For 15 years, IndyVolved has brought our city together with a clear goal – connecting passionate, committed and talented young people to the organizations doing good and making a difference here in Indy. Over the years, we’ve connected thousands and thousands of people to volunteer opportunities, board seats, affinity groups and passion projects. What started as a small event in the basement of the Murat grew to be a major summit of our city’s leaders, doers, and change makers, filling the massive Indianapolis Central Library from the lobby to the top floor.
As we launched into 2020, we started making plans for an IndyVolved that would be our biggest and best yet – an event that would match the fierce magnitude of our civic pride and harness the energy of a generation of young people who are stepping up and leaving an imprint on our community. But as those plans were taking shape, so was the staggering reality of a global public health crisis that brought our city, state and nation to a halt.
We could have put our plans on hold, looked to 2021, and decided that it would be best to hunker down and quietly weather this storm. But that wouldn’t be IndyHub, and it most certainly wouldn’t be Indianapolis. When faced with seemingly insurmountable challenges, our city rallies together. We look out for each other. We collaborate and bust through barriers to ensure our neighbors are served, uplifted and empowered.
You’ve seen it over the last few months. Small businesses stepped up to help, like Howl + Hide making masks for healthcare workers or West Fork Whiskey producing hand sanitizer. Partnerships formed to help support basic needs, fortify educational programs or to ensure #IndyKeepsCreating. And still others have adapted to protect Indy’s vibrancy, from HI-FI’s outdoor stage to an alliance of venues who want to ensure the music doesn’t fade. Across every sector and every area of need, we’ve banded together.
So just as our city pivots and evolves to keep meeting the challenges of the day, so must our efforts to connect, engage and empower a generation of leaders. Sure, IndyVolved won’t be filling up the Central Library with thousands of people this year, but we intend to exponentially increase our impact by focusing on civic engagement, growing skill sets, giving back, and volunteering.
Throughout the entire month of September, IndyVolved 15 presented by Indianapolis Power and Light Company will highlight 100+ Indy nonprofits, showcasing the ways that they are serving our community and providing opportunities for you to plug in. We’ll host conversations that tackle the issues facing our city and let you hear directly from the front line workers who are fighting every day to design solutions and get results. We’ll help you plan your impact and ensure that whether it’s your time, talent or treasure, what you give is paying off. And we’ll even provide some useful swag that helps you give back to our city as often as you’d like.
So consider your September booked, because we’ll have something for everyone. And in the meantime, meet the organizations that are looking for people just like you to do good often.
