2008 Mayor’s Community Service (MCS) Awards

By: Jane Mullikin

Karen Mitchell, a resident of Grandville Co-operative and a recent graduate of Making Connections Indianapolis Resident Leadership Facilitation training was honored by Mayor Greg Ballard and Deputy Chief Mayor Olgen Williams with one of the 2008 Community Service Awards on December 16, 2008. Following is the essay nominating Karen for the award:

When Karen Mitchell says, “We’ve come a long way, but I’m not finished yet,” she means it--and the more she says it, the harder she works.

Karen worked as a Corrections Officer while raising a family of six, eventually becoming disabled after back surgeries. Not the kind of person who gives up or gives in, Karen became concerned about the dilapidated condition of the Grandville Co-operative on the near Southeast side of Indianapolis. Through the grapevine she learned the Co-op, a low income housing project, was close to bankruptcy created by a lack of oversight of the management company and was possibly on HUD’s closing list. Karen ran for the Board.

After gaining a seat on the Board of Directors in 2003, Karen began a vigorous campaign to revitalize the condition of the buildings and the grounds, to put in place proper oversight of the management company and to insure Grandville would be able to pass all audits and inspections. In her spare time, she went back to college.

Once the set of goals described above had been reached, Karen began her campaign to enrich and transform the lives of the community. She started with HOPE team and provided permanent housing for a group of Katrina families, Prenatal Housing Program from HIP, and has now added Making Connections Indianapolis’ Play and Learn for the preschoolers, Youth Leadership Facilitation training for the teens, a Junior Leadership Committee, and a Study Circle from Making Connections. Subsequently, with the raising of community awareness she was able to instigate a Grandville Planning Committee. She plans and oversees community social activities on a year round basis.

The Board Treasurer estimates Karen’s volunteer hours per month at about 167. Board meetings, hearings, orientations consume about 32 hours; administrative duties (there is no paid staff) at about 35 hours per month; direct services/security will consume around 100 hours. Karen is actually on duty 24/7 and makes every effort to be available whenever a community member needs guidance, comforting, and a ready should upon which to cry.

As the Southeast Organizer for Youth Initiatives with Making Connections Indianapolis, I have been working closely with Karen for some time now. I am a part of a world where many wonderful community members pour themselves into community service, and I still stand in awe of all that Karen Mitchell is accomplishing in the Grandville Co-operative. She stands head and shoulders above the crowd. --Jane Mullikin