What We Do

The Westerville Parks Foundation has provided more than $600,000 toward the growth of the Parks and Recreation Department. The Foundation focuses on supporting three key areas of the parks system: Trail Enhancements, Public Art and Park Improvements.

For nearly 20 years, the Foundation has supported a number of park projects including:

Development of rest nodes, memorial benches, landscaping and trail head kiosks and signs along the 51-mile trail system to create a more enjoyable and safe experience for path users.
Creation of the Train Depot shelter at Hanby Park in Uptown Westerville. This popular rest area sits adjacent to the Ohio to Erie Trail that connects Cleveland to Cincinnati.
Installation of Westerville’s first and only dog park, the Bark Park.
Growth of the Public Art in Westerville Spaces initiative to bring outdoor sculptures throughout the City. Art pieces include the “Family Outing” bicycle sculpture outside the Westerville Community Center, “The Chase” soccer sculpture at the Sports Complex, a mosaic at the Bark Park and even a 100-foot long , 14-foot tall mural along the trail system.
Revitalization of Otterbein Lake. This destination includes an overlook for fishing and is conveniently located next to the Alum Creek Trail.

Projects

Veterans Memorial

Groundbreaking November 11, 2021 at 11 a.m.
Tentative opening November 11, 2022

Veterans Memorial
Located at the Westerville Sports Complex
325 N. Cleveland Ave.
Westerville, OH 43082

This project renews and replaces an existing, smaller memorial that sits in front of the abandoned Armory on South State Street. The existing memorial was tied to the building, which once housed a medical infantry unit of the Ohio National Guard. The new memorial will build upon the existing market, rising to meet the community’s tradition of honoring the lives and legacies of its sons and daughters who have served or are serving to protect our freedoms. It will also be in a space well known to the community, which also hosts the annual Field of Heroes and now 4th of July festivities.

WHAT WILL THE MEMORIAL REPRESENT?
Veterans who served in any one of the six branches of the U.S. Armed Forces will be represented at the Westerville Veterans Memorial, along with their families. This memorial intentionally focuses on “all” who serve, featuring the impact on spouses, children and other family members through service and sacrifice. There will be spaces of reflection, inspiration and storytelling, including the unique perspective of a soldier’s journey.

HOW CAN I GET INVOLVED?
Fundraising is ongoing for the development of the park. The projected cost of the total project is $1.7 million. Westerville Parks and Recreation has appropriated $1 million for the project. The Westerville Parks Foundation has committed to raising another $700,000 to complete it.

Support Veterans Memorial to honor and recognize those who served. Three donation levels are available.

Courage Donation Level – $10,000 – $49,999

Listed on the donor wall at Veterans Memorial
Recognition at the park dedication
Print recognition in the park dedication brochure
Digital recognition on the Parks Foundation website

Dedication Donation Level – $1,000 – $9,999

Listed on the donor wall at Veterans Memorial
Print recognition in the park dedication brochure
Digital recognition on the Parks Foundation website

Bravery Donation Level – $250 – $999

Listed on the donor wall at Veterans Memorial
Print recognition in the park dedication brochure

Donations can be made by check payable to the
Westerville Parks Foundation
350 N. Cleveland Ave., Westerville, OH 43082

Check and cash donations can also be made in person at the Westerville Community Center (350 N. Cleveland Ave.).

DONATE

WHEN WILL THE PROJECT BE COMPLETED?
This project is scheduled for a Veterans Day groundbreaking to a Veterans Day (2022) dedication. Construction and weather permitting, the City will announce details of the new park dedication in the Sept./ Oct. 2022 issue of this publication (or earlier). To monitor progress, visit www.westerville.org/veteransmemorial.

Veterans Memorial Site Plan Nov. 2021

First Responders Park

Opened 2019

First Responders Park, adjacent to Fire Station 111, has been expanded to better serve the community of Westerville, the Central Ohio region and all first responders by honoring their courage, their resilience and their sacrifice. The park updates were completed in November 2019. The area nows features a memorial wall for our fallen heroes, special markers for all first responders and more public space for reflection and events.

Westerville’s First Responders Park (FRP) was first dedicated in 2010 to honor the service and sacrifice of all first responders. Centerpiece to the park is a section of steel known as “C-40” from the north tower of the World Trade Center that fell during the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. Later, the City dedicated a privately funded sculpture, “The Crossing,” which honors a fallen Westerville firefighter, David Theisen. In 1998, David was killed while battling a fire in Crooksville, Ohio.

On February 10, 2018, Westerville Division of Police officers Anthony P. Morelli and Eric Joering were killed in the line of duty. As the community worked to cope with this tragic loss, plans to create a permanent memorial at FRP were expedited.

The state of Ohio generously donated $500,000 to jumpstart the park renovation along with other individual donors. Thank you to all the businesses and community members that charitably contributed to the construction of the park.

Learn more about the park improvements and history at www.westerville.org/frp.

The Great Westerville Pumpkin Glow

Signature Annual Event

Westerville Parks and Recreation hosted a brand new event at Heritage Park in October 2019, The Great Westerville Pumpkin Glow. Wildly successful, the park transformed into a magical fall wonderland for four nights attracting nearly 11,000 attendees.

Visitors walked through a display of thousands of decorated jack-o-lanterns along a quarter-mile wooded trail. The glowing pumpkins depicted elaborate scenes and well-known characters. The event also featured a variety of activities for the whole family to enjoy from a hay maze to inflatables, pumpkin painting and much more. Find additional information about this event at www.westerville.org/pumpkinglow.

The Great Westerville Pumpkin Glow will return in 2020 with more pumpkins and fun. Sponsors and volunteers are needed to make this event possible. If you are interested in helping, please email us at westervilleparksfoundation@gmail.com.

Photo by Alli Mullikin for Robb McCormick Photography www.robbmccormick.com

Thomas James Knox Rink

Opened June 2018

In 2017, the Westerville Parks and Recreation Department began working with Lisa and Jim Knox to create concepts for an outdoor hockey rink at Alum Creek Park South. The development of this rink honors Lisa and Jim’s son, Thomas James Knox, who passed away unexpectedly in his sleep on December 13, 2015. A freshman at St. Charles Preparatory School, Thomas loved playing hockey on the junior varsity team. His passion for the sport began at age six, where he quickly formed an affinity for skating and competition.

The goal of establishing a community rink was to offer a central location for youth to be introduced to hockey as a team sport while providing a public space for programming to develop the skills of players of all ages and allow current players to sharpen their talents.

The Westerville Parks Foundation and the Westerville Parks & Recreation Department, along with other sponsors and donors, teamed up to design an outdoor concept that removes barriers to the sport like costly equipment and private facility restrictions.

In partnership with the Columbus Blue Jackets Street Jackets program, street hockey is the first major program to run at the site. Street hockey programs were launched with an emphasis on youth ages 5-14, focused on the sport’s ongoing development in Westerville and surrounding communities. The Columbus Blue Jackets-endorsed curriculum trained coaches and showed young athletes how to learn the sport of hockey, championing a new generation of fans to support the hometown team.

The rink officially opened to the public on June 30, 2018 with a dedication celebration at the park, and five hundred children came out for free hockey clinics hosted by the Columbus Blue Jackets. You can learn more about upcoming hockey programs at www.westerville.org/hockey.

With your support, this rink will continue to celebrate Thomas’ legacy and bring shared enjoyment to Westerville for generations to come. More than $250,000 has been generously gifted toward the hockey rink, but in order to add more facility amenities in the near future, financial assistance is still needed. Click here to donate to the Thomas James Knox Rink.

You can also be part of the legacy by purchasing a commemorative brick that will be placed at the entrance of the north end of the facility. This donor walkway will recognize major contributors to the project and offer a display of memorial bricks. You may fill out an order form and return it to the Westerville Community Center.

The American Issue

The Foundation helped bring an educational 18th Amendment sculpture to Uptown Westerville. “The American Issue” highlights the impact of the Anti-Saloon League in Westerville and commemorates the prohibition movement and Westerville’s role with the 18^th Amendment. The Foundation contributed $30,000 towards the completion of this piece to provide more access to public art in City.

Read more about this work of art at www.westerville.org/americanissue.