Muncie, IN – Champions for a Safe Community has awarded grants to 11 organizations totaling over $55,000 to date. Champions for a Safe Community is funded by 100 Men Who Cook to support organizations within the community to provide programming, services, and activities that endeavor to reduce violence as well as provide security and care for victims of violence.
Champions for a Safe Community will consider support to not-for-profits, civic, business, and government organizations to support the development and delivery of innovative solutions, otherwise unavailable in our community, designed to make our community a safer place to live, work, and play.
Here is a breakdown of the organizations receiving funds:
Muncie Unity Center – Total Award: $10,000.00
The Muncie Unity Center’s mission is to unify the Muncie community by enhancing quality of life for all of its residents in a safe, comfortable and supportive environment with cultural, educational, recreational, spiritual experiences and development of life skills, values, health and well-being.
Program: Reduce Gun Violence
The project is aimed at increasing the awareness of community gun violence and seeks to empower youth to their ability as individuals to combat violence in their community. The project’s objective is to create a safe haven and hub for the prevention of gun violence in the Muncie community. It is expected that 1,000+ youths will participate in the program.
Ball State University Center for Peace and Conflict Studies – Total Award: $3,000.00
Organization’s Mission Statement: Founded in 1988 and guided by a 19‐person interdisciplinary Board, the Center for Peace and Conflict Studies conducts research and implements programs worldwide to address and prevent various forms of structural and direct violence and conflict, and promotes nonviolent strategies (e.g., mediation; meditation) to resolve conflict in the community and at the university The Center hosts a number of organizations including the Muncie Interfaith Fellowship and the BSU Social Justice League and coordinates an undergraduate minor at peace studies at Ball State.
Program: Benjamin V. Cohen Peace Conference: Peace it Troubled Times
This is a two-day conference to be held in Muncie and featuring panel, paper, and poster presentations. Conference speakers will present on subjects such as religious intolerance and/or conflict; community peacebuilding; structural violence relative to race, gender, sexuality, class, and religion; justice and reconciliation; race relations; international peacemaking and peacebuilding; preventing school and university violence; domestic violence; poverty; law enforcement and persons of color; environmental preservation; and human rights. The strategies, research, policies, and recommendations presented and discussed at the conference related to peacemaking and peacebuilding will serve to explore and strengthen the bridge between activism, teaching, and research.
BY5 Early Childhood Initiative – Total Award: $6,380.00
BY5 is the leading organization for early childhood awareness in Muncie and Delaware Co., Indiana. Through of variety of task forces and volunteer efforts, we improve opportunities for children ages 0-5 to reach their full developmental potential.
Program: Strengthening Families Program
Strengthening Families is a 14 week family skills training intervention program aimed at strengthening parenting and family functioning. This program will be piloted at Southview Elementary with the hope of eventually having multiple programs throughout our county in high needs areas.
Southside Middle School Panther Pantry – Total Award: $5,068.16
The Panther Pantry provides weekend food assistance to students in need. It also provides clothing, coats, shoes and personal items to students. The pantry started in November of 2015 and fed 3 students the first weekend. Now they are serving 40. Our award will provide funds for a commercial refrigerator, commercial freezer, shelving and new washer and dryer to clean donated clothes. Through a new partnership with Second Harvest food bank, the Panther Pantry will now be providing monthly food assistance to Southside families also. Muncie Community schools hope to replicate this project is other area schools.
Southside Middle School Panther Café – Total Award: $1,338.62
The Panther Café is a bi-weekly program for Special Education students that teaches students important life skills. The café gives them a “real world” experience, where they learn how to plan, follow directions, add money, count money, make change and practice skills they will need in the future. The café has been a source of pride for students who have struggled to maintain behaviors and succeed in the classroom in the past. These students has seen a huge decrease in problem behaviors and a remarkable increase in classroom grades. Our award will allow them to purchase a new refrigerator, stove, and dishwasher as well as other small kitchen items.
Muncie Black Expo – Teen Empowerment Summit – Total Award: $5,000.00
The Muncie Black Expo will host a Teen Empowerment Summit: “A Call to Nonviolence”. The free Teen Empowerment Summit will educate empower, and aid youth in the prevention of direct violence, conflict resolution, mediation, as well as to teach nonviolent strategies for conflict resolution between youth, with an emphasis being on African American youth within the urban community.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Delaware County – Mentoring Program – Total Award: $8,980.00
This award will cover the expenses of 20 people (10 matches) in Big Brothers Big Sisters of Delaware County Mentoring Program. Big Brothers Big Sisters’ one-to-one mentoring program is proven by independent studies to help communities by improving the odds that children will perform better in school, avoid violence and risky behaviors, and have stronger relationships with their parents and others.
Inside Out Community Development – Fresh Directions – Hot Meals for Kids – Total Award: $6,000.00
Inside Out Community Development’s mission is to empower vulnerable people at our community’s core. The Fresh Directions – Hot Meals for Kids program teams with community organizations that serve a vulnerable demographic to provide food insecure individuals with nutritious meals and wholesome snacks. The Champions for a Safe Community award of $6,000 will enable them to feed 100 children for one month this summer.
The Muncie Action Plan – Facing Racism – Total Award: $7,500.00
Facing Racism is a project that will explore the impacts of racism and the meaning of race in peoples’ lives. Engaging with the personal stories and evocative theater performances as well as dialogue, they will explore both negative and positive aspects of race. Stories and programs will expose the harmful nature of structural or institutional racism, and reveal the ways in which our community can triumph over ignorance and best address issues of race. Facing Racism will educate, inform, and encourage ongoing dialogue to mobilize community action. The project expects to impact at least 2000 people. Champions for a Safe Community award of $7,500 will provide 50% of their funding.
Teamwork for Quality Living – Additional Programing – Total Award: $2,500.00
Teamwork for Quality Living’s mission it to empower people in poverty toward self-sufficiency. A $2,500 award from Champions for a Safe Community will allow them to provide additional programing for the children of the families they serve. This programming will help children build confidence, character, control and integrity.
About Old National
Old National Bancorp (NASDAQ: ONB) is the largest financial services holding company headquartered in Indiana and, with $12.0 billion in assets, ranks among the top 100 banking companies in the U.S. Since its founding in Evansville in 1834, Old National has focused on community banking by building long-term, highly valued partnerships with clients. Today, Old National’s footprint includes Indiana, Western Kentucky and Louisville, Southern Illinois and Central and Western Michigan. In addition to providing extensive services in retail and commercial banking, wealth management, investments and brokerage, Old National also owns Old National Insurance, one of the 100 largest brokers in the U.S. For more information and financial data, please visit Investor Relations at oldnational.com.
