Spring Forward stories, The Eating Well, St. Patrick's day events and more NRC news! Love what we do? Click here to donate to Neighborhood Resources Corp. now, and support your South Bend neighborhoods. Follow Us On Twitter Friend Us On Facebook Forward To A Friend Introducing the Future! Please join Marilyn Gachaw and The Eating Well for a kickoff event at noon Saturday. The Eating Well is a community-based grocery store project at 401 N. Bendix Drive, designed to address a food desert problem on the city's west side. "Currently it's more difficult for residents to buy an apple or a carrot than to buy a soda or a candy bar," say the organizers, Marilyn Gachaw and Catherine Flatley. The public is invited for refreshments and to hear invited speakers. The fundraising event is free, but donations will be accepted. Call 574.261.8878 for more information, or learn more at the Facebook link here

It's all Irish this weekend for the DTSB St. Paddy's Tent Party & Pub Tour, from 5 to 11 p.m. Friday. General admission is $5 for the tent party at Wayne and Michigan streets, and is THE place to be for St. Patrick's Day if you're 21 and older. Event features Dancehipology, The Bandersnatch, Phineas Gage Band and P.S. Dump Your Boyfriend. There are also 17 downtown pubs on this year's tour, including Blarney Stone, Chicory Cafe, Corby's, Emporium Restaurant, The Exchange Whiskey Bar and Woochi. For a complete pub-tour list and other details, check the link here . Don't forget the parade Saturday, with details here

Have you attended any of the Awesome '80s movie nights at The State Theatre ? Each Wednesday night at 7 p.m., the State has been featuring flick favorites like "The Breakfast Club" and "St. Elmo's Fire." Your next chance to see one is on March 19 for a showing of "Some Kind of Wonderful." Remember that one, about a young tomboy named Watts who finds her feelings for best-friend Keith run deeper when he gets a date with the most popular girl in class? Yeah, that one. Tickets are $3 and there's trivia, games and snacks to round out the fun -- along with a costume contest. Beer and wine are available with an ID. South Bend Things To Do and See ******** Majora Carter































March 13 A free Basic Garden Care class, the last in a series, begins at 6 p.m. at Unity Gardens, 702 Chapin St. Learn more about Unity Gardens and the upcoming Growing Summit at the link A free Basic Garden Care class, the last in a series, begins at 6 p.m. at Unity Gardens, 702 Chapin St. Learn more about Unity Gardens and the upcoming Growing Summit at the link here March 14 The League of Women Voters monthly lunch meeting features Dr. Elizabeth Bennion, host of WNIT's "Politically Speaking" as speaker. Lunch orders begin at 11:30 a.m. at South Bend Chocolate Cafe, 122 S. Michigan St. The talk itself is free and open to the public. Learn more at the link

March 18 South Bend Green Drinks meets at 5:30 p.m. at South Bend Chocolate Cafe, 122 S. Michigan St. Learn more about this sustainability networking group and their monthly meetings at the Facebook

March 18 The Community Forum for Economic Development

March 19 The Landlord-Tenant Committee meets at 5:45 p.m. at the NRC Office, 217 S. Michigan St. This monthly neighbor-led meeting of homeowners, landlords and tenants is designed to solve problems and build stronger neighborhoods. Call 574.287.0425 to attend, or for more information.

March 20 South Side Neighborhood Association meets at 6 p.m. at Living Stones Church, 718 Donmoyer Ave. For a complete list of neighborhood association meeting dates and times, check the link

March 20 Wham! Bam! Poetry Slam! is from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Snite Museum of Art on the University of Notre Dame campus. The event is free and open to the public, and is part of the "Third Thursdays" series of events at the Snite. Learn more at the link

March 21 South Bend Heritage Foundation plans a "Lunch & Look" open house of new-construction Hill Street homes now available for ownership, in partnership with the Northeast Neighborhood Revitalization Organization. Open house from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. See the properties and more at the

March 24 The South Bend Common Council meeting begins at 7 p.m. on the 4th floor of the County City Building, 227 W. Jefferson Blvd. For meeting agenda and committee information, check the link The League of Women Voters monthly lunch meeting features Dr. Elizabeth Bennion, host of WNIT's "Politically Speaking" as speaker. Lunch orders begin at 11:30 a.m. at South Bend Chocolate Cafe, 122 S. Michigan St. The talk itself is free and open to the public. Learn more at the link here South Bend Green Drinks meets at 5:30 p.m. at South Bend Chocolate Cafe, 122 S. Michigan St. Learn more about this sustainability networking group and their monthly meetings at the Facebook page The Community Forum for Economic Development group meets at 7 p.m. at LaSalle Branch Library, 3232 W. Ardmore Trail. This month's focus is on Michiana's Sustainable Future, featuring speakers James Summers, CEO of the Michiana African American Chamber of Commerce, and Mike Keen, director at the Center for a Sustainable Future at IU South Bend. The Majora Carter video "Greening the Ghetto" video will be shown, with a discussion about April's Michiana Greentown event and other sustainability topics.The Landlord-Tenant Committee meets at 5:45 p.m. at the NRC Office, 217 S. Michigan St. This monthly neighbor-led meeting of homeowners, landlords and tenants is designed to solve problems and build stronger neighborhoods. Call 574.287.0425 to attend, or for more information.South Side Neighborhood Association meets at 6 p.m. at Living Stones Church, 718 Donmoyer Ave. For a complete list of neighborhood association meeting dates and times, check the link here Wham! Bam! Poetry Slam! is from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Snite Museum of Art on the University of Notre Dame campus. The event is free and open to the public, and is part of the "Third Thursdays" series of events at the Snite. Learn more at the link here South Bend Heritage Foundation plans a "Lunch & Look" open house of new-construction Hill Street homes now available for ownership, in partnership with the Northeast Neighborhood Revitalization Organization. Open house from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. See the properties and more at the website The South Bend Common Council meeting begins at 7 p.m. on the 4th floor of the County City Building, 227 W. Jefferson Blvd. For meeting agenda and committee information, check the link here

******** The deadline is March 28! Michiana's Rising Star is taking applications for the 2014 competition, hosted by WNIT-TV. Last year, spoken-word artist Dara Marquez was chosen as winner from among more than 125 contestants. If you or someone you know would like to enter the Rising Star competition, please visit the WNIT link here to apply and learn more. It's free and open to the public. ******** The Voter Registration Office is currently looking for Election Day Poll Workers for the 2014 Primary Election. If you are interested in working at a polling location, please contact the Voter Registration Office at 574.235.9521. Help out your community by signing up for this important civic duty. No prior experience necessary —a short training session is required. ********























Community health nurse Judith Rubleske is the coordinator of Kankakee Wetlands Organic Gardens (KWOG) on South Bend’s west side. The growing garden network has locations on Poland Street and other vacant-lot sites as KWOG expands. When she heard about the Spring Forward project, Judith – a South Meade Street resident – put her strong, successful neighborhood organization skills to work. She knocked on doors, talked to members of the community she’s helped to grow through the gardens, and asked them to support Spring Forward. They did, many of them with just $5 here and $20 there. In the end, KWOG raised more than $1,000 to help fund the transformation of vacant and abandoned homes across the city through Spring Forward. The effort brought hundreds of volunteers and donors from across the area together to place painted art designs on the boarded-up plywood on the homes. Most important, though, is how Judith’s work reflects the ethos of Spring Forward – because it’s the Neighborhood Resources Corporation core mission: Neighbors, building better neighborhoods. Judith is no stranger to her neighbors or the NRC – in fact, the garden model was awarded an NRC INSPIRE grant in a prior year. But her success reflects the hard, grassroots work in our communities. There’s another Spring Forward hero we’d like to thank this week: Dickinson Intermediate School. The Dickinson student family, led by Fine Arts Magnet Facilitator Kemilyn Schreiber, supported the project with 450 volunteers and 45 painted art panels for installation, just a few of which you can see here. Watch for more features on our Spring Forward donors, community partners and special volunteers! You can check the list on the NRC website link here. There's also still time to support Spring Forward on indiegogo, linked here. ********

City of South Bend SBHIP program: Eligible South Bend homeowners may receive certain approved home repairs -- such as roof, furnace and electrical -- through the South Bend Home Improvement Program grant program. Exterior repairs that improve neighborhood appearance also may be eligible. For more details call 574.235.9660 or check the city website

City of South Bend Homebuyer Assistance: South Bend offers two programs for first-time homebuyer assistance: The Community Homebuyers Corp. grant offers up to $19,000 to assist with the purchase of a home. The Reward program offers $1,000 to a potential homeowner who takes credit and housing counseling classes, and it may be used toward down payment or closing costs. Details available at the City of South Bend website