While the New Albany Community Foundation’s impact can be felt in visionary programs such as the Jefferson Series and ambitious projects such as the Jeanne B. McCoy Community Center for the Arts, the foundation’s most meaningful influence may be when it helps the community meet its most basic needs.
As COVID-19 turned the daily lives of New Albany residents upside down, the foundation, its donors and its community partners solidified a plan, quickly refocusing on community-based efforts that support those in need during this unprecedented time.
Working as a convener, the foundation gathered city, school, business and community leaders to help raise, prioritize and distribute funds to programs that could assist and benefit the community. Whether the partner was a large corporation or the donor was a local family, the foundation served as the community connector to ensure the effort had the greatest impact.
When Facebook broke ground on the New Albany data center in 2017, the plan was always to form a strong community partnership. As the COVID-19 response began to take hold, Facebook took action.
“So far, we’ve donated almost $1.1 million in grants to a variety of organizations, and we’re not done yet,” says Amber Tillman, community development manager at Facebook. “This has included $37,900 to the New Albany Community Foundation which funded a box truck for New Albany Food Pantry deliveries to support New Albany-Plain Local School students, families and others for meals.”
As the schools moved to distance learning as a result of COVID-19, the NAFP knew that meant the 500 NAPLS students who receive breakfast or lunch at school would need support.
“When schools abruptly closed in mid-March, the pantry team quickly mobilized to activate emergency plans to both continue serving its existing clients and support NAPLS students during the closure,” says Jennifer Wilcoxon, NAFP executive director.
As the effects of distance learning and the stay-at-home order took hold, the pantry’s needs increased substantially.
“Our client numbers have risen close to 40 percent as we are now serving 77 new families and have provided 51,000-plus meals since schools closed,” says Wilcoxon.
Additionally, community donations have also funded the pantry’s summer meals program, providing some much-needed support during an uncertain time.
Angela Douglas, former pantry director and current operations director for Healthy New Albany, saw the effects of the foundation’s donors on the pantry immediately.
“We greatly appreciate the NACF’s efforts as it helped us purchase critical resources and raise visibility of the work the pantry is doing,” says Douglas. “This is extremely important for us as many community members do not realize there are neighbors in our community that live in our school district that struggle with food insecurity.”
In addition to the need for food, the COVID-19 crisis revealed a need for personal protective equipment (PPE). Aaron Westbrook, New Albany High School alumnus and founder and CEO of Form5 Prosthetics, knew his company had to alter how it interacts with clients, so he set forth to use its skills and equipment differently.
“Our team quickly felt called to use our passion, creativity and 3-D printers to produce PPE for those in need,” says Westbrook.
Form5 set a goal to produce 10,000 face shields, nearly half of which they expected to complete before the end of May.
“The foundation’s support to mobilize the community in a way that brings us together during such a difficult time to help each other out is what makes them so special,” Westbrook says.
It was a similar entrepreneurial spirit that drove three local brothers to do their part as well. As the reality of stay at home began to set in, Cooper, 14; Elliot, 11; and Simon Fleishman, 9 decided to do something productive with their time and energy. As they began organizing some old toys in a donation pile, one of the boys had the idea to sell their collection of over 100 Thomas the Tank Engine toys and donate the money. They were happy when they found a buyer willing to give them $100 for their collection, but the excitement really came when they learned about Huntington partnering with the foundation on a $25 for $25 gift matching program. The brothers’ $100 suddenly became $200.
“When we saw the initiative to utilize their $100 sale of the train toys and double the value during the foundation’s drive, the boys were even more excited to make that effort stretch even further,” says the boys’ mother, Jennifer Fleishman. “It was exciting to watch them light up again knowing they were able to trigger a bigger dose of good.”
Another beneficiary of the Huntington Match was the New Albany-Plain Local Schools Student Success grants. The Student Success grants help the school district triage the immediate needs of local families, whether the need is for food, internet access or mental health services.
“The offer by the New Albany Community Foundation and the matching funds provided by Huntington Bank are incredible gestures,” says NAPLS Superintendent Michael Sawyers. “Together, our community partners and the school district are easing families’ anxiety to best meet the personal, academic and developmental needs of our students and families alike.”
Form5 was also a Huntington Match recipient. Craig Mohre, president of the NACF, says the foundation’s efforts during this pandemic wouldn’t be possible without community support.
“Our goal at the New Albany Community Foundation is to help build an extraordinary community,” Mohre says. “The giving spirit of our community is always strong, and during this unprecedented and unpredictable challenge, that light shines brighter than ever.”
Bob Valasek is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
