As the magazine kicks off its 16th year, our team reflects on how much the New Albany community has changed since our first issue.
New Albany Community Foundation
New Albany Community Foundation
As a fundamental community organization, the New Albany Community Foundation has been supporting its local community for decades through partnerships, grants and connections.
Over the past 31 years, the Foundation has awarded more than $25 million in grants across its four strategic areas of impact, including health and wellness. In recent years, these grants have supported mental health programs such as Wellbeing Connection, health organizations including Lifecare Alliance and Pink Ribbon Good, as well as Buddy Up for Life and Miracle League to help increase accessibility to sports.
The Foundation has supported mental health as well through its Lecture Series, hosting its first mental health speaker, Mariel Hemingway, in 2015 after discussions with the schools showed a growing need in the community.
New Albany Community Foundation
“Where we could be helpful was to bring celebrities for the lectures that would break the stigma,” says Foundation President Craig Mohre. “The stigma was, you don’t talk about mental health. It’s nobody’s business. So, by bringing a celebrity who’s willing to talk about their issues and their experience, we invite the community into a community dialogue, and a lot of good things came from that.”
Some examples of community outreach the Foundation have done include aiding the Healthy New Albany Food Pantry and some school programs, including the robotics team so it could create PPE equipment for healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Although the programs and ways it has supported New Albany have changed over the years, Mohre says the Foundation will always look for ways to give back and help the community prosper.
The City of New Albany
With a current population of roughly 11,770, with 3,794 homes across 22.3 square miles, the community has grown exponentially. Despite the changes over time, the City of New Albany has remained true to its four pillars: lifelong learning, health and wellness, arts and culture, and environment and sustainability.
This can be seen through the more than 84 miles of trails, 22,500 street trees that helped the City earn its Tree City USA Community status, and the 10 parks and nature spaces in the surrounding area.
“I think when people around central Ohio think of New Albany… they know that we have a very clear focus on health and wellness,” says Mayor Sloan Spalding.
On the horizon is the opening of the long-awaited 185,890 square-foot New Albany Fieldhouse & Community Center on the horizon.
New Albany-Plain Local Schools
New Albany-Plain Local Schools
Much like the City and its residents, the New Albany-Plain Local School District has supported the physical and mental health of its students for years.
The district has long-standing programs – such as the nearly 12-year partnership with Concord Counseling Services, and the ROX program, which has been with the schools for roughly six years and centers around empowering young female students – and newer projects such as the House System that encourage student wellness and connection in and beyond the classroom.
Several partnerships, including with the New Albany Food Pantry and Philip Heit Center for Healthy New Albany, allow the district to provide opportunities for its students that encourage unique learning experiences as well as giving back to the community.
New Albany-Plain Local Schools
But the district isn’t the only one doing outreach in New Albany.
Over the 14 years that Director of Communications Patrick Gallaway has been with the district, he has seen countless students pour their time and energy into various programs.
“I’m really impressed with the opportunities that our kids take on themselves in the greater community,” Gallaway says. “Whether it be a 5K run for charity or getting involved in some other type of activity that might be outside of school, it’s also something that they can pull friends into to get them more engaged in it as well.”
Students also keep themselves active with countless health- and wellness-related clubs through the school, ranging from Fitness and Pickleball Clubs to the Environmental Club.
Healthy New Albany, Inc.
HNA
What started as an idea by Dr. Phil Heit in 2003, which led to the creation of the Healthy New Albany Walking ClassicⓇ, the nonprofit known as Healthy New Albany has offered educational and healthful programming to the New Albany community since 2010.
Healthy New Albany has worked to offer opportunities for the community that reflect and connect back to its own four pillars: fostering knowledge through education, connecting neighbors with nature, providing vital nourishment through the food pantry, farmers markets and classes, and inspiring movement in every stage of life.
HNA
Some of the newest offerings returning or making a debut this fall include: music therapy workshops with licensed music therapist Jennifer Yurkovich; a four-part herbalism class series led by Healthy New Albany Farmers Market vendor Brandon Elijah Scott of Woodland Herbal; and expanded yoga offerings with a new caregiver-and-child yoga class for children ages 3-6.
While the programs offered over the years have changed, Executive Director Rachel Haugk says the passion and meaning behind them have and will continue to stay the same.
“Healthy living looks different for everyone, and our programming should reflect that. By listening to our community and its evolving needs, we’re continually identifying opportunities to expand the ways people can accessibly connect with wellness,” she says. “That same commitment guides everything we do, from increasing access to nutritious food to creating new opportunities for people to care for their physical, mental and emotional wellbeing.”
Rachel Hanz is the lead editor at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at rhanz@cityscenemediagroup.com.
