Connecting neighbors: How NeighborLink fosters community through service

Fort Wayne is home to a vibrant and extensive group of human service nonprofits. One of those organizations — NeighborLink — is trying to make serving the local community as easy as possible, all while focusing on building lasting and impactful relationships between neighbors. 

By removing barriers to volunteering, including skill requirements, personal financial investments, and time concerns, NeighborLink connects volunteers around Fort Wayne directly to neighbors through its website service. 

“We’re just here to bridge the gap between people who can help and people who need help,” says Ryan Neff, volunteer mobilization coordinator at NeighborLink. “The biggest way we can do that is by using our website.”

While many organizations in Fort Wayne provide similar service programs, NeighborLink says that its free platform is the most accessible way for volunteers to begin making a difference in their neighbors’ lives. 

John Barce started the organization in 2002. He realized needs in the community required more effort and attention. He took advantage of the growing internet to create NeighborLink and its online bulletin, which has grown with the program’s reach since its inception.  

Outside of Fort Wayne, the NeighborLink program is active in 30 other states. The national program is separate from the local organization, but NeighborLink Fort Wayne provides their platform and interactive map to other nonprofits that are doing similar work.

Community members in need of assistance can reach out to NeighborLink over the phone or visit the website. Over the phone, neighbors provide their name, address, and a description of their project to NeighborLink’s Neighbor Relations Coordinator. On the website, neighbors enter their information and project requests into NeighborLink’s database. 

Neff oversees the volunteer branch of the organization. He provides assistance and onboarding to volunteers who are interested in getting involved around Fort Wayne. Josh King, director of community engagement, connects NeighborLink with outside organizations interested in volunteering and leaving positive impacts on local neighborhoods. 

Building relationships between volunteers and neighbors in need is NeighborLink’s driving mission. 

“The beauty of this organization is that it just makes it so accessible to meet your community,” says King. He says that many people hesitate to volunteer because they do not know where to start. NeighborLink targets that hesitation by making volunteering as accessible as possible through its online map. 

During the summer and fall seasons, NeighborLink’s busiest time of year, most neighbors post lawn mowing and leaf raking projects. Other common jobs include plumbing, building wheelchair ramps, and HVAC repairs.

“We know when April hits, people are going to be calling needing their lawn mowed. That’s something that is simple in nature, but complex when it trickles down,” says King. “Because if people don’t get their lawn mowed, they get a citation, then they get a fine, and then that can just snowball from there.”

Since the beginning of the year, NeighborLink volunteers have completed over 600 projects for Fort Wayne community members. With an active and consistent volunteer base of 700 people, Neighborlink expects 2026 to be its biggest year so far. 

Besides the organization’s one-on-one volunteer program, NeighborLink offers events where other local organizations and community members can take on larger volunteer projects. A wide variety of Fort Wayne’s organizations, businesses, housing associations and schools frequently volunteer with Neighborlink, offering service opportunities for people from all backgrounds.

In July, the organization hosted Camp NeighborLink, a community event intended to introduce first-time volunteers to NeighborLink’s mission.

“It was pretty much an event to invite people into what we’re doing, and then also have them meet neighbors and kind of do their own thing there,” says Neff. “We did lawn mowing, we did hydrant painting and we did yard cleaning.”

They partnered with Star 88.3 to host a block party during Camp NeighborLink.

Lisa Deck, a local teacher, volunteers with NeighborLink through church groups frequently. Since she began volunteering two years ago, she has completed a variety of projects for schools, community churches, and neighbors. She also attended Camp NeighborLink in 2025 and 2026. 

“Last year, 2025, hundreds of people showed up for Camp NeighborLink. It was almost like a fair, with sign-in tables, organized projects—such as painting fire hydrants and helping with neighbors’ landscaping—church and youth groups, T-shirts, amazing catered food and plenty of tools to get the job done. This year was a much more scaled-down version, but still just as impactful,” says Deck.

Supporting the community keeps her involved in these volunteer programs. 

“It felt good to help people who no longer can help themselves due to physical limitations or age. The absolute best part for me is meeting the people we’re helping, and sometimes their neighbors, too,” says Deck. “It feels like being a part of a family.” 

Deck says that she also appreciates how easy it is to get involved through NeighborLink.

“Sometimes the paperwork or signing up keeps us from action. NeighborLink makes it so easy to sign up, view the projects and choose ones that work for you. There are family-friendly ones as well, or [you can] sign up with a group to create more energy and support.” 

As part of their efforts to make volunteering accessible, NeighborLink provides first-time volunteers with the necessary resources for volunteering.

“If you come to a serve day and you’re a first-time volunteer, we help you out in picking out your projects — we just ask that you bring some work gloves or whatever material specifically you need for that project,” says King. “We’ll never sign you up on a project that you can’t do.”

King says that seeing the community come together to inspire change and make lasting relationships is really what NeighborLink is all about.

“​​We’re all interconnected, and so if one of their neighbors [is] suffering, we’re all suffering,” adds King. “The hope for humanity is to be in community with one another.”

As volunteer numbers continue to grow over the years, Neff says that NeighborLink’s goal is not to grow their organization; rather, their priorities lie in inspiring personal growth in their volunteers. 

“NeighborLink Fort Wayne doesn’t need to grow,” says Neff. “People need to adopt it: the lifestyle of serving.”