monroe County can implement.

Urban Paths and Trails

Participants: Chris Hahn, Scott Karcher, Kevin Vail, William Young.

Goal: To plan a night bike-ride event utilizing Bloomington trails, bike paths and bike lanes in order to promote safe riding practices; to raise public awareness of urban path/trail resources in Bloomington/Monroe County; and to promote increased use of these resources for public health and recreation.

Connecting Youth and Family Wellness

Participants: Jeff Boes, Robert Cerney, Emily Latta, Stacy Meadows, Michele Simms, John Winenger.

Goal: To bridge the gap between kids receiving a mental health diagnosis and the support available to them; to remove the stigma associated with mental health; and to develop a comprehensive and user-friendly document that lists available resources in the community.

Food Waste Diversion Program

Participants: Joe Carley, Marcus Dunbar, Nolan Hendon, Nikki McEachern.

Goal: To study prospective municipal food waste diversion programs for the City of Bloomington Public Works Department.

Lil’ L Rap Literacy Program

Participants: Allen Bell, Kelly Cornett, Keith Knipstein, Matt Osgood.

Goal: To support the Community Kitchen Backpack Buddies program to supply food to families in need with a strategic food drive plan with local organizations.

Backpack Buddies

Participants: Flávia Burrell, Roland Bydlon, Will Lehman, Pete Nelson, Alison Miller, Jeff Stumpf.

GOAL: To increase geographic economic and social balance in Bloomington and Monroe County through the trail system.

Fresh Food Availability Study

Participants: Will Crespo, Kyle East, Tiffany Fizer, Rebecca Keith, Matthew Romero.

Goal: To provide resources to children in Monroe County who are in low-income environments to support their literacy and school readiness.

Unified Trail

Participants: Wendy Hernandez, William Kimble, Joseph Neukam, Brian Snow, Zach Tobias, Beth Warner, Robyn Wirkerman.

Goal: To research fresh food availability in Monroe County and assist Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard with its Ready Set Grow event.

Monroe County Works

Participants: Ashley Davis, Cindy Fleetwood, Jacklyn Lord, Morgan McMillan, Sydney Tilford.

Goal: To examine resources available to job-seekers and employers and create a website that helps connect these groups to the information and services they need.

Planning and Redevelopment Guides

Participants: Jamie Divine, Keith Leonard, Kristi McCann, Chris Riedel, Tamara Roberts.

Goal: To study the municipal approvals process for construction and redevelopment projects and propose ways to make the process clear and accessible for economic development.

Global Citizens of Bloomington

Participants: Sara Batman, Shawn Gerber, Osama Kokandy, Trish Oman.

Goal: To connect newcomers from international origin to local residents and to educate newcomers to local customs, laws and policies, living needs, personal rights, finding their way around the city, and obtaining legal documents through a web presence designed to connect the many and varied resources that are available in Bloomington and Monroe County.

Backpack Buddies Nutrition Availability Study

Participants: Megan Holtsclaw, Chris Robb, Georgeanna Sims, Michael Valliant.

Goal: To understand the role food security plays for Monroe County’s youngest citizens by studying the Community Kitchen’s Backpack Buddies program in MCCSC schools. The group surveyed the efforts and effects of the program, analyzed results, and provided recommendations for further action by local organizations.

Youth College Awareness Project

Participants: Jacquelyn Beane, Brandon Boyd, Lynne Chang, Ashley Stinson.

To connect middle school students with higher education opportunities for the future. The group connected with the 21^st Century Scholars Program at Indiana University and explored needs and opportunities surrounding the program. The group examined a possible mentorship program that would help middle school students become successful as future 21^st Century Scholars.

Bloomington Artnership

Participants: John Gernand, Derek Richey, Marcia Roach, Joanne Shank.

Goal: To showcase Bloomington as a thriving economic and arts community by pairing artists of a variety of genres with local business in a series of events over a one-month period. The first ARTnership month is scheduled for August 2016 and offered with support from the Arts Alliance of Greater Bloomington and the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce.

Gateway to Bloomington

Participants: Scott Hannon, Matt Harding, Matt Murphy, David Prince, Jasynda Radanovich, David Vanderstel.

Goal: The team proposed a “Welcome to Bloomington” gateway that will be a visually appealing, artistic entryway into the city, one that enhances the urban landscape and provides a visual representation of the cultural and artistic richness of Bloomington. The project focuses on the pedestrian bridge that spans the Indiana 45/46 bypass on the city’s north side.

Senior Health and Wellness Initiative

Participants: Jason Mathis, Chad Reynolds, Ana von Heimburg, Jennifer Yurcak.

Goal: The team focused on health and wellness education within the Bloomington-Monroe County community to provide meaningful assistance to senior citizens who are currently underserved by the resources available. Working with Area 10 Agency on Aging and other community partners, the team developed educational resources for seniors.

Teen Substance Abuse Prevention

Participants: Lindsey Beaulieu, Teri deMatas, Ashley Johnson-Wilcoxon, Helen Schattel.

Goal: This team studied underage alcohol abuse and methods to prevent it. Learning that boredom is one of the primary reasons teens abuse alcohol, the team developed BTown Ultimate Teen Source, a resource that includes several teen-focused events and activities, and shared it with teens and families at a recent community health fair.

#NoBullyBtown

Participants: Abby Englert, Abby Perfetti, Emily Perry, Angie Ohlrich, Jennifer Smallwood.

Goal: The team developed and promoted a social media campaign to raise awareness about bullying in partnership with individuals and organizations throughout Monroe County. The campaign was coordinated around Anti-Bullying Day 2015 as proclaimed by Bloomington Mayor Mark Kruzan in order to make a positive difference for those affected by bullying.

Courthouse Dog

Participants: Anne Bono, Heidi Harmon, Greg Jacobs, Jared Lesser, Louis Malone, Kelli Shannon.

Goal: Inspired by other successful courthouse dog programs across the country, this team created a plan for a courthouse dog in Monroe County. The courthouse dog brings comfort to children and victims who may experience stress during court proceedings. The team worked with local government and the Monroe County Court Appointed Special Advocates, along with experts across the nation, to develop the program.

High School Reality Store

Participants: Macy Hughes, Chip Johnson, Marcus Pugh, Isabel Santner, Meghan Turner, Jennifer Upton.

Goal: Based on the popular Reality Store model currently implemented at the middle school level by the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce Franklin Initiative, this group developed a model for high school students. The High School Reality Store is an interactive simulation designed to aid students in understanding the long-term impact of choices made regarding postsecondary education.

Monroe County Open 311

Participants: Jon Barada, Andrew Howard, Kurt Jourdan, Jessica McClellan, Tyler McCoy, Jordan Riley.

Goal: Open 311, an electronic issue reporting system for municipalities, exists at the City of Bloomington but not yet at Monroe County Government. This group completed extensive research of the existing city system and served as the liaison to county government departments in order to effectively establish this tool for Monroe County.

Housing Solutions for Young Professionals

Participants: Katie Birge, Lauren Dexter, Scott Miller.

Goal: Recognizing that young professionals were having a difficult time finding affordable housing in downtown Bloomington, this group investigated solutions. Members worked with the City of Bloomington Economic and Sustainable Development department to gather data for a new initiative called RentRocket, which helps renters identify sustainable properties.

Bloomington Homelessness and Detox Center

Participants: Brian Bailey, Bruce Ervin, Marla Fredrick, Wanda Katinszky.

Goal: This group identified the need for a long-term focus on detoxification combined with lowbarrier emergency housing under one roof, which provides an opportunity for healing— both physical and spiritual—and allows the individual to achieve self-sufficiency. They are now taking steps to realize this goal.

Bloomington Jobs

Participants: Leslie Abshier, Matt Burkett, John Landgraf, and Michael O’Connell.

Goal: This group created a plan to address the perceived culture of entrepreneurial risk-aversion in Bloomington. The goal of improving and fostering a culture of entrepreneurial risk-taking is to improve employment prospects in the area.

Arts Group

Participants: Michael Hoerger, Erin Martoglio, Ryan Piurek, Heidi Schulz, Allison Smith, Ricky Spangler.

Goal: With the anticipation of the proposed Switchyard Park on the B-Line Trail, this group explored the possibility of public art space, specifically performing space, in the new park. They examined other communities’ facilities and worked closely with the City of Bloomington.

Preschool and Kindergarten Readiness

Participants: Sarah Borden, Kim Clements-Johnson, Hillary Feldmeyer-Detty, Brandon Keller, Michele Shepherd.

Goal: Working in collaboration with Monroe Smart Start, this group developed a Preschool/Kindergarten Resource Guide for parents. This resource is designed to help kids start their school careers prepared and ready for success.

Open Streets

Participants: Jason Behling, Teal Betz, Allison Chopra, Kate DeWeese, and Matt Schulz.

Goal: Based on a model that is popular in Europe and growing here in the U.S., this group has worked in conjunction with the City of Bloomington Planning Department to bring an open-street recreation festival to life in downtown Bloomington.  The goal of the Open Streets event is to encourage residents to bike, walk, skate, and run in their own city, and consider leaving their cars behind for the benefits of exercise and safe community activities right in the streets.  As Bloomington seeks a platinum biking community designation, this concept has gained traction here locally.

Give4Good

Participants: Jacquelyn Carnes, Samantha Ezzo, and Kelsie Holt.

Goal: In partnership with the City of Bloomington Volunteer Network, the group has developed a marketing plan for a new system that allows organizations to post equipment and supplies they would like to donate to a nonprofit. This system will transform the current Community Wish List by connecting nonprofits with the items they need and divert unnecessary waste from area business and industry.

Trek Monroe

Participants: Shaylan Owen, Doug Ummel, April Wason, Joi Kamper, and Jennifer Borland.

Goal: This group project addresses the need for a comprehensive mapping system for all trails in Monroe County. The goal of this project is to help residents and visitors enjoy the outdoor resources Monroe County has to offer by building awareness and creating a system that makes finding the right trail-whether urban or rural-easy and enjoyable.

STEM-ulate Bloomington

Participants: Amanda Roach, Wylene Watts, Shannon Freeman-Correll, Mindy Sanders, and Bertie Lehman.

Goal: With a focus on encouraging girls and women to pursue science, technology, engineering (or informatics), and math careers, this group is creating a women-led STEM speakers’ bureau for use by Girls, Inc. and other character-building programs that target girls in elementary and middle school.

Middle Way House Strategic Plan

Participants: Sami Alzakri, Nate Delong, Josh Dodds, and Shine Rominger.

Goal: This group has worked with the local shelter for women and children who have experienced domestic violence to draft a strategic public relations plan to meet its fundraising and awareness goals.

2012 Bloomington Festival of Words

Participants: Matt Minderman, David Nosko, Jenny Olmes-Stevens, Dana Palazzo, Connie Percifield, Adam Roberts, Jennifer Syrek.

Goal: To involve the community in reading, writing, and storytelling activities that encourage civic engagement, personal growth, and a better understanding of how literacy enriches our lives.

Local First project group

Participants: Tom Hill, Mike Job, Wade Snider, Jami Scholl, Holly Vonderheit.

Goal: The creation a white paper (a report giving information or proposals on an issue) for the benefit of Local First Indiana and its Board of Directors including: a brief assessment of LFI’s current structure and programs; a collection of “best practices” by 12 leading agencies around the country; a set of recommendations on five pertinent subjects: agency name, board of directors’ issues, funding sources, staff development, and spreading the word; a presentation to be used by the group; and a template survey to gather information from members and community.

Women & Children Campaign for 2012

Participants: James Devereaux, Lois Brown, Maria Stolze-Epple, Shapour Khosravipour.

Goal: Fundraising for an enhanced neonatal unit, IU Health Bloomington Hospital. This group is working with the Bloomington Hospital Foundation to solicit local restaurants to donate a percentage of their revenues on a May night for those who specify they are dining to support the campaign.

Can We Can It? Yes We Can!

Participants: Lana Boling, Kelly Carnahan, Lori Garraghty, Nichole Lustre, Conor McIntyre and Sally Meyers.

Goal: To educate on the topic of food preservation and security, with a focus on three projects: create a canning kits to be borrowed by Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard clients; open canning kitchen event (summer 2012); and offering a canning class for participants to learn basic canning skills.

Rompiendo Barreras (Breaking down language barriers)

Members: Rick Cunningham, Alisha Day Mustafa, Becky Baugh, Luz Lopez, Sara Herold.

Goal: To identify, document and distribute free health and wellness opportunities to the Monroe County Latino community in both Spanish and English.

Recycling in the Business Setting

Members: Dedric R. Dennist, Macey Dale, Kristen Cassady, Lilly Kleinlein, Jordan Shifriss.

Goal: To promote awareness of downtown recycling opportunities by hosting a forum of local community and business owners to share best practices, new opportunities and chances to partner.

Community Jazz Festival

Members: Kitra Ludlow, Adrian Eversoll, Cindy Templeton, DeJohn Rose, Randy Cassady.

Goal: To develop and create a local Jazz Festival / Jazz Crawl in conjunction with Jazz from Bloomington and local jazz musicians from area high schools, IU Jacobs School of Music and professionals.

Social Services Space Collaboration “Team Awesome”

Members: Erin Erdman, Justin Harrison, Beth McDaniel Krouse, Warren Wade, Dan Gustafson.

Goal: To identify potential co-location partners, investigate their needs, research successful colocation models and help local nonprofits make informed decisions about the possibility of co-locating.

Fit for Lit

Members: Jim Spore, Mike McNichols, Debra Morrow, John Saunders, Nancy Hiller.

Goal: To partner with the Foundation for Monroe County Community Schools to raise $25,000 to support literacy initiatives in the schools.  Participants will take pledges and complete a walk or fitness event to raise money.

”B is for Bloomington” Alphabet Book

Participants: Julie Warren, Georg’ann Cattelona, Aaron Victor, Leslie Brinson Bethann Roberts, Tania Daffron.

Goal: To enhance the literacy of the toddler and pre-school set and encourage quality reading time with parents.

GrafittiE – Evaluate, Educate, Engage

Participants: Whitney Pierle, Andrew Bunger, Jeff Kleinlein, Jim Eggers, Roger Meredith.

Goal: To evaluate, educate and engage the Bloomington community on the issue of graffiti in our city.

Midwest Photofest

Participants: Devin Blankenship, Brenda Stern, Magaret Harter, Angela Gast, Donna Lohr, Lisa Simmons, Elisabeth Andrews.

Goal: To form an organizing/implementation committee that will use the LBMC committee’s “blueprint” as a starting point to create a multi-day festival that draws photographers from local area as well as Midwest.

Volunteer Management System for Broadview Learning Center

Participants: Deborah Boudreau, Victoria Land-Rodda, Tammy Walker, Daniel Soto, Michael Gerth, Virginia Hall, Sonia Velazquez.

Goal: To increase and create a sustainable volunteerism resource for the Broadview Learning Center.

Working Steps

Participants: Sarah Alvarez, Fern Bonchek, Michael Craig, Jill Heinzen, Natalie Hughbanks, Clif Marvel, Jeremy Podany, Vernell Thomas.

Goal: To seek out additional funding opportunities and work-to-learn activities for the residents of Stepping Stones, Inc. (Stepping Stones, Inc. provides transitional housing for youth experiencing homelessness.)

Get Involved Bloomington Expo!

Participants: Alec Mayer, Matthew Cole, Amy Kopp, Ronda Watkins, Michael Fox, Matt Harvey, Jessica Merkel.

Goal: To create a Newcomers Fair for new members in the community and/or those who want to learn more about what is available in Bloomington; to provide a “How-To Guide” for volunteering.

Alternative Transportation

Participants: Nicole Schonemann, Glenn Hughes, Greg Bullman, Jim Riggins, Maarten Bout, Reed Adams, Josh Wolf, Brian Drummy.

Goal: To increase usage of alternative means of transportation as a means of getting to and from work/school/events within Bloomington/Monroe County-specifically walking and biking.

Retiring in Bloomington

Participants: Daniel Carnes, Juan Carlos Carrasquel, Jayme Washel, Maroof Qurashi, Patricia Marvin.

Goal: To create a Retiring Industry Task Force; to promote the charter Task Force, which would position Monroe County retirement industry for exponential growth.

Team BEAD

Participants: Susan Dabkowski, Judith Tichenor, Mike McAfee, Marc Tschida, Mary Norman, Nancy Woolery.

Goal: To educate as many people as possible in the community with our BEAD message. To implement a community awareness program to educate residents and community stakeholders about BEAD.

New Philanthropists

Participants: Roberta Kelzer, Amy Jackson, Danell Whitmer, Pete Rhoda, Jessika Hane, Vickie Franck.

Goal: To address the opportunity that exists to cultivate a new generation of philanthropicallyminded people in our community.  Project seeks to provide education on the benefits of collaborative giving, social responsibility, and on specific social needs within our community.

ReStore Redux: Relocation, Outreach & Education

Team Members: Dawn Morley, Fred Schultz, Sara Sheikh, Lucy Schaich, Tim Clougher, Scott Branam, Chris Tann, Adam Wason.

Goal: To partner with the Habitat for Humanity ReStore in their search for a new location for their retail and warehouse facility and to support their outreach and promotional goals by developing materials and workshops that draw attention to the sustainable benefits of recycled building materials.

Ellettsville Youth and Family Center

Team Members: Cherlyn Cress, Nova Carden, Jeff Baldwin, Kelly Wise.

Goal: To establish a safe environment in the form of a youth center providing much needed after school guidance and programming in Ellettsville through collaborating with the community and existing not-for-profit organizations. Facility will be family centered and focused on mentoring and education.

Youth Service Leadership Program

Team Members: Renee Chambers, Hanna Day, Trent Deckard, Jan Grant, Nathan Headley, Danie Norris, Pam Thrash-Cocalis, Bruce Wade.

Goal: Develop young leaders by empowering them to be invested in our community through service/philanthropy.

Apartment Recycling in City of Bloomington

Team Members: Sarah Bowman, Kyla Cox, T.J. Deckard, John LeFevre, Liz Lopez, Gerald Mitchell, Shelley Sallee, Patrick Smith.

Goal: To determine a feasible means for apartment buildings with more than 4 units to provide recycling opportunities for their tenants.

Ambulance Services Initiative

Team Members: Maureen Gahan, Trish Ierino, Faron Lake, Patrick McAleer, Gretchen Moore, Tony Musgrave.

Goal: To educate the general public in our county to the services provided by the Bloomington Hospital Ambulance Service (BHAS).

Volunteers in Medicine

Participants: Melissa Britton, Ward Brown, Anne Cady, Linda Grove-Paul, Francie Hill, Chris Malloy, Randy Pitt.

Goal: To clarify and list the anticipated transportation needs for the VIM clients (Volunteers in Medicine). To conduct a detailed investigation of local and national transportation options/models for VIM clients; to access the available and potential transportation options and make recommendations. Prepare a written presentation documenting the needs, research, assessment and recommendations for transportation of VIM clients and provide to VIM Board of Directors.

Promoting 211

Participants:  Jeff Brawley, Bert Clemons, Beth Flanigan, Christine Eykholt-Friesel.

Goal: To increase community awareness of 211 for social service workers and those seeking services.

Young at HEART

Participants: Brian Whitman, Brooke Helvey, Lisa Herrmann, Nancy Parker, Lynda Couch, John Maassen, Charlene Renner.

Goal: Pilot with an elementary school class and a senior group to develop one to one intergenerational learning activities around the art and science of well-being.

BEAD – Bloomington Entertainment Arts District

Participants: David Phillipy, Katherine McKrill, Eileen Savage, Sheryl Woodhouse-Keese, Tom Beauchamp, Myron Lewis.

Goal: To facilitate a discussion among the stakeholders of the Arts District to consider ideas, concepts and key initiatives that will spur development of the district into an economically viable area devoted to artists and related business interests.

Daycare Substitute Resources

Participants: Sam Frank, Claire King, Andrea Smith, Barb Stork, Amy Thompson.

Goal: Currently there is no pool to call upon for additional staff for daycares and preschools who need substitute personnel. Daycares cannot close when staff is sick.  Identifying and accessing a ready cadre of qualified substitutes who meet licensed providers and registered ministries requirements is a service repeatedly requested but not yet executed by childcare directors in Monroe County.

Language and Culture Consortium

Participants: Kevin Jones, Sandra Britton, Suz Frederickson, Gregg Moore, Sonya Zeller, Anthony Pope, Tom Hiles and Amaris-Faith.

Goal: To create a proposal to address interpretation and translation needs of limited and non-English speakers, and those who serve them in Bloomington and Monroe County. To create a central point-of-contact for access to services to address interpretation and translation needs, and to provide the community with a one-stop shop for voluntary interpreting and translating services.

The Loop (Progress Pathways Footpath)

Participants: Anthony Yorio, Sherrie Bruner, Donna Ferree, Thomas Fuller, George William Gates, John Keith, Michael Leighty, Geoffrey McKim and Miah Michaelsen.

Goal: To create a walking tour of Bloomington that interprets the history and heritage of Bloomington in a manner that is appropriate and accessible to the widest variety of citizens of and visitors to Bloomington. This walking loop would use consistent, clear and user-friendly signage standard to label both the path of the trail and the “stops” that lie along the trail. Essential to all projects of this type and projects with extremely limited resources are partnerships.

Live and Learn (Life Skills/Education)

Participants: Barbara Bichelmeyer, Tiffani Cannon, Cynthia Gray, Elizabeth Mitchell and Sara White.

Goal: To create a “one-stop” shop for lifelong learning in Bloomington/Monroe County for those who have the desire to acquire skills and to share their knowledge and skills with those who want to learn. To create a network that allows users to create custom learning forums between people who share common interests and passions, and to be accessible from anywhere that has Internet access. This website would be free to register as a speaker and free to search by interested learners.

Get on Board (Boards and Commissions)

Participants: Jason Carnes, Karen Franks, Brad Galin, Brooke McCluskey, Penni Sims, Rebecca Stanza and John Zody.

Goal: To assist the City of Bloomington and Monroe County Government in their efforts to recruit members for their boards and commissions (B & C) from the broad community and to increase the diversity of the B & C members. Part of this goal is to “de-mystify” the application process and assist the city and county in streamlining the process to make it more accessible to the general public.

Inclusive Recreation Team

Science Night at Fairview Elementary & Science Event Cookbook

Assessment & Evaluation of Leadership Bloomington Monroe County

Arts School Program

BloomingTonies

Bloomington Mural Arts Projects

Community Resources for Youth and Their Families

Business and Professional Network Feasibility Study

Leadership in the Arts

Community-Ayudeme

Connection to College

Economic Development, Health Care Strategies for Small Business

Historical Preservation and Economic Development

Business Advocacy Report

Intergenerational Partnership: Young at Heart

Recreation-Bloomington Greenways System

Arts-“List-serv”

Town and Gown: A Good Pair Help Build a Strong Full House

Education-Great Directions (Batchelor Middle School & LBMC Arrow Project)

Arts for Middle School Students: Blueprint for an After school Program

Elderly Issues-Evergreen Place: A Business Plan Process Get On Board-Women’s Leadership Expo Tourism-HOOKED ON FISH!

Education-A Community Responsibility

Neighborhoods Are Integrated

Economy Built on Local Assets

Multiple Approaches to Regional Transportation

Wellness and Civility are Valued

Cultural Exchanges-A Core Community Value

A Survey of Bicycle and Pedestrian Issues Children Think the Darnedest Things!

Evaluating the Character of Bloomington’s Youth

Facilitating a Partnership for Youth Social Awareness

Educational Clearinghouse

Pedestrian Accessibility

Empowering Youth for Leadership

Developing Greater Cooperation and Efficiency of the Various Bus Systems in the City of Bloomington

Serving Mentor Needs in Monroe County

“Ad-vancing” Gainful Employment in our Community

New Beginnings: Discovering and Rediscovering the Heart of Your Community

Youth Issues

Supporting Non-Profit Agencies

Economic Expansion with Controlled Growth

Low-Income Representation

Strengthening our Neighborhoods

Court Appointed Special Advocate Funding

Youth Mentoring and Tutoring

Diminishing Government Resources

Downtown Atmosphere

Affordable Housing

Teen Pacesetters

Americans with Disabilities Act

Low-Cost Housing

Gangs

Showers and West Side Development

Team Crestmont

Community Disaster Education Program

Disability Awareness Accessibility Project

Dear President Brand

Housing and Homelessness

Knowledge-Based Business Development in Monroe County

AIDS Prevention

Economic Development (is Bloomington hostile to economic development?)

Child Health Screening

Life Skills Training

Urban Enterprise Zone

Emergency Products/Services Program

Parenting Assistance Assessment Survey

Foster Care Program Marketing Project

Teen Activities Survey

Senior Leadership Bloomington

RSVP Volunteer Opportunities Strategy Group

The ABC’s of Starting a Day Care

Bloomington Community Foundation Strategy Group

“Just Ask for Help?” brochure for high school students at risk

Household Hazardous Waste Disposal Strategy Group

Central Social Service Intake Center

Goal: To create a Bloomington resource guide for low-income families and distribute it to local social service agencies.

City of Bloomington Master Plan

Goal: To arrange neighborhood meetings to discuss the upcoming Master Plan and the results of a telephone survey on bicycle and pedestrian issues.

Two-Mile Fringe

Goal: To introduce a city/county planning and zooming jurisdiction and authority to be printed in the local telephone directory.

Citizen’s Involvement in the Schools (Monroe County Resource Manual)

Goal: To distribute a resource manual to MCCSC schools listing individuals willing to share skills and knowledge in the classroom.

Low-Income Medical Facility

Goal: To survey doctors and trustees on the feasibility of a low-income medical facility.

Organization of Community Events w/Resource Manual for Events and Festivals

County Master Plan

Participant: Bill Stuebe.

Goal: To study the problems and processes of planning for county officials.

Low-Cost Housing

Participants: Marcy Wenzler and Tim Henke.

Goal: To study the problem of low-cost housing in Bloomington and to form a business called HS Partners to build low-income housing.

Skilled Labor Education

Citizen Involvement in the Schools (HT Supplement: Ready, Set, Summer!)

Participant: Paula McDevitt.

Goal: To create a guide to summer activities for Bloomington children.

An Examination of Minority Participation in Leadership Bloomington

Continuing Education in Bloomington and Surrounding Areas

Bloomington’s Master Plan

Socio-Economic Impact of Local Industry on Monroe County

Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety

Participant: Scott Thompson.

Goal: To establish a bicycle and pedestrian safety commission for Bloomington. Also to eventually employ a bicycle and pedestrian safety coordinator who would advocate for walkers and bikers in city planning, zoning, traffic and recreation.

The Future of Indiana University-Bloomington

Goodwill Store

Participant: Darlene Cook.

Goal: To bring a Goodwill store to Bloomington.

Incentives for Economic Development

Monroe County/Industry/Business Survey