Contact Holliday Park Foundation
6363 Spring Mill Road
Indianapolis, Indiana 46260
(317) 475-9482
Board of Directors
Officers
- Sam Hawkins, President
- Christine Woodward-Duncan, Vice President
- Ted Dickman, Treasurer
- Karen Valencic, Secretary
Members
- Brooke Barnett
- Jeff Blade
- Margaret Coyle
- Katie Dillon
- Frank Duck
- Donna Dwyer-Pitz
- Amy Franklin
- Libby Hiple
- William Hirsch
- Lisa Hurst
- Sarah Kunz
- Tricia Lautenbach
- Josef Lee
- Rodney Mail M.D.
- Allyson Podell
- Peggy Reising
- Neal Roach
- Doug Rubenstein
- Anne Scheele
- Vera Vander Kooy
- Susan Woods
Holliday Park Foundation Staff
- Adam Barnes,
Executive Director - Ben Moses, Marketing and Development Coordinator
Holliday Park Staff
- Allie Combs, Park Manager
- Darcy Sapp, Assistant Park Manager
- Pat Stutz, Naturalist
- Kristin Bingham, Naturalist
A Catalyst for Action
The Holliday Park Foundation, originally called the Friends of Holliday Park, began as a community-led effort to revitalize this essential public space. The Foundation now fulfills a lasting commitment to the health of the Park and the hundreds of thousands of people who visit each year. The Foundation articulates a vision, ensures a commitment to high standards, and works in partnership with the City to provide the leadership and fundraising necessary to continue to improve Holliday Park.
Supported by donors and guided by a board of directors, over the past 30 years the Foundation has invested millions of dollars to accomplish capital improvements, program enhancement and maintenance in the Park. We have built the popular Holliday Park playground and restroom pavilion, financed a master plan, improved and maintained three miles of trails, refurbished the rock garden, organized the annual Trail Run and Rock the Ruins events, and provided marketing and financial support for educational programming. The Foundation’s most significant contributions have been securing funding for the construction of the Nature Center, the renovation of the historic Ruins, and the establishment of a maintenance and operations endowment to support Holliday Park in perpetuity.
Our work never ends as the Foundation is responsible for raising hundreds of thousands of dollars each year to both preserve the park’s history and secure its future. With careful consideration, planning and cooperation among the Holliday Park Foundation, Indy Parks and the greater Indianapolis community, we can achieve our goal of ensuring Holliday Park continues to be a safe, clean, green and accessible space that can be enjoyed by everyone, every day. The proof is in the Park.
Mission:
The Holliday Park Foundation is committed to preserving, enhancing, and maintaining Holliday Park as a place for community, recreation, and the study of nature.
Vision:
To ensure a safe, clean, green, and accessible Park for all.
Core Values:
- We foster COMMUNITY by connecting individuals, local organizations, and communities with each other and Holliday Park, ensuring the Park is inclusive and welcoming to all.
- We provide opportunities for outdoor RECREATION through direct, hands-on experiences and by creating and maintaining vibrant public spaces.
- We promote the importance of NATURE through careful stewardship of resources and support of environmental education programs that spark personal relationships with the natural world.
Cool Timeline
In an effort to fulfil John and Evaline Holliday’s wish that the park be used as ‘a place for recreation and the study of nature’, in 1995 Friends of Holliday Park launched a campaign to raise $5 million dollars to construct a nature center. Since opening, the extraordinary 13,000 square foot building has served over a million visitors.
Friends of Holliday Park began an on-going effort to improve the trail system. Safety and erosion issues were addressed, and an overall emphasis on improving visitor experience was prioritized. Over the years, the historic Rock Garden has been renovated, many trails have been re-routed and improved, and a number of durable limestone staircases have been installed.
After successfully raising $650,000, Friends of Holliday Park hired Taylor Studios to redesign the 2,000 square foot exhibit hall in the nature center. The new Habitat Hall focuses on the idea that ‘The Wonder of Nature is Yours to Discover and Share’ and serves over 50,000 visitors annually.
Friends of Holliday Park recognized the longstanding need to provide a shaded pavilion and adequate restroom facilities in order to best serve our playground visitors. Donors generously contributed $500,000 to construct a Pavilion that boasts three single-stall restrooms and a covered shelter with seating for 50. Visitors, especially those with young children, now can stay longer and enjoy their visit more.
After years of being underutilized, the Holliday Park Foundation transforms the space behind the Nature Center to expand their educational mission to thousands of visitors. The Outdoor Learning Lab serves as a gateway connecting the scientific discovery happening in the Nature Center to the trail system, White River, and park grounds.
The Outdoor Learning Lab receives its capstone feature, the Susan Bayh Outdoor Classroom, allowing park programs to take place entirely outdoors so students may learn while being fully immersed in nature. When not in use for park programs and special events, the Outdoor Classroom serves as a covered gathering space for anyone visiting the park.