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Motivate Our Minds records

 Collection
Identifier: MSS-372

Scope and Contents

This collection includes newspaper clippings, photographs, scrapbooks, promotional materials, and digital records from Motivate Our Minds, Inc. in Muncie, Indiana ranging from 1987 to 2016.

Dates

  • Creation: 1987 - 2016

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Legal title, copyright, and literary rights reside with Archives and Special Collections, Ball State University Libraries, Muncie, IN. All requests to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted to Archives and Special Collections.

Administrative History

Motivate Our Minds, Inc. (MOMs) was founded in the summer of 1987 by Mary Dollison and Raushanah Shabazz. Dollison and Shabazz wanted to provide assistance to under-served and at-risk students in Delaware County through various means of tutoring and enrichment activities. The first group consisted of sixteen students, and all activities were held in Dollison's living room. Of the sixteen students, fifteen successfully graduated from high school, and twelve of the students attended college.

MOMs eventually moved their activities to the Union Baptist Church of Muncie, but quickly found themselves outgrowing the space provided to them. Dollison, Shabazz, and other executives scouted locations across Muncie and eventually settled into their permanent location, a former meat market located on 2023 East Highland Avenue in the Whitely neighborhood. Thanks to grants and donations from the community, MOM's new facility was ready to accommodate students in 2003. The facility was renovated in 2004 to include three classrooms, a library, a kitchen, a computer lab, a community room, and a new office suite.

MOMs offers many educational classes and tutoring sessions, including courses in reading, mathematics, technology, language arts, and physical education. While the organization in dedicated to educating local students, they also help students become responsible members of their communities. Students can help plant, raise, harvest, and sell vegetables at the Motivate Our Minds community garden, assist with the Motivate Our Minds Read-A-Thon fundraiser, or participate in creative activities that promote Muncie and Delaware County history.

The organization currently serves 300 to 400 Delaware County students ranging from kindergarten to the eighth grade.

Extent

2.7 Cubic Feet (4 boxes; digital records)

Language of Materials

English

Arrangement

Arranged in the following series:

Series 1: Motivate Our Minds records, 1987-2016

Series 2: Motivate Our Minds digital records, 2016

Series 3: Motivate Our Minds website archive, 2019-

Custodial History

This collection was received by Archives and Special Collections as a donation from Monique Armstrong on 2017/03/06 and 2017/04/18.

Accruals

Further additions are expected.

Processing Information

Collection processing completed 2018/04/18 by Lindsey M. Vesperry and Shelby Stallard. EAD finding aid created 2017/04/18 by Lindsey M. Vesperry. EAD finding aid revised 2017/04/18 by Lindsey M. Vesperry.

Title
Motivate Our Minds records
Status
Completed
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
Undetermined
Script of description
Code for undetermined script

Repository Details

Part of the Stoeckel Archives of Local History Repository

Contact:
Alexander M. Bracken Library
2000 W. University Avenue
Muncie Indiana 47306 USA