August 23, 2026
Thank You, The Columbus Dispatch, for Sharing the EnergizeCare Story
Yesterday was a very special day for EnergizeCare.
The Columbus Dispatch published a full-page feature about EnergizeCare on the front page of its Kindness section, sharing our story with families throughout Central Ohio.
We want to sincerely thank reporter Kelly Tucker and The Columbus Dispatch for spending time with our participants, care partners, volunteers and leadership and, most importantly, for seeing the people behind our mission.
The story begins at one of our respite sessions at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, where Allison Slates and her father, Jim, were dancing together to a Memory Disco while others joined in around them.
That is EnergizeCare.
Music. Movement. Friendship. Laughter. Families making memories together. People living with dementia continuing to experience purpose, connection and joy.
Kelly also shared the very personal reason EnergizeCare exists.
My wife, Lisa, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, and our family suddenly found ourselves on a journey that none of us were prepared for. Through that experience, I began to understand how many families receive a diagnosis and then spend years trying to navigate what comes next.
EnergizeCare was created so other families would not have to make that journey alone.
Today, our respite programs at Healthy New Albany and the Columbus Zoo bring participants together for music, dancing, storytelling, fitness, cooking, animal engagement and friendship while giving their care partners time to rest and recharge. Our education and support programs help families better understand dementia and prepare for the journey ahead.
And now we are preparing for our biggest step yet.
This fall, we plan to open EnergizeCare Dublin – Lisa's Place, our first permanent Adult Enrichment and Cognitive Engagement Center and the heart of our vision for a comprehensive dementia hub serving Central Ohio.
We want Lisa's Place to be somewhere families can find more than a program.
We want them to find a community.
A place for respite. A place for education. A place for care partner support. A place for resources and trusted community partners. And a place where people living with dementia are known for who they are, not simply for their diagnosis.
The Dispatch story also shared the words of our board member and care partner, Jim Mendenhall, who sees the potential for EnergizeCare to grow far beyond where we are today.
We share that hope.
But we cannot do it alone.
So today, as we thank The Columbus Dispatch for introducing EnergizeCare to more of Central Ohio, we also extend an invitation to our community:
Join us.
If you are a physician, nurse, social worker, counselor, educator, business owner, community organization, volunteer, donor, care partner, family member—or simply someone whose life has been touched by dementia—there is a place for you in this movement.
Help us build something different for families living with dementia.
And above all, help us change the way the world sees the person behind the diagnosis.
See Our Wonderful People®
There is more to the person than the dementia.
It is possible to live well with dementia.
They may forget who you are, but they will never forget how you made them feel.
Thank you, Kelly Tucker and The Columbus Dispatch, for telling our story. Read the story here:
And take a look through the photo gallery:
And thank you to the Center for Human Kindness at The Columbus Foundation, whose support of The Dispatch's Kindness coverage helps bring stories like ours to the Central Ohio community.
This is EnergizeCare.