Finding Optimism In Choosing Action
Alex Hillman
Well this is awkward.
On Friday, I was very excited to start this week’s newsletter with a story about an incredible future-thinking session I had about Indy Hall with Adam last week. I couldn’t wait to tell you about it.
I promise we’ll get to that optimism down below…but I can’t just pretend that the events of this weekend didn’t happen.
An ice storm, in more ways than one
One, as subzero temps and a literal ice storm covered Philadelphia and much of the Northeast (as well as places that rarely experience this kind of weather - we hope you’re all safe).
And two, as ICE agents murdered another American citizen in Minneapolis and while our government leaders lie about what we can all see with our own two eyes on the horrifying videos taken by brave bystanders.
This is the second murder in just a few weeks, and far from the first atrocity committed by our leaders and funded by us, the citizens.
I’ll be honest that I don’t know what to do with this part of the future that’s in front of us right now.
It’s both easy & normal to feel afraid, angry, or both.
I know I am angry and afraid.
But that fear and anger isn’t going to stop me from taking action in the ways I best know how, which includes seeking out ways to do those things together as a community:
- Some of our members are already helping us organize ICE resistance training so we can be better prepared if the time comes that we need to be.
- We’re also researching local organizations that know how to support communities and citizens in standing up for our neighbors.
This isn’t a controversial or even a partisan take.
Caring for each other has always been core to who we are. This time, the stakes are just higher, and our neighborhood extends further.
This is what we do.
If you’re looking for something to do TODAY, one of our members who works with UNITE HERE shared a way to help: the union’s Minneapolis local is delivering meals to workers who are terrified to go outside right now. Donate to their relief efforts here.
How do you even transition from that to a “normal” newsletter? I don’t know, let’s try.
Back to the optimism I was so excited to share.
I guess it’s connected through the spirit of looking after each other and building a better future together?
Either way, Adam and I spent some time last week doing something we haven’t been able to do for a very long time.
We spent a couple of hours mapping out what we WANT to do.
Not “what we need to do” - we’ve been doing that survival-based planning for the better part of the last 5 years.
Not reacting to the problem of the day, or week, or month, or year.
Not reacting to whatever unexpected challenge just landed in our inbox.
For the first time in years, we asked ourselves:
- How do we want to end 2026? What would a successful year look like?
- What would make our 20th anniversary in September meaningful for us, and for everyone who has been a part of Indy Hall over the years?
- What can we start doing TODAY, and TOGETHER, to work in that direction?
What do we WANT to do? What’s possible, if we try?
Lemme tell you - it felt amazing to have the space to think this way again.
Why 2026 already feels different
I mentioned in my final newsletter of 2025 that Adam and I ended the year feeling like ourselves for the first time in a long time.
Maybe more importantly, it feels like our community knows what we’re doing. We still have challenges to overcome, but that’s part of the game.
The difference is that our foundation feels solid in a way it hasn’t in a while.
In just the last 6 weeks, we’ve caught up with Alumni who we haven’t seen in years. Some have stopped by to visit, others enthusiastically re-joining after their time away.
The last 2 Minibar events and the conversations + ideas they sparked. Community gatherings powered by members several times a month.
We’ve escaped the gravity of “surviving” and in its place is an energy that we missed.
More than maintaining. More than getting to the next week or month.
We’re building towards something again.
Our 20th anniversary as a north star
One catalyst for this shift was announcing on our 19th anniversary that we were going to spend all year building towards our 20th in September 2026.
Since, our next anniversary looks less like a date or a milestone.
Instead it’s feeling more and more like a rallying point - an opportunity to build toward something together again.
A literal million times or more, we’ve said that Indy Hall is not our space.
It’s the 20 years of relationships. Connections. Impact. Opportunities. Successes. Struggles. Families. Kids.
Everything that’s happened over the last 20 years is because people kept showing up and seeking something better.
So when Adam and I got on the whiteboard last week, we worked backwards.
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What does the end of 2026 look like if our 20th anniversary was a success?
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What does the anniversary itself look like if it was a success?
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What needs to happen between now and September to make that possible?
We know that one core theme is obviously “reunion.” But what else?
We have some ideas, and some of our own personal commitments.
But that whiteboard doodle shown above isn’t so much a plan, as a framework. It’s a container for YOUR ideas. Your commitments. Your dreams.
We’re eight months out, and we’ve never planned something this far out.
But for the first time in a long time, planning this far out feels like the right kind of work to be doing.
If you want to be a part of the planning, hit reply or come talk to us!
And in the meantime: look after each other. That’s what we do.
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