And, the winner of our “Making Every Voice Matter” YouTube video contest is…

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May 13, 2008 | | Indianapolis, Indiana

The Indianapolis Neighborhood Resource Center!

Congratulations to the Indianapolis Neighborhood Resource Center (INRC) on winning $1,000 for its video submission! The video shows that all kinds of people are having a voice in improving Indianapolis neighborhoods. And it demonstrates that by employing simple production techniques, a community can use video to showcase its work in a medium accessible to lots of people.

Here’s how the INRC describes the winning video:

Connections. Conversation. Community. Action. Thousands of residents in Indianapolis have joined their voices together to make things happen, to make their voices matter. Be it by way of celebrating a collective identity, restoring peace in a neighborhood, or amplifying the powerful voices of youth, Study Circles in Indianapolis has made a positive impact on life in this place. Conducted in neighborhoods all around the city, Study Circles has been a dynamic vehicle for allowing people to act in the core of democracy. Just see for yourself.

“We plan to share this video with facilitators and supporters to highlight all of the dialogue and action that’s happening in Indianapolis so that they can gain a better understanding of the program,” says Amy Tompkins, neighborhood development specialist at INRC. “We also want to use the award money to train facilitators and participants to use video to tell their stories about their dialogue-to-change experience.”

Started in 2000 with initial funding and support from the Annie E. Casey Foundation and The Indianapolis Foundation, a CICF affiliate, the Indianapolis Neighborhood Resource Center has engaged more than 1,600 residents in dialogue for change on a number of issues, including building strong neighborhoods, child development, public safety, creating a community vision, and youth. The center offers coaching, help with recruiting, technical assistance with dialogue implementation and action forums, and other support to move action ideas to outcomes.

Over the years, the center’s dialogue-to-change efforts have led to a number of outcomes:

• Starting in the summer 2008, establishing a summer arts and urban farming program for elementary- through high school-aged youth.
• A group working with city officials to address flooding and sewer issues in a neighborhood.
• A reading room with mentoring and tutoring services at a local elementary school to help students improve their reading skills.
• A sign contest resulting in children creating a new identity for their neighborhood.
• With a $2,500 grant from INRC, thanks to the support of The Indianapolis Foundation, a CICF affiliate, individual study circles are taking on a number of action projects: Recording an oral history of a neighborhood; developing neighborhood newsletter "billboards" to post at bus shelter display cases throughout the city; creating a newcomer resource guide for their neighborhood; and bringing youth and seniors together to get to know each other and share stories of their neighborhood.