First-person narratives from people working for positive change in Bloomington.
4 min
For kids living with serious medical conditions, getting to go to an IU game or seeing the Pacers play might be way harder than it is for you and me. Dream On 3 is a national non-profit that gives children and young adults with disabilities VIP experiences centered around the sports teams that they love. …
4 min
Indiana University Dance Marathon is a student-run organization raising money for Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis. IU Dance Marathon was founded in 1991 and is the second-largest student-run philanthropy in the world, having raised more than 60 million dollars for pediatric research and patient care. IU students come together through fundraising events and volunteer …
4 min
The new coordinator of the Bloomington Volunteer Network has a challenge for us: 100,000 hours of community service this year. Aubrey Seader was raised in a family that normalized volunteering as a natural part of everyday life. Now she runs our town’s central hub for local volunteer opportunities, from food pantries to the arts and …
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4 min
For kids living with serious medical conditions, getting to go to an IU game or seeing the Pacers play might be way harder than it is for you and me. Dream On 3 is a national non-profit that gives children and young adults with disabilities VIP experiences centered around the sports teams that they love. …
4 min
Indiana University Dance Marathon is a student-run organization raising money for Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis. IU Dance Marathon was founded in 1991 and is the second-largest student-run philanthropy in the world, having raised more than 60 million dollars for pediatric research and patient care. IU students come together through fundraising events and volunteer …
4 min
The new coordinator of the Bloomington Volunteer Network has a challenge for us: 100,000 hours of community service this year. Aubrey Seader was raised in a family that normalized volunteering as a natural part of everyday life. Now she runs our town’s central hub for local volunteer opportunities, from food pantries to the arts and …
4 min
Crafting can be a fun way to pass time and express creativity. Madi Russ took her love for crafting and turned it into a way to make an impact on others. Crafts for a Cause is a new club at Indiana University, where students get together and create a variety of crafts, like bracelets and …
4 min
For Janet Sutherlin, the Monroe County Special Olympics are family. She first got involved when her great-nephew signed up to compete, and now she feels like all the athletes are her kids. Special Olympics provides year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities. Janet says …
4 min
Susie’s Place is a child advocacy center with locations in Bloomington, Avon and Terre Haute. Before Susie’s Place, kids who were victims of a crime or witness to a crime lacked a cohesive response. Well-meaning detectives, police officers, caseworkers and prosecutors didn’t have one single place to come together, so kids found themselves telling and …
4 min
You might not think of Brown County as a hotbed of queer culture. But Nashville, Indiana is an artist colony, and the hosts of Brown County Pride point out that LGBTQ+ folks have always been part of the art community. The same group who runs the monthly “Big Queer Hangout” social mixer are now launching …
4 min
The Bloomington art scene is diverse, but there is one local arts alliance to bring all artists together and support their work. Pillar Arts is a resource hub for all locals interested in creating art or just volunteering to help with art classes, music performances, theater camps, and more. Pillar Arts has two local hubs …
4 min
Eating healthy can be expensive. Families on a tight budget might buy cheaper food that isn’t really good for them. Food policy expert Megan Betz has spent years researching food studies and working with local food programs like Community Kitchen and the Bloomington Community Orchard. She also helped start the People’s Cooperative Market, an alternative …
4 min
Lake Monroe is Bloomington’s only source of drinking water, but no government agency is directly responsible for its health. There are 9,000 septic systems in the lake watershed, and some of them are old and leaking. Then there’s contamination from fertilizer runoff. Erosion sends both problems into the lake’s waters, and solving these problems takes …
4 min
If you call Debbie Fish a nag, she might take it as a compliment. Debbie is a persistent taskmaster with an eye for detail, skills that make her a perfect fit for CASA – that’s Court Appointed Special Advocates. Volunteers at Monroe County CASA advocate for children caught up in the local court system, often …
4 min
The annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. birthday celebration happens in January, but in Bloomington a small group of dedicated volunteers work year-round to build what King called the “beloved community.” The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Celebration Commission is an official City of Bloomington board promoting justice, racial harmony, and equal opportunity. Brittany …
4 min
South Central Community Action Program helps low-income families struggling with poverty. Their Head Start program provides free pre-K childcare with a focus on families that need that support so that the parents can go to work. Family advocates provide wraparound services to support client families and can connect them to other SCCAP services. Head Start …
4 min
The Front Door is about to open. Bloomington is getting its first off-campus hub for local queer culture when The Front Door Community Center opens later this year at 122 S. College in the heart of downtown. Organizers say The Front Door is a safe and sober space to support LGBTIQ+ organizations and social groups …
4 min
United Way of South Central Indiana is the non-profit that helps other non-profits. All United Way agencies receive vital support from this umbrella organization, which also provides direct-to-the-public services like their popular annual tax preparation program. Local businesses conduct fundraising campaigns to support United Way, but individual support through donations and volunteer time is also …
4 min
Hoosier Hills Food Bank serves six counties across southern Indiana, working with local agencies to make sure neighbors don’t have to choose between groceries, utilities, or medicine. Associate Director and Chief Administrative Officer Jake Bruner says they distribute between five and seven million pounds of food each year, with at least a quarter of that …
4 min
Healing Hands Outreach Center started in a closet at City Church in 2009, helping maybe 50 fifty people that year. Today Healing Hands has its own storefront on the south side of Bloomington, and last year they helped nearly 50,000. Their focus is on basic needs assistance – things like food, clothing, and household items. …
4 min
Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints, kill nothing but time. That’s the slogan of the Bloomington Indiana Grotto, the local chapter of a national organization for people who love caves – exploring them, and protecting them. Bloomington sits atop a karst landscape – that means lots of caverns, sinkholes, and underground streams. These …
4 min
The Bloomington chapter of Meals on Wheels has been serving homebound locals for over 50 years. Historically many of those clients are elderly – seniors who cannot shop or cook for themselves. But Meals on Wheels isn’t aged-based; they also serve people with a chronic illness or a disability or injury. Carrie McHaley is the …
4 min
When Greg Janowiak moved to Bloomington in late 2024 he found connection in an unexpected place: a non-profit bike shop. The Bloomington Community Bike Project is a volunteer-run space where anyone can stop in, use professional tools, get help with repairs, and maybe even earn a free bike by volunteering. Greg says the group does …
4 min
Windfall Dancers is a Bloomington-based nonprofit dance company that believes movement is more than performance. Managing director Andrea Kleesattel says it’s about connection; through classes, workshops, and community collaborations, Andrea invites people of all ages and abilities to move, create, and belong. Learn how to volunteer at Windfall or utilize their programming, including dance scholarships …
4 min
The Bloomington Center For Global Children isn’t your typical preschool. It’s a non-profit, and it’s multilingual – teachers and kids communicate in both English and Spanish. Rather than just babysitting kids, the center teaches them to care for themselves, their community, and their planet. Nate Herr has two kids that go there, and the experience …
4 min
The Lake Monroe Sailing Association ain’t a yacht club. This local marina operates as a nonprofit in a unique partnership with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources to promote environmentally responsible sailing – it’s the first facility in this area to be designated as an official “Indiana Clean Marina.” LMSA also hosts maritime education programs, …
4 min
Spring is in full bloom at Hilltop Garden & Nature Center. Hilltop is part of Indiana University, but it’s not connected to a specific academic unit and it’s not just for IU students. Hilltop is focused on gardening education, and their work extends into our local school system. Manager Lea Woodard says Hilltop distributes seed …
4 min
Kiwanis International is a global service organization, dedicated to improving children’s lives through community projects. Blake Waskow grew up in Ellettsville and has been involved with Kiwanis since high school, where she was president of Key Club, the student-led high school branch of Kiwanis. Now she’s president of the college branch, which is called Circle …
4 min
Honors Bloomington Outreach is a community service program for IU honors students. Fairview Elementary is one of their favorite places to connect with the Bloomington community. Whether they’re reading stories with kids, helping with homework, or leading fun activities, president Anna Goodrich says those afternoons at Fairview are special for both the kids and the …
4 min
Remember when you were little and college students seemed like the coolest people ever? What if you had been able to hang out with them for a day and see what their life is like? College Mentors for Kids at Indiana University provides that opportunity. This nonprofit was started in Bloomington thirty years ago and …
4 min
Brynna Hardiman knows firsthand what everyday life is like for deaf people. Both of Brynna’s parents are deaf, so American Sign Language was her very FIRST language. Brynna’s mom teaches ASL at the high school Brynna went to, and together they started an ASL club there. In her sophomore year at Indiana University, she took …
4 min
The mission of Community Kitchen is simple: feed hungry people. This Bloomington nonprofit serves meals to anyone in need, no questions asked, from two brick-and-mortar locations and a mobile food truck. Extra services address the needs of people most vulnerable to food insecurity, like homebound seniors and school-age children. Executive Director Vicki Pierce recently celebrated …
4 min
It’s been nearly a year since a tornado wiped out the horse barns at People and Animal Learning Services. No animals were hurt, and if you look at photos of the damage you might call that a miracle. For 25 years this local nonprofit has connected people to horses for adaptive riding therapy and educational …
4 min
Indiana University Student Television is a student-run organization that allows IU students to get hands-on experience running real broadcast operations. Recently IUSTV was a finalist for the Associated Collegiate Press Broadcast Pacemaker award, honoring the top college broadcast programs in the nation. Laynie Pitts started out filling in as a photographer behind the scenes and …
4 min
Access to healthcare is a problem in America AND around the world. Timmy Global Health is an Indianapolis-based non-profit that works to expand healthcare access in developing countries like Guatemala and Nigeria. The Bloomington chapter, Timmy Global Health at Indiana University, is the original and largest collegiate chapter. IU student Nick Thornburg is the Director …
4 min
Sometimes traditional education doesn’t work for everyone – and that’s where Harmony School steps in. This Bloomington nonprofit is focused on democratic principles and individualized learning, helping students get a unique education through small class sizes and direct, hands-on experience. Olivia Throckmartin is Harmony School’s development coordinator. Olivia says March is Art Month at Harmony …
4 min
The Indiana Canine Assistant Network trains service dogs for people with disabilities. ICAN was one of the first organizations to begin training service dogs in prisons, providing a means of rehabilitation and purpose to its incarcerated dog handlers. On the Bloomington campus of Indiana University you might see a dog wearing a snazzy ICAN bandanna, …
4 min
The Indiana University Black Student Union is helping IU students of color better themselves and their community. The mission of BSU is to improve the quality of life for Black students in Bloomington, but members also learn to advocate for themselves. Chapter President Maurquis Willingham says this has helped him build confidence. He’s also proud …
4 min
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Bloomington serve 650 local kids every weekday. Courtney Payne-Taylor got her start at the Boys & Girls Club teaching kids how to skateboard, and now she’s the People & Culture Director, which means she oversees staffing, volunteers, and service-learning programs. In 2025 more than a thousand volunteers helped club …
4 min
Volunteers in Tutoring Adult Learners (VITAL) is a learning lab operating out of the Monroe County Public Library. VITAL started as a literacy program but has expanded in recent years to include English as a Second Language tutoring and helping stroke victims regain their communication skills. Susan Welsand has been a VITAL volunteer for 42 …
4 min
Members of the queer community sometimes struggle to feel seen on their school campus. The Queer Student Union at Indiana University Bloomington is trying to make things easier. Kyleigh Brown is the Queer Student Union president. Recently Kyleigh was awarded a grant that funded a gender-affirming clothes closet at the IU LGBTQ+ Culture Center. Now …
4 min
Environmental activism is often viewed as a liberal endeavor, but climate change doesn’t care whether you’re a donkey or an elephant. The nonprofit American Conservation Coalition aims to build bridges between traditional conservative values and environmental advocacy. In Bloomington the ACC has a student chapter and Indiana University student Nadia Cain is the branch leader. …
4 min
Food insecurity can be a problem for anyone, including college students. On the Indiana University Bloomington campus there are two food pantries known as Crimson Cupboard – one at Campus View Apartments and another in the basement of the Indiana Memorial Union. Both are part of the Student Care and Resource Center, where Kristen Lucas …
4 min
The American Red Cross is one of the most important disaster relief organizations in our social safety net, both here in the U.S. and around the world. Bloomington has an active Red Cross chapter but the Indiana University student chapter was dormant until Jay Patel brought it back to life. Jay feels like so many …
4 min
The plight of the unhoused is an ongoing issue in Bloomington, and the Shalom Center is a primary resource center for local people facing this issue. Today the city is clearing a homeless encampment on Basswood Drive near Twin Lakes Sports Park, and county officials will do the same one week from today at a …
4 min
Royal Encounters is an Indiana University student organization bringing a little magic to kids who need it most. These IU students literally get into character, dressing up as a Disney princess or a popular superhero, to go visit sick kids in the hospital. Laynie Pitts knows exactly what it feels like to be one of …
4 min
The Community Justice and Mediation Center is trying to resolve conflict in Bloomington. CJAM does a lot of mediation in tenant-landlord disputes, helping renters avoid eviction or get something fixed. Mediation can save you time and money, and keep you out of a courtroom. Executive Director Wyatt Lawson wants to train you to be a …
4 min
Bella Inman joined a few clubs during her freshman year at Indiana University, but they didn’t give her what she wanted…so she created her own. Friends Club at IU is a social and philanthropic group for women. This year they are partnering with Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, raising money to support childhood cancer patients. Activate! is …
4 min
The Hoosier Hikers Council ventures out to local forests, using volunteer power to build sustainable walking trails. Head out with them, and you will probably find Terry Usrey. Terry is one of the many volunteers rolling up his sleeves to connect people with nature. Activate! is a partnership between WFHB and the City of Bloomington …
4 min
Jennifer Crossley believes citizen input is crucial for effective government. As Bloomington’s deputy clerk of communications and outreach, she urges local residents to participate in the more than forty boards and commissions that advise city leaders. Jennifer explains how you can provide critical oversight and input on the issues that matter most to you. Activate! is …
4 min
Michelle Moss is the coordinator of the Bloomington Volunteer Network, a resource hub connecting volunteers to local organizations needing their help. The Volunteer Network website has free tools nonprofits can use to recruit and manage volunteers. People seeking to volunteer in the community can set up a profile with their specific interests to be matched …
4 min
Ella Thompson and Lukas Redmond are interns with the City of Bloomington Urban Greenspace program. They help take care of the “green parts” of Bloomington Parks & Rec properties. Volunteers can sign up for “weed wrangles,” removing invasive plants from common areas. This week is the last big push for the year to clear out …
4 min
Lisa Osmon has suffered the unimaginable loss of family and friends to suicide. If your life has been touched by such tragedy, or if you have ever felt like suicide is the way out, Lisa wants you to know that you are not alone. Lisa leads our local chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide …
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