Indianapolis, IN — Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch and the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority (IHCDA) has chosen seven groups to participate in the 2023 My Community, My Vision (MCMV) program, which connects high school students across Indiana to each other and to their neighborhoods, towns, and cities.
Organizations chosen to take part include the Mayor’s Youth Council of Greensburg, the Batesville Mayor’s Youth Council, and the Ripley County Youth Outreach.
“Maintaining strong and viable communities is important to the health of Indiana, and we need future leaders to begin thinking about their own visions for their cities and towns,” said Crouch. “My Community, My Vision invites these future decision-makers to share their ideas and plans with local officials. By their involvement, student leaders will learn about the planning process and the collaborative efforts required to create and maintain vibrant communities.”
In collaboration with the Indiana Philanthropy Alliance (IPA) Youth Council program and the Association of Indiana Municipalities (AIM) Mayoral Youth Council program, the seven selected cohorts of students representing communities across the state will participate in a four-month program consisting of in-person workshops and self-guided curriculum to assist them in planning and fundraising for a place-based community project.
Utilizing elements of IHCDA’s crowd-granting CreatINg Places program, students who successfully strategize, plan, and raise a fundraising goal of between $5,000 and $50,000 towards their community project in the program’s duration will receive a matching grant from IHCDA.
“The Ripley County Community Foundation is excited to partner with Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority through the My Community My Vision Grant,” said Lexi Brown,
Ripley County Youth Outreach Assistant Program Coordinator.”This project will create a safe and welcoming outdoor gathering space at the Daren Baker Memorial Park in Milan for all to enjoy. We look forward to seeing our Ripley Youth Outreach members make their mark in their community.”
“I am very excited to see the efforts of the Mayor’s Youth Council being recognized by IHCDA. As a community, we should be proud to support this countywide group of students that are working to invest in our community,” said Greensburg Mayor Joshua Marsh. “The community is stronger when we have people from all generations at the table working towards a growth-oriented vision.”
Youth councils, alongside their foundation or local unit of government sponsor, will work throughout the spring semester to determine a project, craft a budget, develop a fundraising goal and strategy, and raise the needed funds for all materials during a 30-day fundraising campaign.
Students will attend three required in-person workshops hosted by IHCDA where they will learn about different subjects such as placemaking, fundraising strategies, and stakeholder engagement to give students knowledge about the aspects of community planning, help reach their set project goal and provide networking and leadership opportunities.
The selected teams will officially kick off with a workshop event on January 21, 2023.
At the final in-person workshop, students will present their work and success to their peers and Indiana’s community development leaders.
More information on My Community, My Vision can be found on IHCDA’s website.
