Whether it is trying to maintain physical distancing, reduce the emotional distance between different groups in our society or master the art of distance learning, 2020 has brought unprecedented challenges to our community. Through it all, the New Albany Community Foundation has continued to do what it has always done best: bring people together.
Both despite and because of these distancing difficulties, the foundation has worked to continue conversations, create programming and garner support for important causes, and the community has answered the call.
The City of New Albany’s Rose Run Park opening happened to coincide with New Albany residents’ need to maintain social distancing and get outdoors this past spring. Families had new paths to walk and run, cyclists enjoyed a stretch of the new Velo Loop, and thanks to a generous gift from residents Sandy Raines and Ron Cadieux through the foundation, the beautiful new Raines Crossing pedestrian bridge and promenade connect the school campus to the new Marie-Luise & Michael Marx Family Reading Garden.
“The entire community will benefit from our city leaders’ vision and the generosity of the Sandy Raines and Ron Cadieux family, and the Marx family has been generous to the community through the years, contributing their time, talent, and treasure,” says Craig Mohre, president of the New Albany Community Foundation.
New Albany City Manager Joe Stefanov, professional engineer Andy Walther and Mayor Sloan Spalding review plans at the site.
Another outdoor project, the Charleen and Charles Hinson Amphitheater, is taking shape just across the road, within the Rose Run corridor and adjacent to the Jeanne B. McCoy Community Center for the Arts on the school campus. Slated for completion in summer 2021, the city-owned and -maintained amphitheater will accommodate outdoor events and performances including community arts organizations, school groups and community events. Mohre says the foundation anticipates hosting a benefit event in 2021 to help raise funds for the project.
The amphitheater and the McCoy Center will eventually host audiences, but for the time being, large gatherings require adjustments, and the foundation’s 2020-2021 lecture series programming is no exception. Through the years, the foundation has convened for community conversations on important, timely matters, such as mental health, civil rights, and civil discourse and debate, bringing the community together to promote lifelong learning and greater understanding of these subjects.
“The generosity of our community is greatly appreciated,” says New Albany schools Superintendent Michael Sawyers.
As part of the upcoming season and at the recommendation of an advisory group formed by New Albany residents and community leaders, the foundation will present Conversations on Social Justice. The new series will house two programs, and these moderated discussions will be streamed live. The first will feature distinguished university professor and chair of the Department of African American Studies at Princeton University, Eddie S. Glaude Jr., interviewed by Darlene Hill of WCMH-NBC4, and the second program is expected to occur in October and also feature respected social justice scholars and authors. The foundation will also host Margaret Trudeau, author, activist, mother of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and former wife of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, for a discussion confronting the stigmas surrounding mental health, and the New Albany Center for Civil Discourse and Debate program will feature former senior adviser to Barack Obama David Axelrod and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. Dan Buettner, acclaimed author and health expert, will also be part of this season’s lineup.
The foundation has also focused on helping the New Albany Farmers Market make adjustments to the unique challenges of 2020. In addition to moving the location from Market Street to the Church of the Resurrection parking lot to allow for easier social distancing, the farmers market instituted safety protocols in order to operate successfully through the 2020 season, all of which comes at a cost that the foundation helped offset.
“The support of the New Albany Community Foundation has been invaluable in helping us to conduct a safe and enjoyable market,” says Jackie Krebs, farmers market co-manager. “With the foundation’s generous financial support, we are able to implement a full range of safety protocols including masks, dispensers for hand sanitizer, signage and other social distancing measures. Additionally, the foundation’s support of our marketing efforts has enhanced the community awareness of this year’s market.”
Perhaps no effort has garnered and required more community attention than distance learning for New Albany schools. The question of whether students would return to in-person school in the fall has been on the mind of students, parents, teachers, and administrators from the time distance learning was implemented in March. Among the variables facing a safe return to school, the one constant need was for personal protective equipment. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the foundation has focused its attention on community organizations providing assistance to community residents in need, and after the success of its first fundraising campaign, the foundation launched a second-phase safe return to school appeal.
“We appreciate and value the donors to the New Albany Community Foundation for their support and response to the fund established to help supply personal protective equipment, sanitizer, safety shields and other requests that the district provided to the foundation when they asked us how they could help support a safe return to school for all,” says New Albany schools Superintendent Michael Sawyers. “The generosity of our community is greatly appreciated.”
Bob Valasek is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
