April 1, 2024, marked the bicentennial of Allen County. As a means of celebrating that anniversary, a committee was formed to plan events, campaigns, and programming. A flag-designing competition, sculptures painted by regional artists, a time capsule, a large “bash” in November and more fill out the year-long celebration.
The committee has tapped different local organizations to help them achieve their goals. One of those organizations was
Young Leaders of Northeast Indiana, or YLNI as it’s more commonly called. YLNI is a nonprofit, membership-based organization that helps attract, retain and develop young leaders across the region.
YLNI is fronting the
200 Acts of Kindness Campaign, which calls on Allen County residents to complete 200 acts of kindness this year.
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CourtesyDonations to stock The Pantry at PFW to address as part of the 200 Acts of Kindness Campaign.We sat down with YLNI Board President Ian Broad-White to learn more about the project and the ripple effect he hopes it could have in Allen County.
1. What is Young Leaders of Northeast Indiana (YLNI)?
Ian Broad-White: We kind of have three pillars or three targets in our mission– that's to attract, develop, and retain young leaders.
We're getting ready to go on 20 years– next year. I obviously have not been involved for all 20 years. This is my sixth year. In 2004, the council realized people were leaving because of the brain drain. They wanted to figure out why, so they asked people, “Hey, can you help us figure out why?” This group came together, figured it out, did some connecting and then realized that they all wanted to see people stay in this area and thrive. So, then in 2005, that's when YLNI was founded.
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Stephen J. BaileyYLNI Farmers MarketWe provide networking opportunities, social engagement, leadership development opportunities, and community impact. We do offer a lot of programming too. Those are very generic terms, but there's a lot more behind them. The
YLNI Farmers Market is the most known thing. It's really big, very popular and award-winning, so we're very proud of it.
We have a board of directors and that’s who runs the organization as a whole. We have a farmers market manager and a market assistant. They run the show there every Saturday. But as far as the organization goes, we've come almost 20 years and it has been volunteer-led or driven up to this point. As we looked at our strategy, we realized that in order to go another 20 years and beyond, we need someone that can dedicated, full-time, and be paid to do that. So, we're actually in the process and we will be opening up to bring on an executive director, which is exciting for the organization. Those who have been involved for 20 years really have put a lot of blood, blood and tears into it and I know we'll continue to do that.
2. What is the 200 Acts of Kindness Campaign?
IBW: There are several different pieces to commemorate the Allen County Bicentennial this year– one of them being the 200 Acts of Kindness Project. We launched our campaign in April or May of this year, really looking at how we spread kindness. How do we just create a ripple effect? That’s all it is. We didn't want to put a lot of rules or guidelines because being kind means something different to everybody.
It's pretty straightforward– 200 acts of kindness, for Allen County’s 200th birthday. That can be 200 acts that you individually do. It can be 200 acts that a group or organization or school does. You can do more than 200. Kindness is not a bad thing and we need more of it.
Some people don't necessarily want to be recognized or patted on the back or seek out that attention just because they did something that was a small, kind gesture, but I think more so today than ever we need to shed light on that. Not only do we want to really encourage kindness but we want to make sure that folks know that Allen County is the kindest county that we can be and maybe it's the kindest county in the state or the nation.
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CourtesyDonations to stock The Pantry at PFW to address as part of the 200 Acts of Kindness Campaign.3. How can people participate in 200 Acts of Kindness?
IBW: It could be as simple as holding a door or smiling at somebody, saying “Hi, how are you?” to buying a cup of coffee or paying it for in the drive-through or going out and volunteering. Now we're getting into fall, so maybe it's yard work or helping rake leaves.
The big thing is we want to make sure that they get uploaded to our tracker on our website so that we can see that number increase. It also gives people the chance to share as much or as little as they want about the acts that they may do.
In November, at the Bicentennial Bash, that's where we're going to come together and celebrate together with some folks here in the community. I would love to have, whether it's a word cloud or just different acts that are submitted kind of pop up on the screen behind me as I'm sharing about this project. It doesn't have to include your name, someone else's name, or even a company name, but just what happened? What did you do? Because again, I think we can all use a little bit more kindness– a little bit more hope. I think it'll just really help cement the fact that Allen County is one of the kindest places.
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CourtesyA YLNI board member and her family on an evening walk with the goal of picking up 200 pieces of trash over the course of the year.The bicentennial is all year long and we aren't stopping at Bicentennial Bash in November. We want to challenge people to go through the end of the year. And again, it's simply just to create that ripple effect and get kindness back in the forefront.
4. How does the 200 Acts of Kindness campaign align with YLNI’s mission?
IBW: We were approached by the Bicentennial Committee and they said they wanted YLNI to partner with them for this project. I felt that YLNI could champion this project, because not only do we have a really influential group of members in their 20s and 30s, but I believe the work that we do through our mission is ultimately community-oriented, community-minded, and ultimately that kindness piece. It wasn't a difficult decision to say yes to that.
Learn more about the 200 Acts of Kindness Campaign.