Indianapolis is My Home

03
Jun

ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Coming to Indiana

Author: Jason Bean, Category: Areas, Charities, Families, Local Media, People, Real Estate, Volunteers

Do you know a real local hero in our community? The producers at ABC’s Extreme Makeover Home Edition are looking for a family and a home to feature in their TV show.

I just saw this post from Roger at I Choose Indy and thought I’d spread the news.

I know a family that might be a great one to feature on the show, I’ll talk to some friends about nominating them.

If you’re familiar with the show then you probably also know they’ll be needing some volunteers. We’ll keep our eyes and ears open for more information.

03
Jan

Hoosiers Among Those in Kenyan Turmoil

Author: Jason Bean, Category: Charities, General, Government, Indianapolis History, News, People, Politics, Volunteers

When news about Kenya arrives via the TV or Internet, I perk up a little more now than in the past. I’ve got a couple of web clients that are either directly located in Kenya or have strong ties to the area. My parents have been in some of the areas that are at the epicenter of these riots and turmoil as well. After college I had the opportunity to live in Nairobi and work for an undetermined amount of time at a local university there.

I came across an article in the IndyStar today that also let me know there are a number of Hoosiers that are also in the midst of the political strife happening right now in that country.

“I took heart in an ER this morning when I no longer needed to step over a body,” wrote Indiana University’s Dr. Joe Mamlin, who works at Moi University School of Medicine in the western Kenyan city of Eldoret, where about 50 people were burned alive Tuesday inside a church where they had sought shelter.

Hopefully things will calm down and everyone can get home safely. Hopefully the people and government of Kenya can get their own arms around this situation and determine the best solution to bring peace back to their country as well.

News Story: Dozens of Hoosiers stuck in Kenya
Photo Credit: Yahoo News

05
Dec

Annual WZPL Make A Wish Request-a-thon Shoots for $200K

Author: Jason Bean, Category: Business, Charities, Local Media, Special Events, Volunteers, WZPL 99.5

I don’t listen to 99.5 WZPL as much as I used to but I always appreciated their Annual Make A Wish request-a-thon. It’s probably because back about the time they started doing it I was a volunteer for the Make A Wish organization here in Indianapolis and had an interest in other businesses that were also assisting with the efforts of the MAW organization.

We’ve set our most ambitious goal ever this year — $200,000 in 36-hours!  Our friends and longtime Make A Wish supporters at Applebee’s Neighborhood Bar & Grill, UAW/GM, Panera Bread, and eTapestry have made significant pledges.  But, your help is what makes the difference!  Are you ready to share the power of a wish?

Every dollar counts towards the goal.  Take a few minutes to collect money around the office, school, or with your friends and donate as a group.  You can join the Wishmakers Club to spread a larger donation over the whole year.  And, of course, you can make a wacky request with your donation of $25 or more (we receive thousands of requests and will play as many as we can, it’s a lot of fun to play your requests but the Request-a-thon is more about helping children and their families get through a difficult time).

Take a moment tomorrow and for the rest of the week to switch on over to 99.5 and here the stories of some of the children and volunteers that have been rewarded by their involvement with this great organization. Oh, and why not call up and have them play your favorite song that doesn’t make the airwaves much anymore.

21
Nov

Dave Ramsey Live Event in Indianapolis

Author: Jason Bean, Category: Business Entrepreneurs, Pepsi Coliseum, Seminars, Volunteers

Last week Dave Ramsey, personal finance author and speaker, was in Indianapolis at the Pepsi Coliseum. I volunteered at the event and a friend that volunteered with me pointed me to some of these photos they’ve posted on their website.

This is my first event I’ve attended at the Pepsi Coliseum. I wasn’t sure about it but it turned out to be a great venue. Let me also say that volunteering for the event was another great experience. Dave Ramsey’s staff were a joy to work with and made the entire 9 hour process fun and memorable.

If anyone is interested, they’re having a special Thanksgiving sale of their books and materials. Loads of items are all just $10 each.

15
Nov

Dave Ramsey "Total Money Makeover LIVE!" Event Today

Author: Jason Bean, Category: Business, Business Entrepreneurs, Pepsi Coliseum, Special Events, Volunteers

I’ll be participating in “The Total Money Makeover LIVE!” event today at the Pepsi Coliseum. I’m actually volunteering, so if you’re attending you may see me helping you find our seat or selling you a book.

I’ve been a reader of Dave Ramsey’s books since I was in college. Sadly, I’m still working on applying everything I’ve learned to my life. However, the lessons and understanding I’ve gained in all of those years are and have made their impact already.

My goal is that we’ll be out of debt (except for our house) within the next 3 years. If we could get “gazelle intense” as Dave would say, we could probably reduce that to under 2 years.

What about you? What are you financial goals and aspirations? Have you heard of Dave? Do you even consider living a debt-free life a possibility?

31
Jul

Petty Thieves Steel $100 Copper and Ruin $500,000 in Food

Author: Jason Bean, Category: Charities, News, Volunteers

If you live in the Indianapolis area close enough to pick-up a local radio station, you’ve probably heard the news today about Gleaners Food Bank.

This past Friday, thieves stripped and stole the copper from refrigeration units at the bank’s location causing their freezers and coolers to malfunction. The malfunction in-turn caused almost $500,000 in perishable food to be lost.

It takes Gleaners almost a year of dedicated work to raise that much money or collect that much food, and these thieves stole about $100 in copper for recycling, not even touching the food. Honestly, they probably didn’t even realize or think about what they were doing or the impact at the time.

99.5 WZPL is one of the local radio stations that are very active in helping out where they can for Gleaners. They sent the information below out to their Freeloaderz network.

People here in Indianapolis could go hungry unless we get your help today!  You can help by making a cash donation to Gleaners Food Bank today, or a food donation at one of our three broadcast locations starting Wednesday morning. 

Donate by cash or check payable to “WZPL Gleaners Help Fund” at any branch location of Fifth Third Bank.  You can use your credit card or debit card to donate money online through our secure website by clicking here.

Wednesday, starting at 6:00am, the Smiley Morning Show will broadcast live from the Marsh at 2904 South State Road 135 in Greenwood.  Bring any food donation — canned, boxed, jarred, bottled, jugged, even perishables!

WZPL is competing with our two other Entercom Communications sister radio stations to raise the most food and money donations.  If the south side is not convenient for you Wednesday, please visit one of the other two donation points and drop off whatever you can to help:

Ann Duran & 107.9 The Track at the Marsh in Fishers (116th Street & Allisonville Road).
Abdul & Newstalk 1430 WXNT-AM at the Marsh in Trader’s Point (86th Street & 465).

Thank you!  Together, with your help, we can get Gleaners Food Bank up and running again quickly.  If you have any information about the theft at Gleaners, please call the Crimestoppers Tipline at 262-TIPS or contact the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.

31
Jul

Rebuilding the Wall

Author: Jason Bean, Category: Business, Charities, General, Real Estate, Volunteers

At one of my previous jobs a couple of years ago, I was able to participate in a charity work day for an organization called Rebuilding the Wall.

They basically revitalize urban homes and sell or give them to families in the inner city to help them reclaim the neighborhoods and give the family a fresh start with a great new home.

The mission of Rebuilding the Wall, Inc. is to stabilize and empower low-income families by renovating vacant inner city properties and giving the families the opportunity for homeownership.  We combat social injustice by building relationships across racial and socio-economic barriers; and we stabilize community by the recycling of resources within the neighborhood.

As I said, I participated in a one-day work session to help renovate a house. I signed up for their e-mail list and have stayed connected to some of their efforts, even though I haven’t set aside the time to do another event with them.

I think I’m going to present the opportunity to my life group to see if they’d be interested in taking on a project across a few different Saturdays coming up.

If you’ve got a heart for the inner city and are connected with a group of individuals that would be interested in volunteering a few hours or days of your time, I really encourage you to contact Chris Provence or one of the other people involved directly with this organization.