By: Michelle Kinsey—
Muncie, IN—Motivate Our Minds is growing. Literally.
Motivate Our Minds will have its 31st Anniversary Dinner May 16 at Cornerstone Center for the Arts, 520 E. Main St., with part of the proceeds benefiting its new community garden.
Tickets are $50 a person or $400 for a table of 8. For more information or reservations, please go to www.motivateourminds.org.
The theme for this year’s dinner is “Every child is a different kind of flower and all together make this world a beautiful garden.”
“MOM has a tradition of learning through gardening,” said Holly Ford, interim executive director of MOM. “Just as a garden grows and flourishes when we provide the care it needs, children and families grow and flourish when we provide educational opportunities and support.”
This annual fundraising dinner, which supports overall operating and programming costs, will help MOM transition to a new garden space by the historic Shaffer Chapel. This Motivate Our Minds Community Garden will, Ford said, be a “place for children, families and community members to congregate and learn together.”
The garden is currently in its design phase, with help from Pam Harwood, professor of architecture at Ball State University.
MOM also plans to upgrade the center’s technology offerings, including a mobile iPad lab, new computers in the center’s lab and more.
Motivate Our Minds mission to educate and empower children began in 1987 with a “seed,” planted by Mary Dollison and Raushanah Shabazz during a summer program in Dollison’s living room.
MOM now offers year-round academic and enrichment programs for children in kindergarten through eighth grade on its own Whitely Neighborhood campus.
“Motivate Our Minds has now had 31 years of rich experience transforming the lives of children and families through education and love,” said Marchal Hudson, MOM Board President. “MOM works tirelessly engaging students in activities and programs that enhance their learning and social skills, while helping them realize their individual potential. And the MOM staff, board members, community partners, volunteers and countless donors contribute to every success, every day at MOM.”
MOM is currently in search of its new executive director. Monique Armstrong, who led MOM for a decade, left the center in February to take a position with TeenWorks.
For more information about Motivate Our Minds, go to www.motivateourminds.org.
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