Empower Students and Support Cross-Cultural Engagment!!!

We just want a space where people feel like they matter.

Hello kind stranger! We're Cultural Connections, an innagural student organization focused on cross-cultural engagement and education at Indiana University-Indianpolis.

Our mission is to provide a space where 3 things can happen;

1) Provide a space where everyone and anyone can feel comfortable being themselves

2) Provide a space where people can ask questions without fear of misstepping or being offensive

3) A place where people can actually engage with their local community and create community.

We're all a collective of students ourselves, most of us First-Gen or from non-traditional student backgrounds. Regardless, all of us felt like our city of Indianapolis had a massive need- nobody actually talks to one another. Everyone's so afraid of saying the wrong thing, of stepping outside of their comfort zone, that no growth or actual learning takes place. We attempted to go through the channels at our university to change things, but administration is often slow with progressive change, and in the interim us as students directly the brunt of the social isolation. So we made our own space!!! With very little resources or initial university backing, we've hosted massive events in both within and outside of our campus community.

So far, we've hosted cross cultural banquets filled with dancing and a wide array of international food, parades, potlucks, and so many more events to come!!

In addition, we also host;

-Cultural Conversations: a monthly discussion group we host where we discuss the hard hitting topics of Identity that many are afraid to talk about- such as Biracial identity, such as becoming disconnected from your homeland as an Immigrant, and many more!

Books without Boarders; a Bi-monthly book club where we'll read from an author from a different cultural background every 2 months!

Sueñitos de Strangers; a FREE and open access community cookbook, filled with recipes from people all across the city of Indianapolis. Filled with 70 different recipes, across 30

different countries!

(Sueñitos de Strangers)

Food Truck Fridays: Every Friday, starting in the spring, we'll host a different locally owened food truck to be able to advertise and sell its food to the local community- without the truck needing to pay any fees or costs!!

Savor the Culture: Once a month, well try a different locally owened cultural restaurant in the community!!! From Ethopian Injera, to Soul Food collards, to Lebanese Shwarma, to American BBQ!!!

Fire Families: Every underclassmen who applies we'll be matched with an upperclassmen, alumni, or community member so that they have a network of support to help maintain retention rates and build community!!

Cultural Celebrations; Once every 4-6 weeks, we host a massive cultural celebration from different places across the world!! Earlier this month we hosted a big cross cultural parade, next month we'll be hosting a potluck, in November a potential dia de Los Muertos celebration, etc.. and etc.. this is all about engaging and building the knowledge of others and their cultural background through celebration!

Safe to say, we have alot we've both done and have planned to do! This upcoming year in particular, we plan on expanding to better involve staff and faculty alike on campus, as well as more community partners, so as to expand the impact our program has in the city of Indianapolis!!

We aim for nearly event we do to be free or at very little cost, so that price is never a barrier to be apart of our home. Unfournately, that means we've got to bear the brunt of that cost as students! Hence why we need your help!!!

We hope that you'll help us in whatever way you can!!! Whether that's donating even $1, spreading the word of this post, or just reaching out to us in maybe other ways we can celebrate your own culture or people!