INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The fifth annual EDGE|X Mentoring Conference starts Monday afternoon, however, the pandemic has made it a lot different this year. Typically, this is a one-day event in Indianapolis, but now it’s virtual and runs for a week. Plus, to make it affordable for everyone, participants are simply asked to pay what they can.

“So, if you have the ability, the opportunity to pay, then wonderful. And if not, come! Come, come, come. We want you to be a part of this community and hopefully, we will put a little bright spot in your otherwise dreary 20/20,” said Todd Richardson, the CEO of Edge Mentoring.

This year the motto is “Look inward… Focus outward… Go onward.” The goal is whole-person development through inter-generational mentoring.

While EDGE|X is different this year, there will actually be more speakers than ever. The conference will feature best-selling author Jim Collins and more than a dozen other big names listed below:

Jim Collins – Best-selling author of “Good to Great”
Latasha Morrison – Author and founder of Be the Bridge
Jesse Itzler – Entrepreneur, author and speaker
Dave Evans – Co-founder of the Stanford Life Design Lab, best-selling author and speaker
Carlos Whittaker – Best-selling author and speaker
Gabe & Rebekah Lyons – Speakers, authors and founders of Q
Steven Curtis Chapman, Mary Beth Chapman & Emily Chapman Richards – Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter and co-founders of Show Hope
Jo Saxton – Author, speaker, podcast host and leadership coach
Andrew East and Shawn Johnson East – NFL football player, Olympian, podcast hosts and entrepreneurs
Skye Jethani – Author, speaker and minister
John Ruhlin – Author of “Giftology,” speaker and business advisor
Danielle Coke – Illustrator and social justice advocate
Kristen Newton – Creator of HEART Convos, author and speaker
Brett Hagler – Founder of New Story

EDGE Mentoring said those involved range from 20 to 80 years-old as people of all ages are encouraged to get involved. People can choose to attend the event live with question and answer sessions, or simply watch the recordings. Either way, EDGE Mentoring expects a lot of people to be involved.

“It’s an opportunity for us to take EDEGE worldwide. We are going to have somewhere between about 50,000 and 100,000 people tune in from all over the world and we are viewing this as an opportunity to introduce EDGE and whole-person development and intergenerational mentoring to folks that haven’t heard about this before,” said Richardson.

EDGE|X starts on Monday at 1 p.m. and continues through Friday, Oct. 2. For more information on how to register, go to the EDGE|X website.