PRESS RELEASES

From LISC Indianapolis:

INDIANAPOLIS (Nov. 13, 2020) – With financial support from the MJ Insurance, The Clowes Fund, IndyREAL, Glick Philanthropies, Chubb, and the Chase Foundation, LISC Indianapolis launched the third round of Indianapolis Small Business Recovery Grants, this time focusing on businesses located on the Far Eastside. With the help of our partners, today we are excited to announce $5,000 grants to 26 small businesses.

LISC Indianapolis recognizes that small businesses are critical to the health of our economy and community. The impact of COVID-19 has been especially acute for minority, immigrant and women-owned businesses. In this third round of funding, LISC Indianapolis received more than 240 applications from small businesses. With the help of a review committee, twenty-one black-owned businesses and five Latinx-owned businesses located in the Far Eastside were selected to receive the $5,000 grant. All grantees have 10 or fewer employees. Approximately 69% of the grant recipients are women-owned businesses (18 of the 26 businesses) and represented a variety of types of businesses including childcare, retail, food, and personal care services.

In 2020, LISC Indianapolis has awarded $5,000 Small Business Relief Grants to 76 minority, immigrant and women-owned businesses, totaling $380,000.

Round Three Grantees:

“Due to a high volume of grant applications in previous grant rounds and ongoing small business momentum, we wanted to focus this particular grant round on small businesses operating in the Far Eastside,” said Tedd Grain, Executive Director of LISC Indianapolis. “The resiliency of these women-and-minority-owned enterprises is critical to our economic recovery. We must prioritize investments in our traditionally under-resourced and connected Indianapolis communities.”

At the beginning of 2020, LISC began working with organizations on the Far Eastside to create an Economic Inclusion Agenda to help identify strategies for more inclusive economic and workforce development. Through this process, we learned more about the diverse small business community and also understood that they were being especially hard hit by the pandemic. This dedicated small business recovery grant for this community is one of the early implementation items of the Economic Inclusion Agenda.

Click here for photos of each of the Round Three recipients. Click here for a list of Round 1 grantees, and here for a list of Round 2 grantees. The following organizations participated in the review committee: La Plaza, CICF, Indy Black Chamber, The Ross Foundation, Indy Chamber –Develop Indy, UNEC/ANU, and Far Eastside residents.

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Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) Indianapolis is the local office of a national organization that helps resident-led, community-based development organizations transform distressed communities and neighborhoods into healthy ones — good places to live, do business, work, and raise families. By providing capital, technical expertise, training, and information, LISC supports the development of local leadership and the creation of affordable housing; commercial, industrial, and community facilities; businesses; and jobs. In short, we help neighbors build communities.

LISC Media Contact:

Megan Bulla, APR

LISC Indianapolis

317-671-5055

mbulla@lisc.org

Winners of prestigious awards to be named Sept. 1

From Indiana Humanities:

INDIANAPOLIS (Aug. 10, 2020) – The 2020 Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana Authors Awards announce the shortlist of books eligible for top honors in its seven literary categories. Thirty-seven books written by Indiana authors and published in 2018 and 2019 have been shortlisted for the awards, which will be announced on Sept. 1.

Shortlisted books were written by lifelong Hoosiers, professors at Indiana colleges and universities, former residents and others with a deep connection to Indiana. They feature stories about life in Indiana, nature and interesting people. At turns whimsical and serious, funny and haunting, shortlist honorees address pressing topics such as race, immigration, teen pregnancy and suicide, as well as otherworldly fare such as fairies, airships and voodoo.

The shortlists are part of the new format for the prestigious awards, designed by Indiana Humanities with support from Glick Philanthropies. Awards are now made every other year. In between award years, starting in 2021, local honorees will have the opportunity to participate in a statewide tour to connect with readers, teachers and students.

Judges for the Indiana Authors Awards included former winners, writers, educators, scholars, local bookstore owners and librarians. Judges chose to shortlist books in the following categories: children’s, young adult, poetry, genre, emerging, nonfiction and fiction. Book winners will be announced on Sept. 1 at 11 a.m. via a Facebook Live Premiere Event, and on Instagram and Twitter and via an email to subscribers at 11:10 a.m. Follow @INAuthorsAwards and sign up at www.IndianaAuthorsAwards.org to receive the announcement. A Literary Champion—an individual or organization that has made significant contributions to Indiana’s literary community—will be announced on Sept. 2 at the same time and via the same channels.

Each category winner will receive a $5,000 cash prize, a hand-crafted limestone award and the opportunity to make a $500 donation to an Indiana library of their choice.

“It is exciting to see so many authors recognized for their contributions to Indiana literature,” said Marianne Glick, chair of the Glick Family Foundation and dauther of Eugene and Marilyn Glick. “They both honor and build on a rich tradition, and I am confident that every Hoosier and every book club in Indiana can find a number of books on these lists that they will enjoy reading and discussing.”

Shortlisted books in each category are listed below.

FICTION

• Brian Allen Carr, Franklin, for Opioid, Indiana, which follows a teen transplant to impoverished rural Indiana who searches for a job, the whereabouts of his drug-addicted guardian and the realities of modern America.
• Bryan Furuness, Indianapolis and a Butler University professor for Do Not Go On, a novel that’s part crime confessional and part coming-of-age tale and involves the Witness Protection Program, college application process and more.
• Brian Leung, Lafayette and a Purdue University professor, for Ivy vs Dogg: With a Cast of Thousands!, about a small-town election, judgmental town committee, teenage pregnancy, and … giant topiary.
• Michael Martone, who was born in Fort Wayne and now lives in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, The Moon Over Wapakoneta: Fictions and Science Fictions from Indiana and Beyond, a collection of stories that showcase a love of obsolete technologies, small-town whimsy, home movies of proms and birthday parties, steam engines and baseball games.
• Chris White, Bainbridge, and a DePauw University professor, for The Life List of Adrian Mandrick, about a pill-popping anesthesiologist and avid birder who embarks on a quest to find one of the world’s rarest species, allowing nothing to get in his way … until he’s confronted with his obsessions and what they’ve cost him.

NONFICTION

• Axton Betz-Hamilton, who grew up in Jay County and now lives in Brookings, South Dakota, for The Less People Know About Us: A Mystery of Betrayal, Family Secrets, and Stolen Identity, a true-crime memoir that tells her family’s shocking story of the duplicity and betrayal that inspired her career and nearly destroyed her family.
• Robert Blaemire, who grew up in Hammond, Indiana, and now lives in Bethesda, Maryland, for Birch Bayh, which reveals the life and career of the U.S. senator from Indiana from 1963 to 1981 and his impact on such issues as civil rights and equal rights for women.
• Ross Gay, Bloomington and an IU professor, for The Book of Delights, a collection of essays, written over a tumultuous year, reminding us of the purpose and pleasure of praising, extolling and celebrating ordinary wonders.
• Nancy Kriplen, Indianapolis, for Irwin Miller, which tells the life story of the remarkable man who led Cummins Engine Company from its roots as a small, family business to an international Fortune 500 company and transformed Columbus, Indiana, into a gem of midcentury modern architecture.
• Bill Sullivan, an Indiana University School of Medicine professor who studies genetics and infectious diseases, for Pleased to Meet Me: Genes, Germs, and the Curious Forces that Make Us Who We Are, which translates cutting-edge science into practical insights.
• Melissa Stephenson, who grew up in Columbus, Indiana, and lives in Missoula, Montana, for Driven: A White-Knuckled Ride to Heartbreak and Back, her memoir about the road to hope following the death of her troubled brother, told through the series of cars that accompanied her.

GENRE

• Maurice Broaddus, an Indianapolis writer, educator and community organizer, for Pimp My Airship, a steampunk, sci-fi adventure through an alternative future of Indianapolis.
• Sofi Keren, Indianapolis, for Painted Over, in which two former friends, artist Paige and soccer-star Ria, reunite and find romance.
• Nate Powell, Bloomington resident and National Book Award-winning illustrator of March, for the graphic novel Come Again, a haunting, supernatural tale of intimacy, guilt and collective amnesia.
• Larry Sweazy, Noblesville, a freelance indexer and prolific author of dozens of award-winning westerns and mysteries, for See Also Proof: A Marjorie Trumaine Mystery.

EMERGING (Defined as a book written by an early-career Indiana author)

• Katie Hesterman, Fort Wayne, for A Round of Robins, a collection of sixteen plucky, playful poems that takes the reader on a journey through the nesting cycle of a pair of robins.
• Sofi Keren, Indianapolis, for Painted Over, in which two former friends, artist Paige and soccer-star Ria, reunite and find romance.
• Robin Lee Lovelace, Plainfield, for her novella Savonne, Not Vonny, which follows young Savonne on her journey from Indianapolis to the bayous of New Orleans through a mix of rural magic and urban realism.
• Chantel Massey, an Indianapolis poet, author and teaching artist, for Bursting at the Seams: A Collection of Poetry exploring the experiences of a Black woman coming of age in the Midwest.
• Melissa Stephenson, who grew up in Columbus, Indiana, and lives in Missoula, Montana, for Driven: A White-Knuckled Ride to Heartbreak and Back, her memoir about the road to hope following the death of her troubled brother, told through the series of cars that accompanied her.
• Annie Sullivan, Indianapolis, for Tiger Queen, a fantasy featuring the adventures of a woman-warrior in an exciting retelling of the classic short story, “The Lady, or the Tiger?”

POETRY

• Lindsey Alexander, Bloomington, for Rodeo in Reverse, a poetry collection woven from bits of Americana: married life, art history, pioneers, witches and more.
• Callista Buchen, Franklin, for Look Look Look a collection of prose poems exploring motherhood with honesty, in all its beauty and realities.
• Eugene Gloria, Greencastle, for Sightseer in this Killing City, which is set in the aftermath of presidential elections in the U.S. and Philippines and is an argument for grace and perseverance in an era of bombast and bullies.
• Debra Kang Dean, Bloomington, for Totem: America her fifth collection of poetry and a meditation on grief and grievance in contemporary America.
• Kevin McKelvey, a University of Indianapolis faculty member, for Dream Wilderness Poems, a collection that draws from Indiana’s environmental history, particularly the Charles C. Deam Wilderness Area in Monroe County.
• Shari Wagner, former Indiana Poet Laureate and Westfield resident, for The Farm Wife’s Almanac, in which the farm wife emerges as a prophetic voice from America’s heartland speaking to the many changes that threaten to uproot all that she loves.

YOUNG ADULT

• Sharon Biggs Waller, Chesterton, for Girls on the Verge, which deals with teen pregnancy and a woman’s right to choose.
• Saundra Mitchell, Greenwood, for All the Things We Do in the Dark, a dark, emotional thriller and Lambda Literary Award finalist that addresses challenging issues affecting young people as they come of age and how individuals work through trauma

CHILDREN’S

• Crystal Allen, who grew up on a farm near New Albany and now lives in Texas, for The Magnificent Mya Tibbs: Mya in the Middle, which chronicles the hilarious hijinks of a Black 4^th grader trying to stand out from the crowd.
• John David Anderson, Indianapolis, for Granted, the tale of a fairy on her first wish-granting day.
• Gabrielle Balkan, who grew up in Indianapolis and now lives in Brooklyn, for her Book of Flight, a beautifully illustrated book that highlights birds, animals and insects and explains how they fly.
• Skila Brown, Bloomington, for Clackety Track: Poems About Trains, a charming book of poems about trains.
• Troy Cummings, Greencastle, for Can I Be Your Dog?, a sweet tale of a dog trying to find a forever home.
• Helen Frost, Fort Wayne, for Hello, I’m Here!, the story of a newborn sandhill crane starting out in the world.
• Michael Homoya, Shane Gibson and Gillian Harris, of central and southern Indiana, for Wake Up, Woods, a gorgeously illustrated book of Indiana wildflowers and native plants.
• Phillip Hoose, who was born in South Bend and spent his childhood in Angola and Speedway, for Attucks! Oscar Robertson and the Basketball Team that Awakened a City, which tells the true story of the all-black Crispus Attucks High School basketball team that broke the color barrier in segregated 1950s Indiana.

For more information on the Indiana Authors Awards, visit indianaauthorsawards.org.

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About the Indiana Authors Awards

The Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana Authors Awards honor the best books written by Indiana authors. Awarded every two years, they celebrate Indiana writers, shine a light on the Hoosier state’s literary community and deepen connections between Indiana writers and readers. They were established in 2009 as a vision of Eugene and Marilyn Glick and are a new component of Indiana Humanities’ rich and diverse literary programming.

About Indiana Humanities

Indiana Humanities connects people, opens minds and enriches lives by creating and facilitating programs that encourage people to think, read and talk. Learn more at www.indianahumanities.org.

Contact information:

Kristen Fuhs Wells, Vice President, Indiana Humanities

317.616.9407, kwells@indianahumanities.org

From The Mind Trust

Indianapolis — (June 25, 2020) — The Mind Trust, an Indianapolis-based education nonprofit organization, today announced it has been awarded up to $1.54 million dollars to support Indianapolis schools during the critical period following an abrupt shift to e-learning caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The Mind Trust received grants from the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation to support a math instruction pilot and from Glick Philanthropies to support professional development for teachers and school leaders on e-learning and social-emotional learning.

The Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation has awarded The Mind Trust up to $1,515,000 over three years to fund a mathematics instruction pilot program. The pilot will be administered in partnership with Instruction Partners and will include eight Indianapolis public schools from three local school networks: Christel House Schools, Tindley Accelerated Schools, and Victory College Prep.

“Research shows teachers are the single largest in-school driver of student achievement, and we need to ensure they are receiving evidence-based training on how to teach math effectively,” said Claire Fiddian-Green, President and CEO of the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation. “Understanding and applying math is critical to success in the labor market, as many high-wage, high-demand jobs are in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) fields. Unfortunately, only 35% of Marion County students passed the math portion of last year’s ILEARN and the outcomes for Black students and students from low-income families were even worse. This pilot has the potential to improve math learning outcomes for all students by providing targeted training to help current classroom teachers deliver math instruction more effectively.”

Due to the shift of math instruction from a procedural model to a conceptual one as a result of more rigorous state standards, many teachers must now teach math in a vastly different way than how they learned the subject in elementary school. While this shift is meant to help students retain concepts better, educators have not always had the necessary support to help them deliver this new framework of instruction effectively.

The pilot will create scalable models for building teacher math instruction skill and efficacy that have been proven to lead to dramatically improved student learning. Additionally, the pilot will develop and codify leadership monitoring systems and teacher supports that foster and maintain the conditions for strengthened mathematics instruction and student learning. Ultimately, The Mind Trust and Instruction Partners hope to translate the work and lessons of this pilot to other networks, schools, and districts in Indianapolis and cities across the country.

The math portion of ILEARN, the Indiana state assessment, measures student learning based on the conceptual instructional model. In the 2018-19 school year, only 34.6% of Marion County students passed the math portion of ILEARN. More alarmingly, only 22% of Black Marion County students and 12.7% of Black Indianapolis Public School students passed the math portion of ILEARN. This proficiency gap contributes to a cycle of racial inequities in student learning and future workforce opportunity. The pilot aims to help break that cycle by creating a school-wide impact on how educators teach math, leading to understandings that will result in improvements in student outcomes across the city.

“Instruction Partners has been a leader in research on effective instruction and student learning for years, and we are excited to partner with them to target their expertise on improving outcomes for students in math,” said Tina Seymour, Senior Director of School Support for The Mind Trust. “We believe this pilot will have a significant impact, especially for students of color. We are grateful to the Fairbanks Foundation for their support to bring this bold, important work to schools in our city.”

Since 2017, The Mind Trust has partnered with Instruction Partners to provide targeted support to help improve instruction and student learning for 14 public schools in Indianapolis. Professional development opportunities offered by Instruction Partners have been well-received and popular with local educators.

“Strengthening math instruction is critically important. In light of COVID-19, mitigating learning loss is even more essential, especially for systemically marginalized students,” said Emily Freitag, CEO of Instruction Partners. “We are excited and humbled to be partnering with some incredible school and school system leaders who are committed to finding ways to bolster teaching and learning, even in these challenging contexts. With the Fairbanks Foundation’s support, we will work together to create scalable models for building teacher capacity that is rooted in high-quality curriculum, and to unlock breakthrough learning that can power more significant improvement across schools.”

The Glick Fund has awarded The Mind Trust $25,000 to fund professional development for educators focused on e-learning, social-emotional learning, and self-care. After school buildings closed abruptly in March, many shifted quickly to e-learning. Through its work as a founding partner of the Indianapolis E-Learning Fund, The Mind Trust has learned that teachers and school leaders are highly interested in professional development that can help them adapt and prepare for a school year that could see additional, extended periods of virtual instruction.

“We are grateful to the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation and Glick Philanthropies for investing in our city’s schools and educators during this critical time,” said Brandon Brown, CEO of The Mind Trust. “This funding will help develop Indianapolis educators and support needed progress to ensure educational equity for all students in Indianapolis.”