Neighboring

Churches are fixtures of almost every neighborhood. They are often held to high standards as being contributors for positive neighborhood change both corporately and through their members. The concept and philosophy of what churches should be doing, are doing, and can do in their communities is vast and often energizing. Eric and I have a conversation about how neighboring is a natural outflow of personal and spiritual transformation, the challenges and narratives associated with Church-based missiology and activity, and share experiences of integrating simple questions to engage neighbors in faith-based conversations. Eric Larew describes himself as a product of missional leadership and has dedicated the last thirty years of his life to neighboring by intentional living. He has started various campus- and church-based ministries, helped start Love Inc, and has consulted dozens of churches on missional engagement strategies.

We all want the best for our kids, want them to learn how to love others in practical ways, be kind to their neighbors, and hopefully develop a broader worldview that helps them see and thrive in a diverse community as they continue to grow. Figuring out how to do that can be difficult, especially if it's not part of the parents regular rhythm. Incorporating your children into volunteerism and service opportunities can be challenging both in theory and in practice, but possible. Andrew and Michelle Hoffman talk about their journey as parents of young kids and how they're trying to model generosity, presence, awareness, and action with their kids. They share plenty of lessons they're learning along the way as well.

I pick up the conversation with Kristin Giant of Hyper Local Impact and with Andrew Smith, co-owner of Junk Ditch Brewing Company. Kristin is a champion for Impact Investing and how shopping local has a huge impact on the livelihoods of the business owners, and on our local community. Kristin provides context for why we should be focusing as much spending as we can locally right now and some great ideas on how we become “investors” in the businesses we love through things like pre-buying gift cards.Andrew shares how much business has changed, what’s changed, what has been impactful, what they’re learning, and why building a community with your customers is important to have a chance to survive through this pandemic.

Kicking off Season 3 of Neighboring with a discussion on what giving and philanthropy looks like through the lens of a donor, a major connector of funds, and an organization that is a recipient of emergency funding. There are individuals in our neighborhoods that are currently in a stable financial position looking for ways to redistribute their resources and the Stimulus checks, but have questions how to make personal and impactful donations. This podcast follows a conversation around some giving questions, the various opportunities at various scales of giving, and how those funds are having a direct impact on a local nonprofit serving the refugee and immigrant community in Fort Wayne.

This week on Neighboring, we sit down with Rachel Blakeman, the research director of Purdue Fort Wayne's Community Research Institute, to discuss our multiphase project looking into what makes a healthy neighborhood, healthy. This 2-year project has been funded by a Foellinger Foundation Inspire Grant that is designed to add capacity to explore new areas of our work. NeighborLink continues to research ways our organization can best equip neighbors to serve their neighbors and their families for the sake of healthier, more connected neighborhoods.

Mr. Adrian Curry is an educator and artist. His pursuit of knowledge, health, and wholeness has informed his identity and driven his passion and investment into future generations. Mr. Curry utilizes dance to instill not only rhythm and discipline, but to remind his students of their innate purpose and potential. Mr. Curry is bringing a fresh perspective to youth development and creative expression through his Art Leadership Center. Join us as we discuss his experiences, both in our local community and abroad.

Janell and Aaron Lane are a couple that is driven and called to reinvest in the southeast side of Fort Wayne, where they grew up in, by leading a movement to ignite a ripple of change through investing in key members of the community. Janell and Aaron created the Community Partner Development Center a few years ago, which is an innovative, proactive way to impact community healthcare by investing in community members and leaders on the front end. These leaders, in turn, continue to invest in others. They believe that if people are taking a more “wellness-centered” approach and focusing on living a healthier lifestyle, making healthier decisions and self-care, it leads to a win-win situation for all involved. They are making an impact in a short period of time through their care, passion, and using their professional backgrounds in mental health counseling and organizational leadership to invest in their neighbors.

Réna Bradley is a designer and community advocate. Her experience working across the private, public and nonprofit sectors has taught her that design is a tool to develop not only places, but a sense of well-being, unity, joy and agency in individuals and communities. In her current position as Bridge of Grace’s Community Development Coordinator, she uses design as a tool to mobilize youth, residents, and volunteers who want to make a difference in their neighborhood. Réna is a joy to be around, loves her neighbors deeply, and is a person to seek out to get to know.

Matt started a boutique design and advertising agency 15 years ago called One Lucky Guitar, and has been one of Fort Wayne’s most loved “doers” and brand champions for over a decade. Matt is the kind of guy that doesn’t let his ideas sit on the shelf and is always working to creating the spaces, events, or meaningful experiences that develop and shape the culture that he sees missing in various areas. Matt is an inspiration to many because of the tireless energy and “all-in” nature he brings to the projects that align with his passion for creativity, music, and meaningful events. This podcast is intended to encourage all the neighbors in our community that have great ideas, but haven’t gotten them off shelf yet, and to all those that are doing their thing wondering if anyone notices. We see you.“If you’re the kind of person that likes to help build things, pick up a shovel, pick up the paddle, and go.. This is an incredible place to be.”

Cindy has been one of NeighborLink’s biggest fans and advocates for years at the City of Fort Wayne. Cindy spent over 15 years with Neighborhood Code Compliance as a customer relations manager and then as director for 10 years before becoming the Director of Community Development in 2018. Cindy is passionate about her community, her work, and the residents in Fort Wayne. Her and her husband have been active neighbors in the southside of town for decades and have both served in pubic service to our community. We spend time talking in this podcast about her journey to Director of Community Development, what all is part of the Community Development department in a city office, and some of the great and challenging things going on in Fort Wayne. Her passion and energy comes through and I think you’ll enjoy getting to learn from her as we talk about being a good neighbor in Fort Wayne.

“The Voice” finalist, Addison Agen, joined Andrew for a conversation about what it was like growing up in her neighborhood, inspiration, how she makes touring more like home, and what's it is like to be a "neighbor" in a band setting. Addison also reflects on her time during "The Voice" competition, how everyone on the show attempt to care for one another during the process, and what it's like trying to be a digital neighbor to so many "fans." All a good reminder that a neighborhood can be formed anywhere.Addison will be performing a show in Fort Wayne with the Legendary Trainhoppers on Thursday, Sept 26th, at the historic USF Performing Arts Center. This show is going to be fantastic and 100% of proceeds will go to supporting our mission at NeighborLink Fort Wayne.

Part 2 of this podcast talks to all the members from part 1 about their post-event experiences. Innovative financing, need for collaboration, and having a unified story are just a few of the overarching themes that arose in these post-event interviews. Needless to say, we were all taking in a lot of information and finding the aspects that really spoke to us along the way. Listen in to hear the inspiration and those little nuggets of information that have been missing from our knowledge bank that we pick up throughout the conversations in Louisville.

Just under 50 business, civic, governmental, nonprofit, and philanthropic leaders joined Greater Fort Wayne on a trip to Louisville, KY with the hopes of learning and gaining inspiration in regards to neighborhood development. GFW has been facilitating inner city visit trips around the country for the past few years and believes that we have a lot to learn from Louisville as it relates to where Fort Wayne is today. NeighborLink Executive Director, Andrew Hoffman, was invited on that trip and decided to take Neighboring on the road in an effort to track with a few attendees on why they were going, what they hoped to learn, and what they walked away with. Part 1 covers the intros and anticipated lessons.

Kristin and Andrew take a stroll through the '05, discussing neighborly awkwardness, finding your place, and the pros and cons of social media connectivity. Kristin and her family made an intentional decision to move into the 46805 zip code and have discovered a community of neighbors that have quickly become their tribe. From buying a home from the original owners to the dozen neighborhood kids that have a permanent kickball court in the middle of their intersection to know your neighbors are watching you always, they have learned the power of being connected to the physical neighbors. Kristin also shares what it means to be "digital neighbors" with people from her past and people she's met along the way that are no longer close physically, but still present opportunities to be neighbors.

Bernadette Baker is our newest employee at NeighborLink and is joining us as an AmeriCorp VISTA. We spend some time talking about what it means to be an AmeriCorp VISTA, her role doing research in the neighborhoods we're working with, and some initial learnings from our "What Makes a Healthy Neighborhood, Healthy" research project. Bernadette's life experiences, passion for learning, and her desire to think through the economic factors of community development all contribute to why she chose to join us at NeighborLink essentially as a full-time volunteer for an entire year. Look through this channel to learn more about what she's up to as she has a weekly "vlog" we're producing.

Homelessness and poverty can seem like issues that are far removed; the sort of problems that affect other kinds of people, but certainly not us. On this week's Neighboring, Denise of Vincent Village describes a difficult reality—that some of the people who rely on their services have lived prosperous, hard-earned lives, only to lose everything to circumstances outside their control. It is a stark reminder that we do not own our fate, and that anyone could find themselves needing a hand. Join us to learn more about Vincent Village, and the support they provide to our neighbors in need.

This is a special check-in addition of Neighboring due to me having surgery on a vocal cord and not being able to speak for a week. I give some quick updates on some projects, where we are at with Neighboring, and invite you to join us for our Be A Good Neighbor Week at NeighborLink. I'll be back in a couple of weeks with new episodes.

Sweetwater, the No. 1 online retailer of music instruments and pro audio gear, experienced another record-setting year in terms of sales growth and job creation in 2018. They added just over 400 employees to go over 1,500 employees in 2018. With that type of growth, organizational culture is vital to manage that growth in a healthy way. Nate Edwards and Nate Burkhardt, two members of the sales team, share about how Sweetwater has been using a "neighborhood" concept for over 15 years to structure their growing team into smaller groups for relational connectivity and co-worker support. Caring for people has been the foundational ethos of Sweetwater since Chuck Surack started the company from a VW bus, and is the reason for extremely high employee retention and attraction to NE Indiana. Neighboring in the workplace can happen and makes a tremendous difference to the organizational culture.

Jason Eicholtz and his daughter, Kylie, haven’t let much stop them from enjoying the adventures they’re seeking for the past five years. Many of the things they find themselves doing are far beyond the comfort level of most parent/kid relationships, such as rock climbing, road cycling, and backpacking. Many of us let the logistics, lack of experience, kids attitudes, or the belief that our kids aren’t ready or old enough keep us from choosing new or challenging experiences. Jason shares how to overcome those fears, how to approach experiences at a kid friendly level, and the positive impacts that he’s seen on his daughter and their relationship. Jason shows us that our kids are more ready than we think they are, and can teach us a few things about being a good neighbor as we journey in the adventure with others.

Volunteering can be hard, especially when you encounter challenging circumstances or difficult situations when attempting to help neighbors navigating the vulnerabilities of their lives. I invited Jeff Shatto and Derrick Smith who manage and oversee all things projects and volunteers at NL to share a few stories and offer some advice on how to work through those challenging projects. The insights they share are relevant whether you're taking on a NL project or volunteering at a different organization. If we've chosen to volunteer to help someone overcome there crisis or transform their circumstances, we need to be prepared for the challenge that will be for them, but for us as well. With over 15 years of experience, we know that this work is often far more about our own transformation than what we're attempting to transform, which is why we love the NL model because that's what we ultimately want as compassionate or faith-driven people.