Together They Stand: Indiana's Hometown Heroes

Different from the crime-fighting, capewearing superheroes we usually see in the movies, a new kind of hero has emerged from the national tailspin caused by COVID-19: Doctors. Nurses. Teachers. Even cashiers, restaurant staff and sanitation workers are now being met with a level of admiration usually reserved for Superman and Wonder Woman.

But while the essential workers are taking care of us, who is taking care of them? And who is looking out for people without the means to get the help they need?

Enter the community heroes. People who, regardless of the difficulties they’re personally facing, give resources to those who would otherwise go without and volunteer to help when extra hands are needed.

Even now, a real state of normalcy is nowhere in sight, and many of us are feeling like there’s no hope. Here’s a look at a few selfless stories reminding us why there’s still a lot of it to go around.

BRINGING SCHOOL TO STUDENTS
 

For some kids, school is a safe haven. It’s the only place where they know for sure they’ll eat lunch every day, read books and have an outlet for their natural curiosity.

Quarantine means they can’t go to their safe haven, but the Indy Learning Team partnered with the MLK Center to bring it to them. Starting in March, the organizations packaged boxes with food, school supplies and books, and delivered them each week to the homes of up to 100 students.

Executive Director Susan Appel says we can’t forget to nurture children’s learning needs during this crisis.

“They haven’t lost that routine, the desire to learn and engage, and the love of books,” says Appel.

BRING THE LOVE
 

Although losing their prom and graduation ceremony was painful, the Lebanon, Indiana, High School seniors realized others in their community were experiencing much worse.

To help out, they launched Operation: Seniors Bring the Love. Participating seniors raised $18,000 in May to buy meals from local restaurants and deliver them personally to firefighters and hospital workers.

Leaders Jackie Terrill and Luke Ferrell say the town has always rallied around them, so it was only fitting they give something in return.

“People in Lebanon just want to give back,” says Ferrell. “That’s just the kind of community Lebanon is.”

Clockwise from top: The Indy Learning Team; Lebanon High School Seniors; MBP Distinctive Catering; Gleaners Food Bank

NO ONE GOES HUNGRY
 

To make sure Hoosiers don’t go hungry during the pandemic, Gleaners Food Bank hosted two drive-through food drives on the Indiana Fairgrounds and at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Volunteers and the National Guard loaded a total of 7,200 boxes of produce, dairy and meat into cars that waited in line for up to three hours. Many who came were newcomers, possibly unable to afford groceries as a result of medical bills, caring for extra family members or unemployment.

Chief Programs Officer Kathy Hahn Keiner says Gleaners hopes to keep people from having to decide between paying rent and buying food.

“To be able to provide healthy, nutritious food to people, we hope that helps make it easier for them to pay other bills,” says Hahn Keiner.

FEEDING THE FRONTLINES
 

When MBP Distinctive Catering was left without business during the shutdown, they used their facilities to make and deliver meals to essential workers. In one month, MBP provided around 2,000 food boxes (funded by some of their loyal clients) to test sites and hospital workers in Marion County, Indiana. Director of Sales Brandy Briscoe says the most important thing now is serving others.

“With everything that’s going on, we don’t think of ourselves,” says Briscoe. “It’s all about everyone else.”