Activate!

The support of Bloomington’s growing Latino population has soared with the hard work of Lillian Casillas. Her work for the past sixteen years with El Centro Comunal Latino and the AMIGOS Club has been transformative for Latino families integrating into the Bloomington community. Lillian’s personal experiences allow her to bring both a warm lightheartedness and a grounding understanding to her …

Mona Clay sets the standard for volunteers at Girls Inc. The reliability of volunteers mentoring these girls is incredibly important – for the functionality of the programming and for the strength of the mentoring relationship. Girls know that Mona will be there week after week, and they know that she cares for them. Volunteers who nourish their relationships with the …

Air date: 04/30/2018 Mary DePew’s herculean volunteer efforts at Volunteers In Tutoring Adult Learners (VITAL) have directly impacted nearly 100 English language learners locally. Those new to the U.S. and new to English often have little interaction with the community until they have achieved the ability to communicate. Mary’s many groups allow her students to work toward their personal literacy …

Air date: 04/23/2018 Phyllis Schwitzer was instrumental in guiding the Psi Iota Xi Sorority, Zeta Chapter philanthropic sorority as they transformed the Bloomington Thrift Shop out of a rental location and into their own building, and from a very part-time operation into a nearly full-time one. The shop has helped many community members over the last 80 years by providing …

Air Date: 4/02/2018 The Bloomington Community Orchard survives and thrives on the hard work of volunteers only. These volunteers, including this week’s subject Stephen Hale, have a powerful vision of what growing and sharing fruit can mean for the community. It can empower people to play a more proactive role in their local food systems, as well as create more …

Air date: 02/26/2018 From the Activate Archives: Local mom and activist Rachel Guglielmo discusses her work with Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, an organization originally founded by fellow Hoosier Shannon Watts. There are chapters of Moms in 50 states, and Rachel is active in the local, Bloomington chapter. Listen to Rachel’s empowering experience committing her time and …

Sarah Yang fell into her involvement with Global Gifts on the invitation of a friend. She connected instantly to the vision, mission, and values of Global Gifts and the impact they make in the lives of people around the world through their Fair Trade store. At just 16 years of age, Sarah already has several years of community engagement under …

Air date: 02/12/2018 Dellsie Boddie serves the community on multiple levels through Cry of the Children, which is an organization that gives equal chances to all children to shine and become functional in society by helping them obtain the tools they need to do so. She works with children, helping them read and discover their natural talents, such as singing, …

Air date: 02/05/2018 Jerry Jerome’s love affair with music began in 1945 when he was in the 3rd grade and spans over 70 years, taking him from the Detroit area to Europe and eventually, to our great gain, Bloomington. He put down his horn for 30 years from 1961 to 1990, as he pursued a career in sales, but returned …

Air date: 01/29/2018 For the past 48 years, the Bloomington Symphony Orchestra has been a musical home for local residents who want to keep their love of music alive, providing them performance opportunities and a real sense of community. And for the past 20 years, BSO has been the volunteer home for Donna Lafferty. She originally started as a volunteer …