Your Story. Our Community.

We really meet our students where they are, and they appreciate having the opportunity for a second chance. We want to accept students who really need the training and are sincere about working hard in the industry. We’ve had over 700 graduates, including a former chef for the Colts, but I’ve seen some of my students here, and they’ve already gotten management positions. They’ve done a lot in a year and a half’s time.
—Vincent, director of culinary job training at Second Helpings

Libraries are not traditionally places that immigrant or refugee communities are accustomed to. Often in their home countries libraries do not exist at all—the concept makes no sense. Or libraries are connected to government, which can be iffy at times. So we try to reshape how that community sees and experiences libraries; what do we need to do to serve them effectively as those demographics shift and grow. We offer programs and classes specifically for these groups of people. Bilingual experiences and conversation circles. We have many people who say that they’ve never heard of people from these countries, and they’re our neighbors.
—Jessica, immigrant program specialist at The Indianapolis Public Library

Like any business we need funding to operate. It is very important for us to be clear about our niche, what we do and why. We have some service fees for folks that can pay to be here, scholarships for those who can’t, and those fees don’t come close to covering our expenses. We need to raise 70% of our operating and program expenses.

Organizations like CICF are cornerstones to allowing us to serve our riders. We could not do what we do without them. The donors that give to CICF and the team there change our community. Whether you’re a donor or volunteer, you are positively changing the community and families in Central Indiana.
—Amanda, executive director of Agape Therapeutic Riding

My favorite part about my job is meeting people from different countries with different backgrounds. I came here through the Exodus Refugee from the Congo in 2013. I went through the program here and found my way around Indianapolis. There are over 100 families from the Congo living in Indianapolis. Exodus Refugee has built a community and helped me with the transition from the Congo to Indianapolis. Now I work for Exodus Refugee, and I can help people with their transition to America.
—Ally, case manager at Exodus Refugee

The arts in Indianapolis have changed so dramatically. A lot of new organizations and we’ve seen major changes in the visual art community – some good and some not. The other big change that we’ve seen recently are the changing demographics of our country and city, which changes attendance patterns. The millennial generation has put a lot of emphasis on organizations and experiences happening outside of the traditional model. We are looking at how we can fund innovation and new ideas.
—Dave, president and CEO of the Arts Council of Indianapolis

A client came by for help with a translation. The document he asked us to translate was an eviction notice. He didn’t know that and got upset without knowing what to do. We signed him up for some emergency assistance. We got to help him work with his landlord to figure out a payment plan and help with his utilities. We like to make sure that folks don’t become dependent on our services and within six months he was able to move his family here. He was in here recently with his whole family. We got to meet them and take pictures. They were all ecstatic! I’m so passionate about helping people in direct service, especially in an organization that doesn’t simply resource out everything. I love La Plaza because we sit our clients down and say ‘this is where you can go, this is what I can help you with.’ If we can’t help them we find someone who can. We work with thousands of clients every year, and we can’t do that without funding.
—Breanna, program manager at La Plaza