Upper Arlington Community Foundation

Impact News 🚨: An Upper Arlington senior, age 92, was referred to the Foundation’s Good Neighbor Fund by The City of Upper Arlington - Government's Fire Division. The senior is a proud, life-long Upper Arlington resident on a fixed income, faced with increasing living expenses. A grant was approved by the Good Neighbor Fund committee to assist her with funds towards her Franklin County taxes and plumbing repairs, providing her relief in a stressful time and enabling her to age in place with dignity.

Feel Good Friday: Last night was so sweet at the Party on the Plaza held by the City of Upper Arlington Parks and Recreation Department! The Foundation is proud to support Cultural Arts in Upper Arlington at community events 💛 Looking forward to what's next!

This weekend, we celebrate the life of an incredible Foundation founder, Mary Ann Krauss. Mary Ann was a trailblazer. An advocate. The Heart of Upper Arlington. She will be deeply missed by all who knew her. In her memory, we’ll continue to make UA even better than we found it, just as she always did.
https://www.dispatch.com/obituaries/pwoo0844206

Exciting news and views! 🌟 Last week, we had an amazing hard hat tour of the Bob Crane Community Center, currently under construction 🚧. Seeing the progress firsthand was incredible, and we can't wait for the grand opening next spring! Stay tuned for more updates on this exciting project.

Pictured: Foundation Executive Director Jessica Grisez, Foundation Development and Engagement Intern Alana Sayat, Foundation Community Engagement Manager Courtney Shenk

Hey UA: Folding up your lawn chair from the July 4 parade? Keep it handy! Join us to keep celebrating community at the City of Upper Arlington Parks and Recreation Department's Performance Series! Next up: Party on the Plaza, July 18, 6p at the Municipal Services Center.

Are you enjoying the 2024 UA Performance Series? Next on the lineup is Party on the Plaza! The second annual celebration is located at Municipal Services Center on Thursday, July 18, between 6-9 pm. There will be music, food & drinks, and art activities for all ages. 🎸

Flashback Friday: What a July 4th in UA! 🎆 Shout-out to Emeritus Board Member Greg Guy and Foundation friend John Lowe (and family!) for representing the Foundation at the parade in this 1978 GMC Sierra classic pickup truck! 🌟 We are grateful for these opportunities to celebrate alongside the incredible Upper Arlington community. Congratulations to the Upper Arlington Civic Association for another fantastic day of festivities!🦅

Looking good in the neighborhood!👀 The Bob Crane Community Center is one step closer to reality every day. It's a beaut, MSA Sport! Keep up the great work, construction teams: Continental Building Company and Elford, Inc. We can't wait to get our sweat on, City of Upper Arlington Parks and Recreation Department. Together... community starts here!

After many months of construction, the exterior of the Bob Crane Community Center is transforming into the design team's vision, as depicted by the series of renderings we've shared previously. 🏗️ 🚧 The terracotta tiles - arguably the most distinctive design feature of the facility - are being installed, a phase in the construction process that will bring much of the building exterior work to a close.

Over the next several weeks, construction teams will be installing over 7,000 tile panels to the exterior. The terracotta panels, a popular choice for exterior building designs in Europe, are produced in Germany and then shipped to the United States. They are installed like a rainscreen, helping to reflect water from the facility. A series of vertical rails have already been added to the concrete exterior which easily allows every panel to clip into place.

Project Update: Edwards Green Rocks! 🏞️

This colossal boulder is making a rock-solid statement as the newest addition to Edwards Green. 🌟 We can't wait for you to see it when the park opens later this summer! Stay tuned for further developments on this beautiful green space! 🛎

Exciting News 🎉: We are thrilled to introduce the seven new members of our Board of Trustees! These individuals represent a wealth of experience and expertise that will greatly enrich the work of the Upper Arlington Community Foundation.

Please join us in welcoming (from L-R):

Matt Kirby, Hamilton Capital
Christine Freytag, community advocate and former Cardinal Health executive
John McHugh, Corient
Brian Houts, Frazier Financial
Ryan Miller, m|2 Marketing
Laurie Aquilina, Past-Chair, Leadership Columbus
Ukeme Awakessien Jeter, Ex-Officio member, UA City Council, President

We are so appreciative of these individuals’ dedicated commitment to the Upper Arlington community as we continue to pursue our mission.🔔Stay tuned for updates on our upcoming projects!

As we come together with family and friends this Memorial Day, the Foundation invites you to join us in remembering and honoring the brave men and women who have given their all for our country. This special day offers a chance to reflect on the courage and dedication of our fallen heroes.
📷: The City of Upper Arlington - Government

🚨Gratitude post: Hosting Leadership UA at the Foundation this past year has been an incredible journey! Today, we celebrate our volunteers and the City of UA 🌟

The 2024 program year has been extraordinary, thanks to our dedicated Advisory Committee, former board of Leadership UA, and invaluable alumni feedback. Together, they've shaped and refined our program for today's leadership landscape.

Special thanks to Committee Members, Laurie Aquilina, Jennifer Faure, Joe Lotozo, Stacy McIntire, Michelle Montgomery, Linda Moulakis, and Emma Speight.

Shout out to former Executive Director, Nic Fortkamp, for the help, guidance, and coffee to ensure a smooth transition at the Foundation.

None of this would be possible without the generous grant from The City of Upper Arlington - Government. Thank you for believing in local leaders.

Here's to you! Looking forward to graduating our 2024 cohort tonight. 🎉👏

🎉 Our countdown keeps rolling! Reflecting on a pivotal moment from Leadership UA Session 7: Nonprofit Board Governance and Grant Deliberation. Serving on a board and making grant decisions are significant roles for volunteer leaders. Our cohort soaked up invaluable insights from industry experts! 🌟

Part I: Huge gratitude to Kerri Mollard of Mollard Consulting, LLC for an enlightening session on Nonprofit Board Governance. 🙏 Special thanks to the The City of Upper Arlington - Government Community Relations Committee for a grant to make this session possible and shared with our many local UA nonprofits.

Part II: Delving into the art and science of grant deliberation with Dan Sharpe from The Columbus Foundation was an eye-opener. Our cohort reviewed and scored 8 grant requests from the local UA nonprofit community and recommended grant awards totaling $10K in support of some amazing initiatives and projects. 💡

Special thanks to Jennifer Griffith, Foundation Board Member and Regional President of First Merchants, for generously hosting us at their sleek new space in the UA Gateway. What a view!

🌟 Monday Musings: looking back at Session 6 with Leadership UA, Community Engagement and Volunteerism. Leadership has many definitions, including volunteerism. The cohort heard from the UA community's many volunteer and service groups with ways to get involved. ❤️🤝🛠️Special thanks to our presenters for inspiring us with your service to others: Tri-Village Lions, Tri-Village Rotary Club, Northwest Kiwanis, Upper Arlington Historical Society, Upper Arlington Rotary Club, Upper Arlington Civic Association

🎓✨ Happy Sunday! We're reminiscing about Leadership UA Session 5: Beyond the Curriculum with Upper Arlington Schools and Upper Arlington Education Foundation.

Part I: Thanks to school administrators Superindenent Dr. Bob Hunt, Chief Academic Officer Keith Pomeroy, and Chief Financial Officer Andy Geistfeld for sharing invaluable insights about the Upper Arlington school system. 🏫 Our gratitude to UA Board of Education member (and 2023 Leadership UA graduate) Liz Stump for enlightening us about serving on the board and making an impact in the school system.

Part II: Special thanks to Alice Finley and Megan Potts at the UA Education Foundation & Alumni Association for hosting us and giving an incredible tour of the high school.

It was a wonderful session! 🌟

🎓🌟 As we reflect on Session 4 in our countdown to Leadership UA graduation, we extend a heartfelt thank you to Foundation Board member Dr. Nanette Lacuesta-Kimmel at OhioHealth for leading an enlightening session on Inclusive Leadership! Special thanks to Eric Shalosky for an engaging tour of the simulation lab, providing hands-on learning experiences for healthcare professionals.

As grantmakers, Leadership UA learned about UA's many nonprofits and organizations that celebrate diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. Thanks to the following groups for educating our cohort about their impactful work: Upper Arlington Commission on Aging, UA Community Relations Committee, Equal Upper Arlington, Rainbow UA, and Red Oak Family Foundation. We celebrate your dedication to improving our UA community. Together, we're creating a brighter, more inclusive future! 🌟

Flashback Friday on our countdown to Leadership UA graduation. Session 3:🌟 A big thank you to Upper Arlington Public Library for hosting our Leadership UA cohort. 📚💡 We had an amazing time learning about all the incredible resources and programs available at the library, including a fascinating behind-the-scenes tour. Special shoutout to the library team members Beth Hatch, Kate Porter, Sara Ross, and Sara Nagai for being such wonderful hosts! 🙌

As we approach the end of the 2024 Leadership UA program year, we're looking back at Session 2: an evening at the City of Upper Arlington Municipal Services Center with City Manager, Steve Schoeny and Council Members, Brian Close and Heidi Munc. Participants learned about Council leadership, City development, budget, taxes... and the Bob Crane Community Center, of course! Bonus: the evening ended with a tour of the newly renovated UA Police Division with Chief Keith Hall. No participants remained behind bars for long. --The City of Upper Arlington - Government

In preparation for Leadership UA graduation on May 9, we’re recapping our professional growth since January! Reflecting back to Session 1: the cohort evaluated their Strengths-Based Leadership with UA resident and OSU Leadership Organizational Effectiveness Consultant, Ann Metzler— and set expectations with Leadership UA Advisory Board member and past Chair of Leadership Columbus, Laurie Aquilina (pictured).

Due to the weather forecast, tonight's Fostering a Conversation event with Dr. Laurie Santos has been cancelled.

The safety of our community and supporters is our top priority, and we appreciate your understanding. We look forward to rescheduling this much anticipated event for the future.

Dr. Santos spent a wonderful and impactful day with UA High School students today.

Stay safe, UA!

Community Center Update: the purrfect catio awaits! Plans are available to the public for your own Bob Cat Community Center through the end of day.

The City of Upper Arlington is constantly looking for ways to modernize housing stock and help families in the community live richer, healthier lives. We regularly review City regulations to ensure that we are encouraging modern housing options. In recent years, we have modified our housing standards to allow for home offices above detached garages, and in 2022 we changed the zoning in one of our office districts to allow for mixed use redevelopment that includes housing. We are regularly looking at ways to make our community safer and more enjoyable for our children. We have even tried to find ways to make our community more dog friendly with more sidewalks and connections to the new dog park at Quarry Trails Metro Park.

The City of Upper Arlington recently found that we have neglected one important part of our families: our cats. To combat these challenges for our feline family members, the City of Upper Arlington is actively encouraging residents to build Catios. Catios are outdoor enclosures designed to give cats safe access to the outdoors, typically through an open door or window.

As a proud “Cat Dad” of 3 feline family members, City Manager Steve Schoeny is proposing two new initiatives. First, he has directed the City’s Chief Building Official, Roger Eastep, to implement a new plan review service called “Purrmit UA” that will review Catio plans to ensure their structural integrity and compliance with the City’s neighborhood compatibility standards. In addition to ensuring that all catios in UA are structurally sound, Eastep will ensure that jumping heights are within standard, sleeping surfaces are plush and cats can sit up high enough to reinforce the feelings of superiority that they have to their other family members.

Second, for families that want a distinctively UA Catio, we have worked with the architecture firms of MSA Sport and Perkins&Will to develop plans so that you can build your own scale version of the Bob Crane Community Center for your cats.

Plans for the BobCat Community Center will be available through the end of the day April 1, 2024, free of charge at the Upper Arlington Municipal Services Center.

Feeling the End-of-Spring-Break blues? We've got the happy! Join Fostering a Conversation next week with Dr. Laurie Santos, host of The Happiness Lab podcast. Special thanks to UAHS students for planning this inaugural speaker coming to UA to share tips for happiness. Show starts at 6p, doors open at 5:30p. Find a link to purchase tickets in the comments below. Upper Arlington Education Foundation Upper Arlington Schools

Happiness Alert: It's a sunshiny day in UA on this International Day of Happiness! How will you spread joy today? Grab a ticket for you and a friend and join us for Upper Arlington's inaugural Fostering a Conversation series event, Tuesday, Apr. 2, 6p at UAHS featuring Dr. Laurie Santos, host of The Happiness Lab podcast. Upper Arlington Schools Upper Arlington Education Foundation https://uacommunityfoundation.com/programs/fostering-conversations/

Announcing 2024 Heart of UA Award Recipient: Kip Greenhill! Kip has served his community for nearly 30 years as Upper Arlington Schools UAHS Principal (1995-2012), as The City of Upper Arlington - Government City Council Vice President and President (2013-2021)-- and a friend, champion, and supporter of numerous community projects and initiatives along the way. Kip will be celebrated at the Foundation's signature Heart of UA event, May 19, 2024. Tickets go on sale in April. Stay tuned for details. https://uacommunityfoundation.com/programs/heart-of-ua/

Impact News: Announcing Edwards Green, a new beautification initiative of the Upper Arlington Community Foundation. https://www.uacommunityfoundation.com/impact/edwards-green/

It’s Random Acts of Kindness Day! Be kind, spread love, do good. It’s contagious. 💕

It's Valentine's Day and we're thinking of all those wonderful community members who are the hearts of UA! Nominations are open for the Foundation's 2024 Heart of UA Award. Who inpires you? Consider recognizing someone who makes a difference in Upper Arlington. https://www.uacommunityfoundation.com/programs/heart-of-ua/

Grant Alert: The Foundation is proud to grant support for the community playground at Wickliffe Woods - Be Part of the Pack! After 34 years of devoted love and use, Wickliffe's Castle Playground in Upper Arlington has reached the end of its useful and safe lifespan. Today, Wickliffe dreams of an iconic, world-class, inclusive playground rooted in elements of nature-based play, STEM and environmental learning.

It's Estate Planning Awareness Week! Do you have assets? An insurance plan that's no longer needed? An IRA that will be taxed when left to heirs? A simple change of beneficiary to the charity (or community foundation) of your choice is a simple step in making your plan.

Arts and Culture was the talk of UA today! Thanks to all who joined our conversation. Arts and culture shapes the identity, social fabric, and overall well-being of a community, making them essential elements for a vibrant and cohesive society. 🎨 🎭 🎶

We heard ideas for:
✔️ public art
✔️ cultural art
✔️ experiential art
✔️ pop up art
✔️ traveling art
✔️ lifelong learning
✔️ shared experiences
✔️ exposure to art
✔️ elevating diverse artisans
✔️ intergenerational bonding
✔️ art venues in UA

What was the last arts or cultural event you attended in Columbus or beyond? Share below! 👇

Thanks to the City of Upper Arlington Parks and Recreation Department Cultural Arts Division for co-hosting our conversation. Shout out to The Columbus Foundation for sparking important conversations around Columbus today.