At a time when blue-collar jobs are becoming increasingly scarce, growing bastions of industrial employment with expanding career opportunities are anomalies. Nelbud Services Group, the most eminent provider of kitchen exhaust hood cleaning, fire protection, and grease-trapping services from the Midwest to the East Coast, stands out as a thriving company that is steadily creating
On December 5, 2018, a spokesperson from the Lilly Endowment announced the recipients of its Strengthening Indianapolis through Arts and Culture Initiative grants at the John Boner Neighborhood Centers. Of 226 vying entities, a collective comprised of the John Boner Neighborhood Centers and eight partner organizations became one of 18 awardees whose visionary approaches to
Since the summer of 2016, the IndyEast Promise Zone (IEPZ) has been supported by the capacity-building efforts of AmeriCorps VISTAs. Below are reflections from members of the three cohorts of VISTAs who have served the IEPZ so far. 2018-2019 Cohort Kira Zagorc | Economic Development Planner “As the Promise Zone’s Economic Development Planner VISTA, I
Since 2015, the City of Indianapolis and its partners have leveraged the IndyEast Promise Zone designation to secure funding and technical assistance from 12 federal agencies, namely the Economic Development Administration (EDA), which supports innovation and entrepreneurship in communities nationwide under the U.S. Department of Commerce. Engagement between Promise Zone stakeholders and the EDA began
Executive Director of the Near Eastside Innovation School Corporation and Principal of Thomas Gregg Neighborhood School Ross Pippin, HUD Midwest Regional Administrator Joseph Galvan, and IHCDA Executive Director Jacob Sipe are pictured above from left to right. The Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority leveraged the IndyEast Promise Zone designation to secure a $130,079 grant through
U.S. Attorney Joshua Minkler addressed a crowd of neighbors and city officials at Sherman Park to congratulate the JBNC and outline his hopes for the CBCR Grant’s impact on public safety. At the beginning of October, the John Boner Neighborhood Center was awarded the Community-Based Crime Reduction Grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, $143,000 of which
In mid-September, 40 key stakeholders from Promise Zones and P3 (Performance Partnership Pilot) communities across the nation gathered at the John Boner Neighborhood Centers in Indianapolis to reflect on the IndyEast Promise Zone’s community-based collaboration and education strategies. Facilitated by the U.S. Department of Education and Jobs for the Future, the convening provided an opportunity
To the average passerby, the small blue structure on the northwest corner of 10th and Oxford Streets can appear austere and uninviting. However, thanks to the efforts of several Near Eastside community members, that assumption could not be farther from the truth on many Friday and Saturday nights, when the site becomes a safe space
Alec Hill and Hilary Powers, owners of the Mayfair Taproom Within the next few weeks, the Mayfair Taproom at 2032 East 10th Street will open its doors to customers, boasting a full menu, family-friendly atmosphere, and wide variety of Indiana’s top-rated craft beers. Thanks to the efforts of Hilary Powers and Alec Hill, the couple
Since its completion in 1914, the Ford Building at 1315 East Washington Street has been an automobile assembly plant, a battery manufacturing site, and a storage facility. Located in Indianapolis’ Holy Cross neighborhood, where many storefronts and former industrial sites are vacant or underused in the wake of Great Recession-related foreclosures and structural changes in