Feeding the Meter

I have been encouraged lately by seeing groups of people organizing to help others in the community. It reinforces my belief that the majority of people in the world are quite generous.

In the last several months, some friends and I have met together to brainstorm things we can do around Indianapolis. Instead of reinventing the wheel, the group currently serves as a clearinghouse of ideas and events we can participate in. We call it Feeding the Meter, which is based on the idea of going down the street putting money in all of the parking meters; a simple pay it forward action. The link above is to our Google Group, where most of the communication takes place. Feel free to join in the discussion.

Speaking of “paying it forward”, another group recently restarted: The Pay it Forward Meetup. I went to the first meeting and there were about 10 people there, with a variety of interests and passions. It, too, seems to be a clearinghouse of things to get involved with. As mentioned, it's encouraging to see so many people getting together to help. It also shows me that sometimes we just need an idea of “where to start” and groups like this give the opportunity to join in with like-minded people.

An event that I discovered recently and decided to participate in is Homeward Bound Indiana. This project is a series of walk-a-thons throughout the state that raise money for affordable housing and homeless service providers. Since 2003, they have raised nearly 2 million dollars for over 90 different agencies.

I have started up a team with the goal of recruiting 10 walkers and raising $1000. This works out to each walker raising $100, which I think is a reasonable goal. Please consider joining our team or donating. Keep in mind these are goals and not requirements – you're welcome to join us no matter what amount you raise, and 10 is not a cap on the number that can join us. Every dollar counts and the more people the merrier! The 5K walk is on Sunday April 27, 2008, 2pm - 3:30pm at University Park in Indianapolis.

Here is the list of agencies our team's fund raising will be supporting (total amount split among them):

• Adult and Child Mental Health
• Community Alliance of the Far Eastside, Inc.
• Englewood Community Development Corporation
• Habitat for Humanity of Greater Indianapolis
• Homeless Initiative Program
• Horizon House
• Interfaith Hospitality Network
• Mary Rigg Neighborhood Center
• Midtown Community Mental Health Center
• Starfish Initiative
• Stopover, Inc.
• The Abbie Hunt Bryce Home (VNS)
• The Julian Center
• Trusted Partners