WEBVTT 00:00:00.322 --> 00:00:09.922 - Good evening, everyone. I'm Asia Jester, Monroe County Community School Board representative for District 00:00:09.922 --> 00:00:19.250 - 7. I am delighted today to welcome you to the 2026 Be More Awards presented by the City of Bloomington 00:00:19.250 --> 00:00:28.126 - Volunteer Network. In 1980, Mayor Frank McCloskey established the city's Office for Volunteerism. 00:00:28.770 --> 00:00:37.525 - This act made Bloomington the second city in the nation following New York City to establish a division 00:00:37.525 --> 00:00:46.279 - of municipal government dedicated to fostering volunteerism and promoting community service. Since that 00:00:46.279 --> 00:00:54.698 - time, Bloomington's volunteer network has supported exponential growth of local nonprofit industry. 00:00:54.698 --> 00:00:58.654 - Through peer and expert-led training sessions, 00:00:59.042 --> 00:01:06.411 - boots on the ground volunteer coordination support, and the creation and ongoing evolution 00:01:06.411 --> 00:01:14.752 - of bloomingtonvolunteernetwork.org. The BVN has helped local nonprofits build healthy dependable basis 00:01:14.752 --> 00:01:22.849 - of volunteer support. Volunteers are crucial to the high quality of life that we experience here in 00:01:22.849 --> 00:01:23.902 - Bloomington. 00:01:25.026 --> 00:01:33.908 - A volunteer who commits to regular service hours helps a charitable organization serve more meals, rehome 00:01:33.908 --> 00:01:42.371 - more animals, or build more houses, while simultaneously supporting the work of paid staff. When you 00:01:42.371 --> 00:01:50.834 - talk about local nonprofit leaders, they will tell you none of the miraculous programs our community 00:01:50.834 --> 00:01:54.270 - rely on are possible without volunteers. 00:01:56.002 --> 00:02:05.070 - In the difficult economic times we are facing, the role of volunteers to support social service, arts, 00:02:05.070 --> 00:02:14.049 - and public welfare programs our community relies on cannot be understated. As our selection committee 00:02:14.049 --> 00:02:22.853 - reviewed this year's impressive batch of nominees, we encountered a trend. During the 2025 multiple 00:02:22.853 --> 00:02:25.406 - organizations in Bloomington 00:02:25.794 --> 00:02:33.682 - told us that they had experienced such a decrease in federal funds that elements of their programming 00:02:33.682 --> 00:02:42.033 - could not have survived were it not for the dedicated volunteer or volunteer groups. Stepping in, sometimes 00:02:42.033 --> 00:02:49.844 - even taking on the workload of a full-time employee and kept vital community programming operational 00:02:49.844 --> 00:02:55.102 - for free. Tonight, at the end of another day where we have no doubt 00:02:55.554 --> 00:03:03.754 - seen scary things in the news, we are gathered to do what Mr. Rogers implored us to do. Look for the 00:03:03.754 --> 00:03:12.198 - helpers, because there are always helpers. Tonight, we will honor eight volunteers or volunteer groups, 00:03:12.198 --> 00:03:20.398 - helpers, whose dedication to volunteerism provided critical support to our community in 2025. Now, I 00:03:20.398 --> 00:03:23.646 - would like to welcome Marcus Whitehead, 00:03:23.842 --> 00:03:32.432 - the Program Director for Community Foundation of Bloomington and Monroe County. Thank you so much, Asia. 00:03:32.432 --> 00:03:40.777 - I got to say, I'm really glad to have Asia in seeing the event tonight. I've got to know her over the 00:03:40.777 --> 00:03:47.486 - last year or so, and she is an outstanding human being. So Asia, congratulations. 00:03:51.714 --> 00:03:59.510 - As she said, my name is Marcus Whited. I am the program director at the Community Foundation of Bloomington 00:03:59.510 --> 00:04:06.800 - and Monroe County. You know, when I was in the early days of my career, I was thinking about this. I 00:04:06.800 --> 00:04:14.163 - had the valuable, what I consider valuable life experience of working directly with at-risk youth and 00:04:14.163 --> 00:04:21.598 - their families during times of crisis. Each one of those families was going through a really difficult 00:04:21.826 --> 00:04:30.031 - Period of time and I remember I remember this vividly. I remember at one point having a conversation 00:04:30.031 --> 00:04:38.155 - with a seasoned volunteer coordinators name was skip I haven't talked to skip for a long long time, 00:04:38.155 --> 00:04:46.848 - but he made an impression on me because I remember this conversation that we were having and I was talking 00:04:46.848 --> 00:04:48.798 - with him about how just 00:04:49.218 --> 00:04:56.572 - noticeably profound that the impact that the volunteers that we had were having on these at-risk youth 00:04:56.572 --> 00:05:03.855 - and their families that were going through difficult times. And I was just telling them how important 00:05:03.855 --> 00:05:11.066 - that was. And he said something I've remembered now for like 30 years. He said, you know, there's no 00:05:11.066 --> 00:05:17.278 - question the impact that the volunteers have on the folks that they work directly with 00:05:17.730 --> 00:05:27.019 - But what we don't always think about is the effect that they have on everyone else, like us, right? 00:05:27.019 --> 00:05:36.959 - All of us in this room. There's a ripple effect to what they do. It helped me understand that volunteering 00:05:36.959 --> 00:05:45.598 - and serving others, I mean, it creates like a contagious spirit, right? Because when you see 00:05:46.050 --> 00:05:53.804 - people that are serving in this way, and when they're doing it on their own volition, spending their 00:05:53.804 --> 00:06:01.634 - own time doing this, it inspires the rest of us. And so that was something I never really had thought 00:06:01.634 --> 00:06:09.541 - too much about before, but I think that it's a really important thought as we celebrate those that are 00:06:09.541 --> 00:06:11.998 - receiving these awards tonight. 00:06:13.634 --> 00:06:22.135 - As we celebrate these remarkable people, I would encourage you, I know what I'm going to do is I'm gonna 00:06:22.135 --> 00:06:30.475 - think about the ways, yes, of course, that they've lifted other people up, but I also wanna thank them 00:06:30.475 --> 00:06:38.977 - for doing more than that, for inspiring us, for inspiring us to do more ourselves and to be more, right? 00:06:38.977 --> 00:06:42.782 - So I just wanted to share that with you as we, 00:06:42.978 --> 00:06:51.696 - begin this evening. You know, at the Community Foundation of Bloomington Monroe County, we fuel innovative 00:06:51.696 --> 00:07:00.251 - ideas and lasting impact in Monroe County, and we do this in a variety of ways. We make grants, we offer 00:07:00.251 --> 00:07:09.214 - expertise, we collaborate, we kind of synergize to meet others, and kind of work towards the community's most 00:07:09.442 --> 00:07:16.377 - pressing needs and compelling opportunities. And so when we have an opportunity to partner with the 00:07:16.377 --> 00:07:23.936 - City of Bloomington for the Be More Awards every year, we're super excited to do that. It really encompasses 00:07:23.936 --> 00:07:31.079 - the spirit of the work that we try to do. So we're very proud to partner with the City of Bloomington. 00:07:31.079 --> 00:07:38.014 - We will be awarding a $1,000 grant to each of the organizations that are represented by outstanding 00:07:38.014 --> 00:07:38.846 - volunteers. 00:07:39.010 --> 00:07:45.037 - this evening and that's our pleasure to do that. Now before we get started handing out the awards, I 00:07:45.037 --> 00:07:51.302 - do want to recognize the City of Bloomington, the United Way of South Central Indiana, and the IU Credit 00:07:51.302 --> 00:07:57.567 - Union for their sponsorship of this year's program. The Community Foundation and the City of Bloomington 00:07:57.567 --> 00:08:03.653 - Volunteer Network are very grateful for these agencies' investment into this event and to celebrating 00:08:03.653 --> 00:08:08.606 - our community's most outstanding volunteers. So let's give it up for our sponsors. 00:08:15.298 --> 00:08:22.569 - Okay, let's get down to business on this. Let's hand out some awards. The first award of the night, 00:08:22.569 --> 00:08:30.494 - which I have the privilege of announcing, is the Be More Engaged Award. Now, this award honors an individual 00:08:30.494 --> 00:08:31.294 - or a group 00:08:32.290 --> 00:08:39.265 - employed at a business or organization who engages in volunteer activities and programs on behalf of 00:08:39.265 --> 00:08:46.240 - their employer. This year, the Be More Award Selection Committee chose to honor an organization that 00:08:46.240 --> 00:08:53.284 - helps individuals, single or families, find their way out of poverty, which is a great thing. In this 00:08:53.284 --> 00:09:00.190 - unique program, individuals experiencing poverty make a commitment to long-term community building. 00:09:01.346 --> 00:09:08.778 - They're partnered with volunteers from the community who have stable resources and want to understand 00:09:08.778 --> 00:09:16.648 - poverty in a very deep and personal way. The program encourages these partners, and they're called Captains 00:09:16.648 --> 00:09:23.497 - and Allies, which is really cool, to build intentional friendships through acts of mutual aid 00:09:23.497 --> 00:09:31.294 - and volunteerism in the wider community. So many of you recognize who I'm talking about. I'm talking about 00:09:31.426 --> 00:09:43.960 - SCAP's Thriving Connections program. Incidentally, Thriving Connections participated here recently in 00:09:43.960 --> 00:09:56.862 - the Heading Home Housing Summit, and they gave an outstanding presentation, so that was really terrific. 00:09:57.474 --> 00:10:05.465 - So in 2025, the captains and allies of SCAP Thriving Connections experienced the natural but unfortunately 00:10:05.465 --> 00:10:13.680 - timed departure of both full-time staff members. Due to uncertainties surrounding funding and sustainability, 00:10:13.680 --> 00:10:21.522 - the program became dependent on one part-time staff member to keep the whole thing going. Never daunted, 00:10:21.522 --> 00:10:27.422 - the community of captains and allies stepped up to help coordinate the program 00:10:27.586 --> 00:10:34.340 - ensuring participants' needs continued to be met and relationships were kept alive and healthy. For 00:10:34.340 --> 00:10:41.500 - their dedication to eradicating poverty through the commitments to one another in the community at large, 00:10:41.500 --> 00:10:48.255 - the City of Bloomington Volunteer Network is proud to present the 2026 Be More Engaged Award to the 00:10:48.255 --> 00:10:53.118 - Captains and Allies of SCAP's Thriving Connections Program. Come on up. 00:11:06.274 --> 00:11:18.619 - It's so awesome. Who wants the money? I think Eddie. Eddie wants the money. He'll make it up here. Okay. 00:11:18.619 --> 00:11:30.376 - Congratulations. Thanks. Good evening. I am Eliza, and I am a captain. And I am just gonna share my 00:11:30.376 --> 00:11:36.254 - experience and set this down so I don't break it. 00:11:36.482 --> 00:11:44.312 - I joined Thriving Connections looking for a place where I could be myself, but I never expected how 00:11:44.312 --> 00:11:52.378 - much I would receive in return. My children and I haven't been around anything of this magnitude. This 00:11:52.378 --> 00:12:00.208 - journey has fundamentally changed my life by teaching me that true service is a circle. While I set 00:12:00.208 --> 00:12:03.262 - out to offer my time and my skills and 00:12:03.778 --> 00:12:11.063 - to find a place to have a sense of belonging, the community offered me perspective, resilience, and 00:12:11.063 --> 00:12:18.786 - a deeper sense of belonging. This is the beauty of reciprocity. When we lift others, we inevitably lifted 00:12:18.786 --> 00:12:26.654 - ourselves. At Thriving Connections, volunteering isn't just a solo act of kindness. It is a shared exchange 00:12:26.654 --> 00:12:31.390 - that strengthens the heart of volunteers as much as their lives. 00:12:31.554 --> 00:12:38.425 - of the lives of the ones that we serve. Yes, adding to what Eliza stated, I'm Shekay. I've also been 00:12:38.425 --> 00:12:45.228 - a part of Thriving Connections for a while, and I, too, am thankful for this cycle. Because without 00:12:45.228 --> 00:12:49.854 - the volunteers, Thriving Connections would not be what it is to us. 00:12:51.394 --> 00:12:57.191 - Our allies volunteer their time, wisdom. Many in the community volunteer their services, and all of 00:12:57.191 --> 00:13:02.989 - this has empowered not just myself, but my children. Being able to experience things that would not 00:13:02.989 --> 00:13:08.322 - normally be available to those of us living in poverty, i.e. poetry writing classes, dance, 00:13:08.322 --> 00:13:14.236 - track opportunities, speaking engagements, not for us, but for our children, and just having a deeper 00:13:14.236 --> 00:13:17.598 - understanding of what and how you can get out of poverty. 00:13:19.522 --> 00:13:25.516 - credit budgeting courses, tutoring, among many other things. Having these opportunities opened our minds 00:13:25.516 --> 00:13:31.453 - to how we can give back. So we as a collective make blankets for those in need, preparing survival bags 00:13:31.453 --> 00:13:32.766 - for those who need it. 00:13:32.834 --> 00:13:38.943 - cleaning after the Pride Fest, and then individually, we have folks who volunteer on commissions, 00:13:38.943 --> 00:13:45.301 - lead PTOs, teach youth step and dance, among many other things. I mean, when you're then 10-year-old, 00:13:45.301 --> 00:13:51.722 - it's trying to find ways to give back. It just does something to you. As a community, we want to thank 00:13:51.722 --> 00:13:56.958 - the city of Bloomington. We want to thank the Bloomington Foundation for seeing us. 00:13:57.410 --> 00:14:06.482 - for seeing us worthy, and in all actuality, it's only right that we get out here and invest in our community 00:14:06.482 --> 00:14:15.054 - how they have invested in us. Because what I learned is, it works. It really makes a difference in you 00:14:15.054 --> 00:14:23.710 - and those you are helping. Thank you guys so much. Thank you. And if we have a quick second, are you... 00:14:23.842 --> 00:14:29.758 - wants to say something because we not only encouraging volunteers in our adults, we do it in our youth. 00:14:53.730 --> 00:14:56.062 - Thank you guys. 00:15:53.058 --> 00:15:59.211 - Hello, my name is Cassie Hacken. I am the marketing director at Constellation Stage and Screen, and 00:15:59.211 --> 00:16:05.672 - I will be presenting the Be More Creative Award. The Be More Creative Award honors volunteer work within 00:16:05.672 --> 00:16:11.826 - the Bloomington Arts community. This year, the selection committee chose to honor a nominee working 00:16:11.826 --> 00:16:14.718 - in the oft-overlooked creative field of radio. 00:16:15.618 --> 00:16:22.069 - WFHB's youth radio program provides youth in Bloomington the opportunity to create and produce original 00:16:22.069 --> 00:16:28.582 - radio shows on topics that they are interested in. High school student Winnie Dong used this opportunity 00:16:28.582 --> 00:16:34.970 - to create What the Health? an original show exploring health related topics. On the show, local health 00:16:34.970 --> 00:16:41.421 - care experts are interviewed about health care, the wellness industry, and about what it takes to forge 00:16:41.421 --> 00:16:43.902 - a career in medicine in related fields. 00:16:44.162 --> 00:16:51.142 - As the show's creator and producer, Winnie does it all. She conducts interviews, researches guests, 00:16:51.142 --> 00:16:58.680 - edits audio, and promotes the show on social media. For her work producing original media at WFHB Community 00:16:58.680 --> 00:17:05.729 - Radio, the City of Bloomington Volunteer Network is proud to present the 2026 Be More Creative Award 00:17:05.729 --> 00:17:06.846 - to Winnie Dong. 00:17:51.490 --> 00:17:57.709 - Hi. I'm overjoyed to receive this award today. A big thanks to my mom and dad who are in the crowd, 00:17:57.709 --> 00:18:04.240 - and to everybody at WFHB, especially my youth radio director, Jesse. And a huge thanks to all my friends 00:18:04.240 --> 00:18:10.770 - in the crowd, too. I'm so glad you guys were all able to make it to celebrate this moment with me. Today 00:18:10.770 --> 00:18:17.363 - on the stage, I would like to share a quote from Cheryl Lee Ralph, a human rights activist who has shaped 00:18:17.363 --> 00:18:20.286 - my perspective and influenced my work at WFHB. 00:18:21.154 --> 00:18:29.800 - She says, just because you have rights today does not mean you will have rights tomorrow. Do not sit 00:18:29.800 --> 00:18:38.618 - there in your happiness. Do not sit there looking good thinking that you have won the fight. The fight 00:18:38.618 --> 00:18:47.607 - has just begun. My platform at WFHB has always been for the people and the public. Here, we do not erase 00:18:47.607 --> 00:18:49.918 - history. We learn from it. 00:18:50.882 --> 00:18:58.980 - We do not only hear from medical professionals about their careers, but about their impact on society. 00:18:58.980 --> 00:19:07.314 - As a woman and a first-generation student, I have faced many battles in my life. The right to have health 00:19:07.314 --> 00:19:15.647 - care for my parents, the right to have an education, and the right to have my work recognized. And today, 00:19:15.647 --> 00:19:20.286 - for the first time, I believe that hard work does pay off. 00:19:20.418 --> 00:19:27.445 - is a victory to all the young women in the world who have been shunned, who have been told that they 00:19:27.445 --> 00:19:34.471 - are not enough and are discouraged from being creative and expressive. I stand here to tell you, you 00:19:34.471 --> 00:19:37.950 - can do anything you put your minds to. Thank you. 00:20:11.074 --> 00:20:17.478 - Good evening. My name is Leanne Schwartz and I am the Youth Prevention Specialist for the Youth Services 00:20:17.478 --> 00:20:23.699 - Bureau here in Monroe County. And I facilitate one of the larger prevention subcommittees, the Monroe 00:20:23.699 --> 00:20:29.981 - County Youth Council. MCYC provides leadership opportunities to all Monroe County high school students 00:20:29.981 --> 00:20:33.214 - through advocacy, community engagement, and service. 00:20:33.442 --> 00:20:40.590 - The culmination of the Council's work happens in April during Global Youth Service Month, where members 00:20:40.590 --> 00:20:47.807 - plan and facilitate service projects, and they put in a lot of work, and you can really see their skills 00:20:47.807 --> 00:20:55.230 - there, which is awesome. These are our representatives of our 2026 projects. My name is Anaya Boone, and as 00:20:55.458 --> 00:21:01.271 - As the representative for the Policy and Advocacy Subcommittee, I am pleased to share with you our Global 00:21:01.271 --> 00:21:07.139 - Youth Service Week project. This year, we developed a Google form to survey high school students regarding 00:21:07.139 --> 00:21:12.842 - the impact of balancing employment with academic responsibilities. Our survey aims to determine whether 00:21:12.842 --> 00:21:18.436 - students experience burnout as a result of managing both schoolwork and employment, thereby assessing 00:21:18.436 --> 00:21:21.726 - the correlation between these activities and mental health. 00:21:21.954 --> 00:21:27.665 - Our objective is to foster a sense of community among students facing these challenges and to quantify 00:21:27.665 --> 00:21:33.211 - this correlation and support a future policy initiatives designed to improve student mental health. 00:21:33.211 --> 00:21:38.811 - While the data collection is still in progress, we have approximately 40 responses. Reach out if you 00:21:38.811 --> 00:21:43.358 - are interested in partnering with a similar project with us next year. Thank you. 00:21:50.466 --> 00:21:55.510 - Hello, my name is Shayan Shams. I'm a leader of the Community Engagement Subcommittee in MCYC. This 00:21:55.510 --> 00:22:00.856 - year we hosted a pickleball tournament open to all ages and skill levels. We partnered with the Warehouse 00:22:00.856 --> 00:22:06.203 - and Bloomington Pickleball Club, and we had an amazing tournament with 20 participants and 15 volunteers, 00:22:06.203 --> 00:22:11.448 - and truly accomplished our goal of raising money for the Warehouse and MCYC at the same time. We cannot 00:22:11.448 --> 00:22:14.878 - wait to see you all next year, and thank you so much for your time. 00:22:24.706 --> 00:22:30.163 - Hello, everyone. My name is Lien Suleiman, and I'm the representative of the Monroe County Youth Council's 00:22:30.163 --> 00:22:35.364 - Education Subcommittee, specifically STEM-UP. The Education Subcommittee helped facilitate a combined 00:22:35.364 --> 00:22:40.770 - event on April 17th with the Environment and Mental Health Subcommittee. We partnered with the Brandecker 00:22:40.770 --> 00:22:45.971 - Center to host a community science experimentation event for students from kindergarten through sixth 00:22:45.971 --> 00:22:51.122 - grade to learn about STEM. Our goal is to make STEM interactive, engaging, accessible, and hands-on. 00:22:51.122 --> 00:22:52.958 - Students created optical illusions, 00:22:53.122 --> 00:23:00.134 - learned about circuits, and observed callous reactions. The event was a success. With your help, we 00:23:00.134 --> 00:23:06.724 - wish to lead the next global service day with greater impact. Thank you. I'm Noah Gordon, and 00:23:06.724 --> 00:23:13.946 - I'm representing the environmental subcommittee. Our combined event this year had 44 participants, and 00:23:13.946 --> 00:23:20.958 - our project was opening a donation drive for nine different community organizations in Bloomington. 00:23:21.666 --> 00:23:27.328 - Creating one centralized location for participants to donate items for multiple organizations really 00:23:27.328 --> 00:23:32.935 - simplified the donation process and helped raise awareness for community organizations people might 00:23:32.935 --> 00:23:38.653 - not have known of in another way. Our event, Donate and Decorate, was a great success and we received 00:23:38.653 --> 00:23:44.372 - many donations for different organizations. We are at the Banneker Center and are open for donations, 00:23:44.372 --> 00:23:46.334 - so feel free to stop by to donate. 00:23:46.434 --> 00:23:53.304 - Please contact us using the emails behind us if your organization is interested in receiving donations, 00:23:53.304 --> 00:24:00.305 - and thank you. Hello, everybody. My name is Winnie Dong, and I'm the representative for the Mental Health 00:24:00.305 --> 00:24:07.439 - Self Committee. This year, we created an event station that allowed community members to express themselves 00:24:07.439 --> 00:24:14.242 - through various art mediums. With our project, we hope to spark open conversations about mental health 00:24:14.242 --> 00:24:16.158 - and support self-expression. 00:24:16.482 --> 00:24:22.977 - Many of our children depicted what they valued at the time, such as their parents or their house, while 00:24:22.977 --> 00:24:29.722 - others were, let's just say, more abstract. Either way, the event was a huge success, and we were fortunate 00:24:29.722 --> 00:24:36.279 - enough to have PizzaX donate pizzas for a combined event. With your help, we hope to make an even bigger 00:24:36.279 --> 00:24:38.590 - impact next year. Thank you so much. 00:24:44.258 --> 00:24:51.282 - My name is Melanie Vestledge. I'm the prevention coordinator at Youth Services Bureau, and I also support 00:24:51.282 --> 00:24:58.306 - MCYC. And aren't these teens just fabulous? They are awesome. It has been a great experience facilitating 00:24:58.306 --> 00:25:05.066 - connections with community partners to create opportunities for folks to learn and grow in service to 00:25:05.066 --> 00:25:11.957 - the broader Monroe County community. And this doesn't happen in a silo, right? It happens by developing 00:25:11.957 --> 00:25:13.150 - relationships and 00:25:13.410 --> 00:25:19.103 - So if you are an agency that's interested in working with MCYC and our teens, either as an adult ally 00:25:19.103 --> 00:25:24.908 - or co-planning one of our 2027 Global Youth Service Day projects like these, please reach out to myself 00:25:24.908 --> 00:25:26.750 - or Leanne. So thank you so much. 00:25:46.242 --> 00:25:52.440 - Hello, good evening. My name is Suzanne Allen and I'm the Director of IU Core at Indiana University's 00:25:52.440 --> 00:25:58.760 - Office of Student Life. IU Core serves as the front door to the Bloomington campus, serving as a bridge 00:25:58.760 --> 00:26:04.898 - to connect community partners and student volunteers through meaningful volunteer experiences shaped 00:26:04.898 --> 00:26:06.782 - by community identified needs. 00:26:09.858 --> 00:26:17.771 - We are grateful to our nonprofit partners for the invaluable experiences and relationships they create 00:26:17.771 --> 00:26:25.607 - with IU students, faculty, and staff. To connect with IU Corp, email us at iucorps.edu or stop by our 00:26:25.607 --> 00:26:33.443 - table in the outer lobby after the event. We would love to meet you. As a firm believer in the impact 00:26:33.443 --> 00:26:38.590 - young people can make in their communities and in their own lives, 00:26:38.690 --> 00:26:46.045 - Through dedicated volunteer service, IU Core is proud to present this year's Be More Energized Award 00:26:46.045 --> 00:26:54.055 - honoring an individual or volunteer group under the age of 25. This year's Be More Energized Award recognizes 00:26:54.055 --> 00:27:02.065 - a group of IU Bloomington students who have delivered age-appropriate after-school programming in information 00:27:02.065 --> 00:27:07.454 - systems, coding, and robotics to 400 boys and girls clubs of Bloomington, 00:27:07.938 --> 00:27:14.501 - Boys and Girls Club members of Bloomington Club members over the past five years. During their Teach 00:27:14.501 --> 00:27:21.520 - IT sessions, the students of Serve IT provide critical skills to help young people navigate an increasingly 00:27:21.520 --> 00:27:28.148 - technological society. Boys and Girls Club staff remark in their nomination how grateful they are for 00:27:28.148 --> 00:27:35.166 - the resources and skills training Teach IT provides. Without the students who run these programs, they say, 00:27:35.586 --> 00:27:43.263 - the clubs would not be able to offer this level of technological and digital education. For their dedication 00:27:43.263 --> 00:27:50.306 - to educating the next generation of coders, informatics experts, and robotics enthusiasts, the City 00:27:50.306 --> 00:27:57.278 - of Bloomington Volunteer Network is proud to present the 2026 Be More Energized Award to Serve IT. 00:28:42.594 --> 00:28:50.474 - Thank you. My name is Eunith Acker. I'm the director of Serve IT, and Teach IT is one of our biggest 00:28:50.474 --> 00:28:58.353 - teams. I'm really proud of it, because it was my baby at the beginning, back in 2016. We really grew 00:28:58.353 --> 00:29:06.155 - it, and part of growing it involved the Boys and Girls Club, because they have several clubs. So we 00:29:06.155 --> 00:29:09.822 - were able to really expand what we were doing. 00:29:10.946 --> 00:29:18.227 - Since 2016, we've sent nearly 150 teams of students to lead fun technology workshops in the Bloomington 00:29:18.227 --> 00:29:25.437 - area. Each team visits their site to lead 10 sessions per semester, adding up to nearly 1,500 sessions 00:29:25.437 --> 00:29:32.438 - since 2016. Through these sessions, kids explore problem solving, creating digital images, learning 00:29:32.438 --> 00:29:35.518 - to write code, and more recently, robotics. 00:29:35.618 --> 00:29:42.824 - Perhaps most importantly though, our local youth get to connect with amazing college students like these 00:29:42.824 --> 00:29:47.902 - who make technology and hopefully college feel approachable and exciting. 00:29:48.546 --> 00:29:55.144 - I know we had some rough news over the weekend, but if you are tempted to think that having young adults 00:29:55.144 --> 00:30:01.490 - in your town will cause problems, I want you to remember these young adults who jumped at the chance 00:30:01.490 --> 00:30:07.900 - to bring the excitement they find in technology to kids who might not get the chance for this kind of 00:30:07.900 --> 00:30:14.497 - programming elsewhere. So I feel so lucky to get the opportunity to work with such amazing, hardworking, 00:30:14.497 --> 00:30:18.142 - earnest students and can't wait to see what they do next. 00:30:18.498 --> 00:30:28.382 - Help me give them a large round of applause for their work. Thank you. 00:31:01.218 --> 00:31:08.979 - Hello, excuse me. Hello, my name is Raquel Anderson and I'm a board member for Centro Comunal Latino. 00:31:08.979 --> 00:31:17.272 - And I am excited to present the 2026 Be More Bloomington Award honoring an individual or group demonstrating 00:31:17.272 --> 00:31:24.956 - excellence in addressing the issues of 2025. In 2025, the issue of immigrant and refugee welfare was 00:31:24.956 --> 00:31:30.206 - front and center for our community. As organizations like El Centro, 00:31:30.754 --> 00:31:37.895 - Exodus Refugee Migration and the Bloomington Refugee Support Network faced uncertainty and a growing 00:31:37.895 --> 00:31:45.178 - sense of danger for their clients. They called for assistance from the community. Many individuals and 00:31:45.178 --> 00:31:52.249 - groups rushed to answer this call. Last year, David Mayer, a longtime volunteer with multiple local 00:31:52.249 --> 00:31:59.390 - refugee support organizations and co-chair of community service for the Rotary Clubs of Bloomington, 00:32:00.066 --> 00:32:08.899 - arranged for the Bloomington Rotary Clubs to support an Afghan refugee family of four. Fiscally supported 00:32:08.899 --> 00:32:17.566 - by the club, David worked countless hours to help this family meet a variety of basic needs. Then, last 00:32:17.566 --> 00:32:26.399 - spring, the husband of one of the family members was arrested by ICE agents after leaving English classes 00:32:26.399 --> 00:32:29.982 - at Broadview Learning Center. Immediately, 00:32:30.178 --> 00:32:38.633 - David sprung into action. He secured appropriate legal representation for the man and raised $10,000 00:32:38.633 --> 00:32:46.334 - in financial support for this case. For his work to protect and serve immigrant communities 00:32:46.334 --> 00:32:55.040 - in the Bloomington area, the City of Bloomington Volunteer Network is proud to present the 2026 Be More 00:32:55.040 --> 00:32:57.886 - Bloomington Award to David Meyer. 00:33:33.538 --> 00:33:40.632 - Well, there has been a lot of darkness in matters of immigration over the last year, but I'd like to 00:33:40.632 --> 00:33:47.726 - focus on the bright side of all of this. First of all, I'd like to thank the Bloomington Rotary Club 00:33:47.726 --> 00:33:55.102 - and most especially the Bloomington Rotary Foundation, which was a partner in raising the money in order 00:33:55.102 --> 00:34:02.407 - to help that unjustly incarcerated individual from the family that we supported. I'd also like to honor 00:34:02.407 --> 00:34:03.390 - the countless 00:34:03.746 --> 00:34:11.532 - literally countless volunteers in the community that have worked over the last several years to help 00:34:11.532 --> 00:34:19.318 - refugees begin their lives anew in the United States in our community of Bloomington. Bloomington is 00:34:19.318 --> 00:34:27.412 - a remarkable place and could not be a better place for refugees to be resettled because as you all know, 00:34:27.412 --> 00:34:33.502 - everyone that is sitting here, Bloomington is incredibly welcoming, very open, 00:34:33.954 --> 00:34:43.307 - and does not prejudge people by their appearance, their culture, their religion, or any other matter. 00:34:43.307 --> 00:34:52.844 - They judge people by their character and the kind of people they choose to be. So I'd like to make sure 00:34:52.844 --> 00:35:02.014 - I make Bloomington aware of how unique we truly are in this world. I did have the luxury of working 00:35:02.014 --> 00:35:03.390 - with refugees. 00:35:03.586 --> 00:35:12.265 - I was able to work with a variety of other people, volunteers, I just, as I say, representing those 00:35:12.265 --> 00:35:21.031 - folks. Six refugee families in total starting in December of 2021 when the second Afghan family that 00:35:21.031 --> 00:35:29.796 - came to Bloomington after leaving Afghanistan after it fell to the Taliban arrived on December 26th, 00:35:29.796 --> 00:35:31.966 - the day after Christmas, 00:35:32.098 --> 00:35:41.959 - on 2021. And we met a shell shocked husband and wife with two small children and a pregnant mother was 00:35:41.959 --> 00:35:51.533 - pregnant at the time. So it was it was quite an experience. And then five more families after after 00:35:51.533 --> 00:35:56.990 - that. One of the last ones being the family that had the 00:35:57.090 --> 00:36:06.135 - gentlemen arrested and detained before we were able to secure his release through raising money for 00:36:06.135 --> 00:36:15.179 - legal defense and federal court for illegal detention. But I would say it's an odd award to get for 00:36:15.179 --> 00:36:22.686 - volunteerism because I honestly feel that I have gotten more out of my interaction 00:36:22.850 --> 00:36:31.191 - with these remarkable people who are starting their lives anew here in the United States, then I certainly 00:36:31.191 --> 00:36:39.142 - have given. They are resilient people, they are determined people, and they are very grateful for the 00:36:39.142 --> 00:36:47.016 - opportunity to have a second chance to begin their lives anew. So with that, I will end and say that 00:36:47.016 --> 00:36:49.822 - I do hope and pray that our country 00:36:49.954 --> 00:36:57.765 - will once again become a welcoming place for those that have fled violence in their home countries and 00:36:57.765 --> 00:36:59.358 - refugees. Thank you. 00:37:20.482 --> 00:37:26.098 - Hello, my name is Julius Mitchell, and I'm the Legislative Affairs Specialist for the City of Bloomington 00:37:26.098 --> 00:37:31.449 - Office of the Mayor. The City of Bloomington currently supports 54 boards and commissions covering a 00:37:31.449 --> 00:37:37.118 - range of special interests, from public transportation to arts to urban enterprise to the Tree Commission. 00:37:37.118 --> 00:37:42.416 - These bodies were created to open the door to citizen involvement in city projects and services. If 00:37:42.416 --> 00:37:48.350 - you're passionate about a subject impacting public life and are interested in making change at the local level, 00:37:48.450 --> 00:37:53.803 - I invite you to start by serving on a city board or commission. Just scan the QR code for a full list 00:37:53.803 --> 00:37:59.209 - of current commission openings. As a passionate advocate for community service, I'm excited to present 00:37:59.209 --> 00:38:04.509 - this year's Be More Involved Award. This award honors an individual who has volunteered for three or 00:38:04.509 --> 00:38:09.915 - more nonprofit organizations for at least one year each. This year's recipient of the Be More Involved 00:38:09.915 --> 00:38:15.163 - Award has committed himself to improving quality of life for Bloomington residents through 20 years 00:38:15.163 --> 00:38:17.630 - of service to various community organizations. 00:38:18.402 --> 00:38:25.238 - In addition to his eight years of service to the City of Bloomington Board of Parks Commissioners, Israel 00:38:25.238 --> 00:38:31.752 - Herrera has served on the Commission on Hispanic and Latino Affairs and the Lotus Education and Arts 00:38:31.752 --> 00:38:38.202 - Foundation Board. Beyond his board service, Israel has acted as a volunteer for Tietro Vida, WFHB's 00:38:38.202 --> 00:38:44.974 - Ola Bloomington, Sister City's Cubamistad, La Escuelita Para Todos, and the Lotus Blossoms event. Israel 00:38:44.974 --> 00:38:47.102 - is passionate about many things, 00:38:47.362 --> 00:38:53.156 - but shows a particular interest in serving local Hispanic and Latino youth and their families. His nomination 00:38:53.156 --> 00:38:58.791 - described the work he has done to break down the social and cultural barriers that prevent Latino families 00:38:58.791 --> 00:39:04.321 - from feeling a sense of belonging in their own community, assessing local social services, and providing 00:39:04.321 --> 00:39:09.852 - for their basic needs. For his years of service to Bloomington, and in particular for his recent service 00:39:09.852 --> 00:39:15.224 - on the Board of Parks Commissioners, the Bloomington Volunteer Network is delighted to present the Be 00:39:15.224 --> 00:39:17.278 - More Involved Award to Israel Herrera. 00:39:50.178 --> 00:39:59.428 - Well, thank you. I would like to thank the award selection committee from the city of Bloomington for 00:39:59.428 --> 00:40:08.588 - this honor. And I would like also to thank different colleagues, different people who have supported 00:40:08.588 --> 00:40:18.110 - me in this service career. In this moment, my colleagues in the Board of Parks and Recreation Commission 00:40:19.010 --> 00:40:27.119 - And also previously I was engaged with the Commission on Latino and Hispanic Affairs. It was a long 00:40:27.119 --> 00:40:35.227 - service with this commission where I was able to contribute with recognition to our Latino students 00:40:35.227 --> 00:40:43.660 - and also in educational projects with different members in that year. Also I would like to thank people 00:40:43.660 --> 00:40:47.390 - in the Lotus Festival and also Lotus Blossom. 00:40:47.522 --> 00:40:55.565 - for all the trust, all the confidence in taking me into account in different events where I want to 00:40:55.565 --> 00:41:03.608 - include the Latino community, the Spanish in our concerts in fall, and also the great moment that I 00:41:03.608 --> 00:41:11.812 - enjoy with children in lotus blossoms. There are so many groups that I would like to thank. Maybe I'm 00:41:11.812 --> 00:41:16.638 - missing one, but I would like to thank Grupo de Teatro Vida 00:41:17.090 --> 00:41:25.529 - that is also one of the groups that I was very involved in organizing place in our city in different 00:41:25.529 --> 00:41:33.884 - venues. La Escuelita Para Todos, Daniel Soto at the Monroe County Public Library with some teachers 00:41:33.884 --> 00:41:42.240 - from the corporation. Ola Bloomington as well, the Latino Outreach Office. With this office, I have 00:41:42.240 --> 00:41:44.830 - been also working on different 00:41:45.026 --> 00:41:53.742 - events in the city and I have been engaged in his events. Also the Spanish and Portuguese department 00:41:53.742 --> 00:42:02.371 - with the support of different chairs. This award also goes to my family who has supported me during 00:42:02.371 --> 00:42:11.001 - many years in the city. Without the support of my family, my friends, everyone in the community who 00:42:11.001 --> 00:42:14.366 - knows me, I think that I wouldn't have 00:42:14.946 --> 00:42:23.100 - the flame to continue. It's also a pleasure to receive this award because I have told my little one, 00:42:23.100 --> 00:42:31.335 - my daughter, that service is very important in a community for transformation to change. And I'm glad 00:42:31.335 --> 00:42:39.570 - that since very early age, 13 years old, she has been involved in different groups. Service shouldn't 00:42:39.570 --> 00:42:44.414 - be paid because it's something that you have a passion for. 00:42:44.770 --> 00:42:54.212 - And also, it's a way to contribute to the community in different ways. It's making changes for a better 00:42:54.212 --> 00:43:03.836 - world. And I had the pleasure to work with the right people who also believe that we need to all together 00:43:03.836 --> 00:43:12.734 - work in these changes. Service is very important. Service has been part of my life. I also teach. 00:43:13.506 --> 00:43:22.002 - and I also enjoy life. But service has been since very, very, very early age when I was a young person, 00:43:22.002 --> 00:43:30.417 - as the ones that we have seen here from different organizations. It's so great to see young blood with 00:43:30.417 --> 00:43:38.750 - this spirit of serving and helping people that are in need. So I hope that I have covered everything. 00:43:38.750 --> 00:43:41.854 - I'm so glad with also the department. 00:43:42.146 --> 00:43:51.899 - It's a great environment to also plan activities in our parks, in recreational events, and also with 00:43:51.899 --> 00:44:02.038 - my previous organizations, my previous colleagues, has been a very important moment in my life. So thank 00:44:02.038 --> 00:44:03.486 - you very much. 00:44:35.970 --> 00:44:43.067 - Good evening. If volunteers are the lifeblood of community organizations, then volunteer boards and 00:44:43.067 --> 00:44:50.377 - committees are the beating heart of every nonprofit organization. My name is Vaughn Welch. In addition 00:44:50.377 --> 00:44:57.900 - to being a longtime repeat board member, I am also a co-founder of Elevate, a new program from the United 00:44:57.900 --> 00:45:04.926 - Way of South Central Indiana. At Elevate, we pair individuals with relevant skills and experiences 00:45:05.154 --> 00:45:12.461 - with local nonprofits who need those skills for a short-term project or program. Do you want to help 00:45:12.461 --> 00:45:19.695 - a local organization solve problems and take their work to the next level, but aren't looking for a 00:45:19.695 --> 00:45:27.074 - long-term commitment? If so, I encourage you to check out Elevate. You can learn more by visiting our 00:45:27.074 --> 00:45:34.526 - page on the Bloomington Volunteer Network, or the link to that page is on the screen over my shoulder. 00:45:34.754 --> 00:45:42.252 - As a board member, I am delighted to present this year's Be More Phenomenal Award to an individual who 00:45:42.252 --> 00:45:49.604 - has shown outstanding leadership through board, commission, or committee involvement. This year's Be 00:45:49.604 --> 00:45:57.248 - More Phenomenal Award recipient has served on the board of directors at Bloomington Development Learning 00:45:57.248 --> 00:46:04.382 - Center, BDLC, for four years, where he chairs the Grounds and Maintenance Committee. In his role, 00:46:04.706 --> 00:46:11.938 - Matt Stonebreaker maintains the safety and cleanliness of BDLC's facilities and grounds, responding 00:46:11.938 --> 00:46:19.242 - quickly and without hesitation to calls for assistance. Matt's professional expertise in grounds and 00:46:19.242 --> 00:46:26.546 - maintenance means his volunteer contributions to BDLC are of a quality that would typically cost the 00:46:26.546 --> 00:46:33.054 - organization a substantial amount of money. Instead, Matt provides his services for free. 00:46:33.218 --> 00:46:41.185 - Furthermore, Matt's attitude is always one of humility, kindness, and a genuine desire to help others. 00:46:41.185 --> 00:46:49.384 - For his dedicated service to the staff, families, and children of BDLC, the Bloomington Volunteer Network 00:46:49.384 --> 00:46:55.262 - is proud to present the 2026 Be More Phenomenal Award to Matt Stonebreaker. 00:47:28.610 --> 00:47:37.590 - Thank you. I am honored to be recognized in this way, to be seen for the many small things that we do 00:47:37.590 --> 00:47:47.186 - throughout the day. Bloomington Developmental Learning Center is a nonprofit daycare that has been operating 00:47:47.186 --> 00:47:56.958 - for over 50 years. And in addition to a high quality of care that these passionate professional teachers give, 00:47:57.058 --> 00:48:05.870 - It is a community of teachers, students, and families that I love every day to be a part of. They truly 00:48:05.870 --> 00:48:14.766 - motivate me to do more than I otherwise think I could. I also want to thank my wife for making the space 00:48:14.766 --> 00:48:23.747 - for me to be able to give my time and energy in this way, and my children, Frank and Simon, for reminding 00:48:23.747 --> 00:48:25.950 - me, often in little ways, 00:48:26.082 --> 00:48:33.574 - what it means to owe each other and what it means to belong to a community and one another. The thing 00:48:33.574 --> 00:48:40.920 - that I dearly hope for everyone, for every single person, is that you can find something like this, 00:48:40.920 --> 00:48:48.559 - some cause, some group that you can tend to like a garden, patiently, quietly, and just a little corner 00:48:48.559 --> 00:48:54.142 - of the world that you can make better for the people around you. Thank you. 00:49:07.650 --> 00:49:14.192 - everyone. My name is Aubrey Cedar and I am the City of Bloomington Volunteer Network Coordinator. I'm 00:49:14.192 --> 00:49:20.863 - so grateful to be here today with you all in a new role that I am profoundly grateful to have. The work 00:49:20.863 --> 00:49:27.597 - of our local nonprofits and their volunteers makes Bloomington the unique and special place we all love. 00:49:27.597 --> 00:49:34.011 - And in a time of economic austerity our community organizations need volunteers now more than ever. 00:49:34.011 --> 00:49:35.294 - To meet that need I 00:49:35.682 --> 00:49:43.998 - I invite you all to join an exciting challenge that the Bloomington Volunteer Network launched at the 00:49:43.998 --> 00:49:52.641 - beginning of this year. Of course, I'm talking about the 2026 Be the Change Challenge. We are challenging 00:49:52.641 --> 00:50:00.957 - Bloomington residents to complete 100,000 volunteer hours in 365 days, from January 1st, 2026 through 00:50:00.957 --> 00:50:05.278 - December 31st. 100,000 hours is a terrifying number, 00:50:05.506 --> 00:50:12.480 - I know this because I was terrified when it was assigned to me. But then I broke it down. There are 00:50:12.480 --> 00:50:19.663 - 85,000 people living in Bloomington. If all 85,000 people did less than two hours of service, we would 00:50:19.663 --> 00:50:26.637 - reach our goal. Now, some of those people are babies and kids under the age of 10, which means they 00:50:26.637 --> 00:50:29.566 - aren't technically eligible to volunteer. 00:50:30.562 --> 00:50:37.671 - And some folks of volunteering age may not have the time, transportation, or resources to volunteer. 00:50:37.671 --> 00:50:44.781 - So if we set our sights on a more conservative number of 25,000 participants, each person would only 00:50:44.781 --> 00:50:52.242 - need to put in four hours over the course of an entire year. That's it. And it follows from there. 10,000 00:50:52.242 --> 00:50:59.422 - people work 10 hours, 5,000 people work 20 hours. All of a sudden, 100,000 seems really doable to me. 00:51:00.834 --> 00:51:08.643 - Over the course of our first quarter, from January 1st to March 31st of 2026, a number of local community 00:51:08.643 --> 00:51:16.305 - organizations were kind enough to keep me updated on the number of hours their organizations volunteers 00:51:16.305 --> 00:51:24.041 - were putting in. In just three months, across just 16 organizations, Bloomington residents put in 15,198 00:51:24.041 --> 00:51:28.830 - volunteer hours. I think that that deserves a round of applause. 00:51:36.354 --> 00:51:44.502 - And I wanna show you a breakdown of the top seven organizations that sent us their hours data for quarter 00:51:44.502 --> 00:51:52.649 - one. Isn't that incredible? Each of these numbers represents so many dedicated people. It also represents 00:51:52.649 --> 00:52:00.489 - thousands of tutoring sessions completed, new families supported, meals served, animals fostered, and 00:52:00.489 --> 00:52:02.334 - public lands cared for. 00:52:02.722 --> 00:52:10.339 - And these numbers represent just a fraction of the organizations active in Bloomington today. So if 00:52:10.339 --> 00:52:17.956 - you're an organization leader who would like to add your volunteer hour totals to this list, please 00:52:17.956 --> 00:52:25.726 - reach out to me. With 84,802 hours left to complete in this challenge, here is our updated breakdown. 00:52:26.370 --> 00:52:33.336 - Just 3.5 hours of community service put in by 25,000 residents across the entire year would get us to 00:52:33.336 --> 00:52:40.165 - 100,000 hours. And I think that's a pretty doable goal for each of us, 3.5 hours. So, Bloomington's 00:52:40.165 --> 00:52:47.199 - community of volunteers, as I think we've heard, is a community of people worth joining if you haven't 00:52:47.199 --> 00:52:54.302 - already. Whether you can volunteer for two hours this year or 20, you can make a difference. And here's 00:52:54.302 --> 00:52:55.326 - how you do it. 00:52:56.898 --> 00:53:03.297 - Set up an account on the Bloomington Volunteer Network. You can get there by scanning this QR code. 00:53:03.297 --> 00:53:09.952 - Choose from hundreds of volunteer opportunities, both recurring and episodic. And whenever you complete 00:53:09.952 --> 00:53:16.415 - a volunteer shift, come back and log your hours to help us reach 100,000. All of this information is 00:53:16.415 --> 00:53:23.902 - also available if you scan the QR code on that cute bookmark that you received in your program for tonight's events. 00:53:24.226 --> 00:53:32.121 - You can also go to bton.in slash btc2026. As Asia said at the beginning of this program, we all know, 00:53:32.121 --> 00:53:40.481 - we know that right now in the world, right now the world feels out of control. As you look for the helpers, 00:53:40.481 --> 00:53:48.530 - know that you yourself can become a helper. We invite you to be the change you want to see in the world 00:53:48.530 --> 00:53:52.478 - by joining the Be the Change Challenge. Thank you. 00:54:07.938 --> 00:54:15.964 - Thanks, Aubrey. How's everybody feeling? Are you guys feeling inspired? I know I am. The recipients 00:54:15.964 --> 00:54:24.150 - that we are honoring tonight were chosen by our selection committee from a large number of impressive 00:54:24.150 --> 00:54:32.256 - nominees. The hardest part of the Be More Awards is choosing just eight individuals and groups to be 00:54:32.256 --> 00:54:36.670 - honored. We want to celebrate every nomination we read 00:54:37.602 --> 00:54:46.437 - At this time, we'd like to thank the selection committee for their contribution to this program. If 00:54:46.437 --> 00:54:55.625 - you would join me in applauding them. Each nominee for 2026 is listed in your program, has a remarkable 00:54:55.625 --> 00:55:04.902 - record of service to this community. At this time, we'd like to honor all of our nominees and recipients 00:55:04.902 --> 00:55:06.846 - with a special video. 00:56:19.138 --> 00:56:25.258 - to give a shout out and a big congratulations to Beast Wars Bloomington Severe Winter Emergency Shelter 00:56:25.258 --> 00:56:31.555 - for being the recipient of the 2026 Be More Impactful Award. Today we celebrate something truly meaningful 00:56:31.555 --> 00:56:37.441 - the time energy and heart each of your volunteers has given. Volunteers like you don't just support 00:56:37.441 --> 00:56:40.030 - a cause you strengthen an entire community. 00:58:38.082 --> 00:58:44.037 - A shout out and a big congratulations to Beast Wars, Bloomington Severe Winter Emergency Shelter, for 00:58:44.037 --> 00:58:50.108 - being the recipient of the 2026 Be More Impactful Award. Today we celebrate something truly meaningful, 00:58:50.108 --> 00:58:56.062 - the time, energy, and heart each of your volunteers has given. Volunteers like you don't just support 00:58:56.062 --> 00:59:02.075 - a cause, you strengthen an entire community. Your dedication has made a real difference and it has not 00:59:02.075 --> 00:59:08.030 - gone unnoticed. Thank you for showing up, for caring, and for proving how powerful generosity can be. 00:59:08.130 --> 00:59:16.572 - It's better because of you. Congratulations, I want to take a moment to tell you how deeply proud we 00:59:16.572 --> 00:59:25.265 - all in Bloomington are of you. Every day we see your strong dedication and your hard work and you truly 00:59:25.265 --> 00:59:33.791 - inspire the Bloomington community. You deserve all this recognition and we are so glad for having you 00:59:33.791 --> 00:59:34.878 - in the city. 00:59:35.234 --> 00:59:43.652 - Congratulations one more time, Israel Fernando, for the Be More In Board Award. Thriving Connections, 00:59:43.652 --> 00:59:52.153 - congratulations. A well-deserved Be More Award. Could anyone be more engaged? I don't think so. I know 00:59:52.153 --> 01:00:00.737 - you all don't even record maybe even half of the volunteer hours that you put into our community, which 01:00:00.737 --> 01:00:04.286 - is what has kept it alive all these years. 01:00:05.090 --> 01:00:12.201 - We are happy to see you recognized for your efforts, and have a great night. Dave, congratulations on 01:00:12.201 --> 01:00:19.173 - your visa. You're very useful. Dave, all the best to you. I know you also deserve it. It's such fun 01:00:19.173 --> 01:00:26.284 - working with you on the refugee process. Dave, everything you do, you've been very well, and I really 01:00:26.284 --> 01:00:29.630 - appreciate you as a Rosemary and NFE community. 01:00:29.762 --> 01:00:36.092 - And Dave, you're an inspiration to me and everybody in the club for the extraordinary work that you 01:00:36.092 --> 01:00:42.485 - do in the community. Thank you so much for everything that you've done for us. I really like it when 01:00:42.485 --> 01:00:49.005 - you taught us about Australia. And we really liked it when you taught us about Sudoku. I like when you 01:00:49.005 --> 01:00:56.158 - helped us create ours. You make our school a better place. We appreciate your time and kindness. You're amazing. 01:00:59.874 --> 01:01:06.528 - On behalf of the students, faculty, and families at Unionville, I would like to congratulate Mrs. Main 01:01:06.528 --> 01:01:13.183 - on her award. She has devoted countless hours to supporting the students of Unionville. Her dedication 01:01:13.183 --> 01:01:19.902 - and commitment to Unionville is amazing. Thank you, Mrs. Main, for all you do. Congratulations, Winnie. 01:01:20.098 --> 01:01:27.360 - WFHB is so lucky to have you here as a volunteer. You bring so much positive energy to Youth Radio and 01:01:27.360 --> 01:01:34.411 - so much creativity to your podcast, What the Hell. I'm thrilled to share all of the success tonight 01:01:34.411 --> 01:01:41.602 - with the community, so go Winnie. Congratulations, Servite team. So first off, I want to congratulate 01:01:41.602 --> 01:01:47.454 - you guys on getting your award. And I want to give a special shout out to Jeffrey. 01:01:47.714 --> 01:01:54.651 - for helping me out and teaching me how to code. I want to give another special shout out to Peter Griffin, 01:01:54.651 --> 01:02:01.070 - because he was helpful. He made me think about trying to get that W. I want to say thanks to Asia, 01:02:01.070 --> 01:02:07.553 - because he, along with Jeffrey, he taught me a lot of the things I know about coding. I want to say 01:02:07.553 --> 01:02:14.036 - thanks to Candace for always bringing a positive attitude. And I want to say thanks to Eni for just 01:02:14.036 --> 01:02:17.278 - being there and supporting us all. And thank you. 01:02:17.666 --> 01:02:26.061 - Thank you so much. Hi, Leslie Absher, CEO of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Bloomington. On behalf of everyone 01:02:26.061 --> 01:02:33.833 - at the club, thank you and congratulations, Serve IT. Griffin is the GOAT! Matt, congratulations on 01:02:33.833 --> 01:02:41.839 - winning the Be More Award. Your time as the Facilities Chair at BDLC has been incredible. The building 01:02:41.839 --> 01:02:47.358 - has truly never looked better. The doors don't squeak and the bathroom 01:02:47.490 --> 01:02:54.974 - hasn't had issues and I appreciate everything you do to keep our old girl working and in good condition. 01:02:54.974 --> 01:03:02.386 - And you've also built a committee of volunteers to help you, which is really the sign of a true leader. 01:03:02.386 --> 01:03:05.950 - So thank you for your help and enjoy the evening. 01:03:20.002 --> 01:03:26.440 - evening. Hello everyone my name is Vanessa McCleary and I'm a member of the Kiwanis Club of South Central 01:03:26.440 --> 01:03:32.757 - Indiana and the Local Council of Women. I'm excited to be here tonight to present the Be More Dedicated 01:03:32.757 --> 01:03:38.831 - Award which recognizes a person over the age of 60 for a lifetime of service to the community. This 01:03:38.831 --> 01:03:45.027 - year's recipient has been supporting elementary school students and teachers at Unionville Elementary 01:03:45.027 --> 01:03:49.886 - for over 15 years. Mrs. Joanne Mayne volunteers at Unionville three days a week 01:03:50.338 --> 01:03:57.706 - while school is in session. She writes lessons plans, grades papers, and provides feedback to 50K through 01:03:57.706 --> 01:04:04.936 - sixth grade students that she works with in small groups. Joanne began volunteering after retiring from 01:04:04.936 --> 01:04:11.887 - a career as an elementary school teacher. Her skills and experience coupled with her consistency as 01:04:11.887 --> 01:04:17.726 - a volunteer make her a vital part of the teaching staff at Unionville. Without her, 01:04:17.954 --> 01:04:24.845 - Her nominator says the school would not be able to adequately meet all the learning needs of all the 01:04:24.845 --> 01:04:31.736 - children she supports. Joanne volunteers to shoulder responsibilities that typically only paid staff 01:04:31.736 --> 01:04:38.764 - take on. Her generosity of spirit is astounding to her colleagues. In honor of her 15 years of service 01:04:38.764 --> 01:04:45.586 - to Unionville Elementary and in celebration of her final year, volunteering at the school, the City 01:04:45.586 --> 01:04:47.838 - of Bloomington Volunteer Network 01:04:47.938 --> 01:04:54.078 - is proud to present Joanne Maine with the Be More Dedicated Award for a Lifetime of Service. 01:05:36.674 --> 01:05:43.778 - want to thank the organizers and sponsors of tonight. It's a great honor to be up here. I also want 01:05:43.778 --> 01:05:50.882 - to thank the family of Unionville with the administration, the staff, the students and the parents. 01:05:50.882 --> 01:05:58.554 - It would not be possible for me to have hung in there for all these years. The kids have taught me probably 01:05:58.554 --> 01:06:04.734 - more than I've taught them and I appreciate each one of them every day. I also want to 01:06:05.154 --> 01:06:12.295 - let you know that I understand that I am just a representative of very dedicated volunteers in all of 01:06:12.295 --> 01:06:19.366 - the schools and elsewhere in the community. And I'm going to challenge each of you that when you see 01:06:19.366 --> 01:06:26.507 - people that are helping other people, acknowledge them, give them a thank you or a smile or a helping 01:06:26.507 --> 01:06:31.198 - hand. And if you understand what they're doing, you might actually 01:06:31.714 --> 01:06:36.830 - understand why they're doing it and help being a participant in that. Thank you again. 01:07:00.610 --> 01:07:07.648 - Good evening, everyone. I'm Deputy Mayor Gretchen Knapp, and it's such a joy to be here tonight. It's 01:07:07.648 --> 01:07:14.685 - a little bit overwhelming to hear the stories of the work that people are doing and the generosity of 01:07:14.685 --> 01:07:21.654 - spirit, the love for your community and your neighbor. It's humbling, and I'm so grateful for all of 01:07:21.654 --> 01:07:28.829 - your service. I'm here tonight to present the Volunteer of the Year Award. For years, Bloomington, like 01:07:28.829 --> 01:07:29.726 - many cities, 01:07:30.370 --> 01:07:37.548 - has worked tirelessly to address the issues of homelessness and housing insecurity. As local organizations 01:07:37.548 --> 01:07:44.592 - and branches of government collaborate and work together to try to find long-term solutions, individuals 01:07:44.592 --> 01:07:51.367 - living on the streets have to face a more immediate question. Where can I find a safe place to sleep 01:07:51.367 --> 01:07:58.210 - tonight? This question becomes even more urgent during the winter when unhoused community members are 01:07:58.210 --> 01:08:00.222 - in severe danger of frostbite 01:08:00.802 --> 01:08:08.152 - hypothermia, and even death as the temperatures drop below freezing and winter storms roll in, now with 01:08:08.152 --> 01:08:15.289 - increasing frequency. In 2024, the Bloomington Severe Winter Emergency Shelter was born from a group 01:08:15.289 --> 01:08:22.639 - of volunteers and local faith-based organizations who wanted to provide safe options for shelter during 01:08:22.639 --> 01:08:26.526 - extreme weather events. Since that time, the Beeswars, 01:08:26.754 --> 01:08:33.817 - Volunteer team has sprung into action each time a severe weather event has been forecasted. Pop-up shelters 01:08:33.817 --> 01:08:40.422 - at First Christian Church and First United Methodist Church have consistently provided 30 extra beds 01:08:40.422 --> 01:08:47.158 - for unhoused folks, sometimes for many nights in a row. Volunteering for the shelter is no small feat. 01:08:47.158 --> 01:08:53.502 - It requires many people to interrupt their typical work and sleep schedules, their family lives, 01:08:54.082 --> 01:09:00.214 - Volunteers begin setting up the shelters around 5 p.m. Others stay overnight to monitor the shelter 01:09:00.214 --> 01:09:06.469 - and provide assistance and comfort to guests during the night, leaving only in the early hours of the 01:09:06.469 --> 01:09:12.784 - morning after all of the guests have left. Regardless of the short notice of the discomfort that comes 01:09:12.784 --> 01:09:19.223 - with overnight work, each time that BSWR's organizers call for more volunteers, their sheets are quickly 01:09:19.223 --> 01:09:23.454 - filled. That's the generous spirit of the community that we live in. 01:09:25.282 --> 01:09:31.159 - This generosity of spirit is felt by shelter guests whose time with BSWRS demonstrates to them that 01:09:31.159 --> 01:09:37.154 - this community does care for their safety and for their wellbeing. And so for their life-saving work, 01:09:37.154 --> 01:09:43.148 - caring for the most vulnerable members of our community, the City of Bloomington Volunteer Network is 01:09:43.148 --> 01:09:49.437 - proud to present the 2026 Volunteers of the Year Award to the Bloomington Severe Weather Emergency Shelter 01:09:49.437 --> 01:09:50.142 - Volunteers. 01:10:47.490 --> 01:10:55.046 - Good evening. My name is Dan Caldwell, and I'm one of the leadership team members for BSWRS, and I'm 01:10:55.046 --> 01:11:02.603 - also the volunteer wrangler. It's an unofficial title. But I want to thank a bunch of people. I want 01:11:02.603 --> 01:11:10.084 - to thank Alex Krauss, who's one of the after hours ambassadors for nominating us, as well as all of 01:11:10.084 --> 01:11:12.254 - the after hours ambassadors. 01:11:12.418 --> 01:11:19.395 - They're out there doing in the trenches every night and just helping the most vulnerable people in our 01:11:19.395 --> 01:11:26.304 - community. So we really appreciate them. And yeah, and so thank you Alex for nominating us. I'm gonna 01:11:26.304 --> 01:11:33.755 - just name our leadership team real quick here. We have a bunch of other volunteers as well. So our leadership 01:11:33.755 --> 01:11:40.190 - team is made up of Annette Hill Briggs, Dan Watts, Fran Klinger, Lori Council, Joseph Abwanda, 01:11:40.418 --> 01:11:48.062 - and our three newest members that will start helping us for next year, Martha Michaelson, John Grismer, 01:11:48.062 --> 01:11:55.999 - and Matt Gargiolo. And so most of those folks are up here, along with some of our most dedicated volunteers 01:11:55.999 --> 01:12:03.349 - who showed up as well. And I also want to say that this past year, we had two staff coordinators as 01:12:03.349 --> 01:12:06.142 - well, Edgar Workman and Josh Grismer. 01:12:06.242 --> 01:12:12.565 - and they played an absolutely essential role in helping us pull off the shelter each and every night 01:12:12.565 --> 01:12:19.201 - that we opened. And I want to thank the Bloomington Fire Department, EMTs, paramedics, Bloomington Police 01:12:19.201 --> 01:12:25.587 - Department. Anytime we needed help, they were there in minutes, and that was crucial. I want to thank 01:12:25.587 --> 01:12:32.036 - Wheeler Mission. They did all our laundry, and we produced a ton of laundry, and so we really couldn't 01:12:32.036 --> 01:12:33.726 - have done it without them. 01:12:33.922 --> 01:12:40.934 - I want to thank the Stride Mobile team. Anytime that we had more guests than we were able to accommodate, 01:12:40.934 --> 01:12:47.682 - we would call Stride Mobile and they'd come and make sure that guests had a ride somewhere so that no 01:12:47.682 --> 01:12:54.562 - one had to sleep outside. And I want to thank First United Methodist Church, First Presbyterian Church, 01:12:54.562 --> 01:13:01.177 - and First Christian Church. Those are the three churches that are host sites for us and couldn't do 01:13:01.177 --> 01:13:02.302 - it without them. 01:13:02.914 --> 01:13:11.310 - So our purpose is to try and make sure that people who don't have a place to sleep can have a warm safe 01:13:11.310 --> 01:13:19.384 - place to sleep when the weather gets dangerously cold. But we also try to make sure that people are 01:13:19.384 --> 01:13:27.134 - treated with dignity, respect, compassion, and that we start to build relationships with folks. 01:13:27.394 --> 01:13:34.529 - Those are our primary purposes, but I was thinking about what what Marcus was saying earlier. We also 01:13:34.529 --> 01:13:41.734 - hope to have that ripple effect so that we had 225 unique volunteers and I think that all of them just 01:13:41.734 --> 01:13:46.910 - this season. I think all of them got to know our guests and I think that. 01:13:47.042 --> 01:13:54.763 - I'm confident that that changes the way that people see unhoused people. And I think that can have a 01:13:54.763 --> 01:14:02.560 - huge ripple effect in our community. And so I'm very proud of that as well. Just some quick stats. We 01:14:02.560 --> 01:14:10.357 - were open 57 nights this past season. We served 256 unique guests. And like I said, we had 225 unique 01:14:10.357 --> 01:14:13.950 - volunteers in addition to the leadership team. 01:14:14.722 --> 01:14:22.966 - That came out probably somewhere near 4,000 total volunteer hours. We'll have to make sure that we get 01:14:22.966 --> 01:14:31.209 - those sent to the right place to get that number up. We'll be doing this again next year. If anybody's 01:14:31.209 --> 01:14:39.293 - interested, it's a really great experience. It's a great team of people to volunteer with. Actually, 01:14:39.293 --> 01:14:41.854 - you'll find that the guests are 01:14:41.954 --> 01:14:48.891 - also wonderful people to get to know as well. And so I'd encourage anybody who's interested to get involved, 01:14:48.891 --> 01:14:54.110 - you can go to bswords.org and learn more. So thank you so much. We appreciate it. 01:15:24.450 --> 01:15:32.375 - All right, thanks to each of you all for spending your evening with us. We're so grateful for your time 01:15:32.375 --> 01:15:40.224 - and attention. If you are interested in any of the volunteer opportunities you've heard about tonight, 01:15:40.224 --> 01:15:47.920 - including IU Corps volunteering, City of Bloomington Boards and Commissions, the Monroe County Youth 01:15:47.920 --> 01:15:50.206 - Council, United Ways Elevate, 01:15:50.690 --> 01:15:59.364 - and the Be the Change Challenge. There will be more information on how to sign up for those in the lobby. 01:15:59.364 --> 01:16:06.974 - And also on the screen behind me. Thanks for coming out tonight, you all. Have a good night.