Nonviolent activist Mahatma Gandhi said, “Be the change you wish to see in the world,” and that quote is driving a diverse group of car enthusiasts to rev up change in Muncie. The Game Changers are volunteers who support neighbors in need and host events to engage and uplift the community.
Game Changers Secretary, Aime Allred, said that some members may have a past, but it doesn’t define who they are now:
“We’ve changed our ways, and we are trying to be the change for everyone else to see that if we can change, other people can change; whether it is drug addiction, homelessness — to help with those struggles,” said Allred, who has been a member since the group’s founding in 2021.
‘Been there, done that’
Founder James Nichols said he hopes Game Changers will help combat the negative stigma associated with motorcycle groups. “We are more than just a motorcycle group; we are a random group of people from the community who are trying to help Muncie,” he added.
Nichols said the group is focused on helping people, particularly teens, in Muncie who battle addiction. Allred said some of the Game Changers who have struggled with addiction in their past can connect with teens and be an example of “been there, done that, you can change too.”
“Addiction is killing our town,” Allred said. “It is affecting more of our teens, so I feel like if we can get it into their heads like, ‘hey, we’ve done this, but look at us now, we’re not that way, there is change available. Just because somebody said that you’re not going to amount to something, doesn’t mean that you’re going to amount to nothing.’”
Since its start in 2021, Game Changers has held several community events, including a May Day celebration and a Haunted Woods during Halloween. The group also sponsors coat drives and hosts Thanksgiving dinners. Each Christmas, members deliver presents to select families in Muncie.
Nichols said funds collected during the May Day and Haunted Woods events support the Thanksgiving dinners and Christmas presents.
“We also get help from the community,” Nichols said. “We’ve got a couple who is dedicated to helping us out with that every year; they just donate. Last year, we had a guy who donated seven [turkeys].”
Collaborations drive progress
Mike Martin, who owns the community-focused convenience store, the Common Market, worked closely with the Game Changers to host its first event in May 2021. The first Saturday in May, the Game Changers gathered across the street from the Common Market for a May Day car show, which featured live music and a burnout box for members to “burn rubber,” Martin said. The event, he added, invited neighbors to “gather and enjoy each other.”
“That’s where it started from, that car show, they just started helping us. We had a farm down the road where they hosted their haunted woods. After that, they started to get formal about making the Game Changers into a business and a nonprofit,” Martin said.
The Game Changers are preparing to host a third May Day event at the same location, 920 W. Eighth St. Check out the Game Changers on Facebook to connect with them and learn more about the organization.
