The Heart of Little Flower

August greetings, neighbors!

There's something about summer in Little Flower that has always felt like a warm hug. Porch lights stay on a little later, gardens are in full bloom and neighbors are out walking their dogs. It all creates the feeling of home. That spirit was on full display at our Annual Meeting and Ice Cream Social on July 21, where we voted on our 2026-2027 board slate and celebrated everything we accomplished together over the past year.

Looking back, it's remarkable how much we achieved thanks to neighbors who cared enough to step forward and make things happen. I'd like to take a moment to celebrate just a few of the people and projects that helped make this year so special.

Some of the most important work happened quietly behind the scenes. Gabi Weldy, Miles Reiter and Erin Turner led a complete redesign of our website. While it may not have been the most visible project, it serves as the front door to our neighborhood. It's where neighbors learn about events, new residents discover our community and people can stay connected without relying on social media. The redesign also automated several administrative tasks, freeing board members to spend more time on projects that make the biggest impact. This kind of work often goes unnoticed, but it's foundational to everything we do.

Another behind-the-scenes effort keeps our newsletter arriving in your inbox each month. Neighbor Lee Jourdan faithfully brings it all together, helping keep our community informed and connected. Like so many volunteer efforts, it's easy to overlook, but it plays an important role in strengthening our neighborhood.

Other accomplishments are impossible to miss. Eavan Shaw Rodriguez led the effort to transform the traffic signal box at 10th and Bosart into a colorful piece of public art through the Indy Arts Council's Streetcorner Canvasses program. What was once an ordinary utility box is now a whimsical storybook scene that brings a little extra joy to everyone who passes by.

That same corridor is also home to a larger, long-term vision. Gabi Weldy and Jakob Morales have been leading our work on the 10th Street Cultural District alongside Riley Hudelson-Zipper of Grace Tuxedo Neighborhood and Mariam Alam of Emerson Heights Neighborhood. Because 10th Street connects all three neighborhoods, this partnership has been essential in shaping a shared vision for the corridor. Their leadership is laying the foundation for a place that could look and feel very different for years to come.

Community isn't only about placemaking and beautification. Sometimes it's about being prepared for life's hardest moments. Gabi Weldy and neighbor Stacey W. brought Stop the Bleed training to Little Flower, giving neighbors the skills and confidence to respond in an emergency before first responders arrive. It's the kind of training no one hopes to use, but everyone should have.

That same spirit of care is reflected in our neighborhood cleanups, affectionately called Litter League. Buffy Stout had the vision to bring regular cleanups to Little Flower and has been organizing them ever since. In 2025 alone, volunteers completed 44 cleanup shifts and collected 61 bags of trash from our streets. Buffy's leadership has made a visible difference and inspired others to invest in the place we all call home.

This year also marked the beginning of something entirely new. Bethany Baugh, Brooke Merry and Eavan Shaw Rodriguez have poured their energy into launching NeighborShare. The idea grew out of a leadership program several of us attended through the Indianapolis Neighborhood Resource Center, which also awarded the grant that helped make it possible. NeighborShare exists because we believe neighbors should be able to lean on one another, not only during a crisis but in the everyday moments when someone needs a helping hand. It captures the very best of what Little Flower is all about.

These projects represent only a small sample of what happened in Little Flower this year. Every one of them began with a neighbor who cared enough to bring an idea forward and see it through. Watching those ideas become reality continues to inspire me year after year.

That's what I mean when I say Little Flower is a neighborhood people choose to be part of. That spirit is reflected in public art, neighborhood improvements, emergency preparedness, shared skills and helping hands. It lives in every Saturday morning cleanup, every community event and every act of kindness between neighbors. None of it is required. People simply choose to invest in one another and in this place we all call home.

As we begin another year together, I'm excited to see what we'll build next.

Thank you for making Little Flower a place I love and am proud to call home.

Warmly,

Jo Harris President