“People are people. Community is community. And everybody wants a safe place, a nice neighborhood, but people are overlooked. To me that was huge—that the answers are the same. People may be different, but the answers are the same .”
—Valerie Davis, CICF community ambassador
We believes communities are most successful and thriving when investments are resident-driven and when neighborhoods have access to culturally relevant art, nature and beauty every day. Our community ambassadors help engage CICF in reciprocal relationships with residents and their neighborhoods. In this month’s podcast, meet our ambassadors and listen to a conversation about what they say are their neighborhood’s assets and challenges.
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Transcription of episode available below.
WHO YOU’RE LISTENING TO
* Pamela Ross – vice president of opportunity, equity and inclusion at CICF
* DeAmon Harges – CICF community ambassador advisor
* Annie Smith – CICF community ambassador representing the Far Eastside neighborhood
* Wildstyle – CICF community ambassador representing the Northwest neighborhood
* Lillian Bailey – CICF community ambassador representing the Crooked Creek neighborhood
* Beatrice Beverly – CICF community ambassador representing the Martindale-Brightwood neighborhood
* Valerie Davis – CICF community ambassador representing the Near Eastside neighborhood
DISCOVER MORE
* Learn more about our community ambassadors and how they support our mission and strategic plan
* The Learning Tree – Indianapolis organization of neighbors that specializes in asset-based community development
Welcome to For Good, Central Indiana Community Foundation’s podcast highlighting stories about passion, purpose, and progress in Central Indiana. At CICF, we believe in opportunity and equity. We believe that our communities and neighborhoods are stronger because of our diversity. And we believe that with innovation and boldness, central Indiana can be a place where everyone can reach their full potential, no matter their place, race, or identity.
This is our community. And these are your stories.
PAMELA ROSS: Hello and welcome to For Good. I’m Pamela Ross, vice-president for opportunity, equity, and inclusion at Central Indiana Community Foundation. In 2017, CICF launched a community ambassador program to engage and elevate the voices of residents. We tasked them with listening to people in discussions about assets in their community, where gaps exist, and where funding can make a difference.
Their feedback has made a significant and lasting impact at CICF. We have built invaluable relationships as a result, which is why I’m happy to be joined today with some of our ambassadors for a candid conversation about their neighborhoods and how we’ve been learning and growing together.
We have DeAmon Harges, who has been a longtime organizer for the community and for the City of Indianapolis. DeAmon was part of our first cohort of 36 ambassadors in 2017. We asked him to come back and he took a step further in saying that he wanted to play a role of leadership in this. I can absolutely say that DeAmon has made a big difference in my learning, in my journey, in being able to lead this for the organization.
DEAMON HARGRES: Pam, you’ve been very gracious, and thank you for that.
PAM: Next, Annie Smith. Annie, like all the ambassadors at the table, is a longtime resident of Indianapolis.
