By LYNNE SMITH
Thanksgiving, for many, is a time to reflect on all we are thankful for and to appreciate our blessings.
Living in New Albany, there is much to appreciate. Relatively speaking, our community is safe, friendly and beautiful, with great schools and parks. We also have so many enriching educational, cultural and health-related opportunities.
Behind all these wonderful attributes are people who generously, and often quietly, give their time, talent and treasure to support community causes.
As a member of the New Albany Community Foundation Board of Trustees, I continually am reminded of all the donors and volunteers who help the foundation advance its mission. It does not matter how small or big the gift or how much time one volunteers; all contributions are appreciated.
Equally valued are the public and private partners who have worked with the foundation through the years to make great things happen in our community.
City, township and school leaders have partnered with the foundation on such projects as the Jeanne B. McCoy Community Center for the Arts, the Philip Heit Center for Healthy New Albany and Safety Town.
Organizations, such as the New Albany Women’s Network and the PTO groups, partner with the foundation on transformative initiatives such as the author residency program at the schools.
Always in the background are the hundreds of donors. They are individuals, families and businesses whose financial support allows the foundation to do good work.
Because of them and their generosity, we have a first-class library. The foundation helped make this happen by donating $1 million toward the book collections in 2002 and joined NAWN and other donors to establish the library’s homework help center.
We have an arts center and performance series, which are the envy of other communities. The foundation has invested nearly $12 million in the McCoy Center since its inception. This includes endowments that total more than $7 million, annual grants for programming that total over $2.6 million and capital improvements of nearly $2.5 million. As a result, both students and residents benefit from a state-of-the-art performance venue for bands, choirs, orchestras, theater and more.
Most communities have local government, schools and businesses. And most have volunteers and civic organizations. In New Albany, all these work together for the betterment of the community.
Thank you to all who care about the community and give their time, talent or treasure.