HEALTHY HEALING: Nearly 500 turn out for St. Mark's annual health fair in New Albany

NEW ALBANY — James Hagins recently learned that his daughter was in need of eyeglasses.

On Saturday, not only did his daughter, Cheyenne, 11, get new eyewear, but so did Hagins and his other daughter, Alyssa, 9, at St. Mark’s United Church of Christ’s annual health fair in New Albany.

“School called me and said Cheyenne needed to get some glasses because she’s got some major tests coming up next week,” Hagins said, adding that the family enjoyed the fair and would be back. “It’s something good for the kids.”

Hundreds streamed through the halls of St. Mark’s as the church opened its doors to the community for its eighth annual health fair. While the church has been hosting a weekly free meal and clothes closet weekly for years, the comprehensive fair also offers free services across the board, including haircuts, shopping the clothes closet, financial counseling, enjoying a chair massage, dental exams and oral cancer screenings and a lot more.

Visitors could even get checked and fitted for new free glasses. The Rev. John Manzo was available all day for spiritual counseling for anyone who wanted to speak with him.

Some people went for specific services and many made a day of it. Jeffersonville residents Beverly Porter and Ceola Hall spent several hours at the church.

“I got a haircut, I got my eyes checked, my back — I was in a car accident last year and it helped it,” Porter said. She said she talked to a doctor at McCallister Chiropractic to help find alternatives to medicine for her back pain, and got set up with an appointment for next week.

Gretchen Lentz, chiropractic assistant at McCallister, said the company was giving out gift certificates for a free exam, consultation and X-rays for the following week, for those who qualified and were interested.

She said Saturday’s event was the biggest year she’s seen so far, and she’s been coming to the health fair for four years.

“It’s definitely good to get people who can’t go to the doctor because they can’t afford it or just don’t have those connections,” she said. “So we reach out to them and help those people feel better and know why they aren’t feeling good.”

There is also a wealth of health information at the fair: smoking cessation, sexual health eduction, women’s preventive health and plenty of volunteers on hand to help community members get access to continued healthcare.

Joy Knopfmeier, who co-coordinates the annual event with Wendy Swisher, said she wants everyone coming through the doors to be treated as though they were guests in the more than 120 volunteers’ homes. They started the fair eight years ago after seeing the need from folks who were visiting the weekly clothes closet and soup kitchen.

“It’s very humbling to me as well as just sad in a way because you see so much of the need,” Knopfmeier said. “But it really warms my heart that that’s one of the biggest feedbacks that we get is that people feel like they’ve been respected and treated with dignity and that they’re comfortable here.”

Services at the health fair and the weekly clothes closet and soup kitchen are open without restrictions to anyone in the community, Knopfmeier said.

“We are amazed at how many people we get,” she said. “The one thing we will ask is what counties they’re from just so we can kind of get a demographic and if this is their first time. And it always amazes us how many people it’s like their first time at the clothes closet or the soup kitchen or to the church for these and it’s like ‘Great, we’ve reached a few more people then than we did last year.’”

She said this year, there were 100 people in the door when the fair started at 10 a.m, but some showed up even earlier.

“When we got here at 7:30 there were people at the front door waiting, which tells us a little bit about the need,” she said. “They want to make sure that they get what they need. Some folks will come once a year for a haircut so they want to make sure they’re first in the door.”

Knopfmeier estimates that about half of the people that come through access the vision clinic, which is staffed with eye doctors from the area. Adults and children can get their eyes checked and if needed, they can usually leave with a pair of glasses the same day. Waterstep and the Lyons Club are the two main providers of glasses — both readers and prescription. If the person needs a prescription that needs to be ordered, the church pays for it.

James Hagins and his daughters Alyssa, 9, and Cheyenne, 11, New Albany, were at Saturday’s fair for the first time, and all three got glasses.

Hagins said he learned of his daughter’s vision problems from school.

“School called me and said Cheyenne needed to get some glasses because she’s got some major tests coming up next week,” he said.

He said they all had a great time and would be back again.

“Oh yes,” he said. “It’s something good for the kids.”

Pamela Werner, New Albany, was there with her daughter and grandchildren and friends. She said it’s something they look forward to every year.

“It’s something for the kids and something for us to do, instead of being stuck in the house all the time,” she said. “It’s amazing what they do — it’s really helpful to people, too.”

State Rep. Ed Clere, R-New Albany, said the spectrum of services offered at the health fair is unique to St. Mark’s.

“One of the things that distinguishes this health fair is how comprehensive it is,” he said. “There are a lot of events that target one need or a couple of needs but they’re doing everything in one place. It’s really a one-stop-shop.

Knopfmeier said the church is mission-oriented and that most of the congregation was able to volunteer at the event. Although it does receive a $1,000 grant to help with the fair, the church also has fundraisers throughout the year to help make sure it’s a success.

“We’re exhausted at the end of the day but we’re pretty blessed and our hearts are pretty full,” she said.

Miguel, Hottois, 15, volunteered for the first time this year at the fair.

“I like it. I think it’s a neat thing to do,” he said. “I wasn’t planning on doing it but I’m definitely glad that I did.”

Hottois did a little bit of everything — he helped cook, set up, whatever was needed — and got a lot out of the experience.

“You get to learn new things about new people you probably would have never met,” he said. “And you get a good feeling when you help someone.”

HEALTHY HEALING: Nearly 500 turn out for St. Mark"s annual health fair in New Albany