In fall 2020, Citizens Energy Group announced the expansion of the Neighborhood Ambassador Program to enhance community and public engagement.
Three geographic areas of Indianapolis – King Commons, Martindale-Brightwood, and SoIndy – were chosen for the initial expansion, with one employee designated as a point of contact for each neighborhood.
In this neighborhood spotlight, learn more about the many ways Citizens is engaging with the Martindale-Brightwood community.
Throughout 2021 and 2022, Jennifer Mentink, Manager Brand and Corporate Engagement, has participated in community meetings to learn more about the needs of the Martindale-Brightwood neighborhood.
“As an ambassador for this program, my overall objective is to leverage Citizens’ various resources to support the initiatives of the neighborhood,” said Mentink. “Through the program, Citizens seeks to positively impact customer satisfaction in an area of the city that is considered under-resourced.”
The Martindale-Brightwood neighborhood is bounded by 30th Street on the north, Sherman Drive on the east, Massachusetts Avenue and 21st Street on the south and the Monon Trail on the west.
Earlier this year, Citizens’ Corporate Sponsorship & Philanthropy Team approved a grant request from the Edna Martin Christian Center (EMCC) to help support its Henry Blair Farm and Gardens, where community members can learn to grow and care for crops. In addition, the garden will supplement the EMCC’s food pantry. The project supports the community’s Quality of Life Plan, which lists food access and insecurity as a priority challenge.
The neighborhood’s community development corporation also recently received a loan through Citizens’ Investment Collaboration On Neighborhoods (ICON) to build the first new affordable housing in the area in more than a decade.
ICON was established in 1995 as a non-profit organization that supports Citizens’ mission of enhancing quality of life and economic development in the communities it serves through low-interest loans for neighborhood redevelopment projects, affordable housing initiatives, and commercial and retail developments.
Mentink serves on the board of the Martindale-Brightwood Community Development Corporation as well as the ICON board. She participated in a press conference in August announcing the project – six townhomes in the 2400 block on North Rural Street, just north of the I-70 interchange for Keystone Avenue and Rural Street. 
Mentink also serves on the MOVE action team, which was formed to assist the community congress of Martindale-Brightwood in creating strategies that fulfill the goals of the Quality of Life Plan.
Citizens also has provided its H2O to Go mobile water source at events in the neighborhood sponsored by nonprofit organization Public Advocates in Community Re-entry, Inc., which provides a variety of services, such as high school equivalency classes, employment placement, and mental health coaching, for previously incarcerated individuals.
“It is so encouraging to see all the good things happening in Martindale-Brightwood,” Mentink said. “I look forward to continuing Citizens’ partnership with the community development corporation and other nonprofits to help build capacity and uplift the community.”
Learn more about how the program got started in the December 2020 Engauge.
Middle: Jennifer Mentink, second from right, participates in a press conference announcing the first new affordable housing project in the Martindale-Brightwood neighborhood in more than a decade. Bottom: Mentink supports the Martindale-Brightwood neighborhood at several events throughout the year.
Get Involved!
We are looking for Citizens employees who live in the Neighborhood Ambassador Program areas. If you are interested in joining a program sub-team, contact Jennifer Mentink (Martindale-Brightwood),Alex Haberfield (SoIndy), and Jennifer Stansberry (King Commons).
