This week is National Volunteer Week and the theme this year is “Connecting Communities.” NeighborLink fits that theme to a T.
NeighborLink is a faith-based, non-profit organization located in Fort Wayne that tries to mobilize neighbors to help neighbors in need.
The goal of their organization is to help fill that gap of supporting people who are aging or have disabilities—those who may not be able to take care of things around their home.
NeighborLink is a direct result of a vision John Barce, who is also a partner at Barrett McNagny LLP, had in the late ‘90s. He dreamed of connecting vulnerable homeowners falling through the cracks with churchgoers unsure how to love their neighbors. Barce and a small team of others self-funded and built the first NeighborLink web platform in 2002.
“(Barce) really wanted to show the love of Jesus to the community and organize people to be able to help those in need,” NeighborLink Director of Community Engagement Josh King said.
The organization has seen significant growth since its inception. Last year, NeighborLink completed over 1,400 projects. The projects range across several different categories, including lawn care, plumbing, roofing, and many more.
If you need assistance or know someone who does, you can submit a project on their website. Once your project is posted, it will be immediately available to volunteers for selection. They can’t guarantee that it will get selected since they are a volunteer-based organization and allow volunteers to choose projects they feel they can complete given their time, resources, and skills.
People looking to volunteer can sign up using the same portal. There is a vetting process done by King and Ryan Neff, their volunteer mobilization coordinator.
Once a month, they host “Step In Saturdays,” where a group of volunteers get together to tackle a project. No experience is needed.
“We do have a consistent group called Carpenters Sons, which is a group of retirees, and they do the bulk of our projects. They’ll meet every Tuesday, have a little bit of breakfast or lunch, and then they go out. My father-in-law has joined them after he retired, and he loves it. They do most of the wheelchair ramps and about 60% of our projects,” King said.
During the summer they host Camp NeighborLink, where they tackle a bunch of projects throughout Fort Wayne. This year’s event will be July 10-11.
King, himself, loves to get out in the community and help. It’s therapeutic for him.
“It’s a good way to get some anxiety out. I’ll just go out and knock out three lawn-mowing projects. I’ll put my headphones in and, for just a minute, turn my brain off. That has helped me in so many ways. It’s a form of meditation for me,” King said.
NeighborLink is a firm believer that we all can give in some way. Whether it’s an hour here or an hour there, we all have that within ourselves. You don’t have to do big projects to make a difference.
“There’s a ton of easy projects on our website that just get overlooked. We have so many dedicated volunteers and people, and we love what we do. We’re just trying to get back to the basics of loving your neighborhood and just as much as you love yourself,” King said.
To learn more about NeighborLink, go to https://www.nlfw.org.
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