UR team promotes healthy lifestyles at Holley Center

Provided photos: Some of the services offered at the Holley Center include nutrition education with a food demonstration and tasting.

Press Release, Center for Community Health & Prevention at the University of Rochester Medical Center

HOLLEY – Have you heard of the Holley Center? A staple for many of the residents of Eastern Orleans County, the Center provides a vast array of free health and human services.

From free lunch Monday through Friday, to a medical loan closet complete with wheelchairs and walkers, to furniture and appliances and a free clothing boutique, the small space houses it all. Most of all, the primarily volunteer-run organization overflows with heart.

Katie Bauer, regional program coordinator for Promote HEALTH, brought the free eight-week healthy lifestyle program to the Holley Center in the spring of 2023. She knew from the first class that it was going to be a long-lasting relationship.

Promote HEALTH participants, village residents and volunteers got to know Katie and a bond was formed instantly.

“Class participants continue to share their small healthy lifestyle changes with one another, and with me,” Bauer said. “Whether they’ve added a new food to their eating pattern that they never tried before, or if they saw a new recipe, they’re open to making changes and continue to be excited about it all. The people are so special. They want the best for their community and it shows. The Holley Center is my favorite place to be.”

After 40 years of smoking, program participant Rachael has been smoke-free since June 2023. With Katie’s encouragement and support from Wilmot Cancer Institute’s Text to Quit program, Rachael was able to quit smoking before having hip surgery in the winter of last year.

“The program and Katie have really saved my life,” shared Rachael, who has also worked at the Center for 14 years. “The support you get while participating in Promote HEALTH, and beyond, keeps you going.”

Promote HEALTH is provided in partnership between the Center for Community Health & Prevention and Wilmot Cancer Institute’s Community Outreach and Engagement program.

Katie returns monthly to provide nutrition education with a food demonstration and tasting, like apple nachos, and has helped connect Deb, Center coordinator, and Rachael with area resources, like smoking cessation, for their clients.

The UR Medicine Mobile Mammography Van was in Holley on Monday and will be back on Friday.

One of the latest connections is with the UR Medicine Mobile Mammography Van. The Mobile Mammo will be making a stop a few blocks from the Holley Center (at 1 Wright St.)  Friday, March 1 to provide breast cancer screenings to women 40 and older. Are you due for a mammogram? Call 844-870-0002 or email mammovan@urmc.rochester.edu to schedule an appointment. Spaces are limited.

The Center for Community Health & Prevention looks forward to continuing our partnership with the Holley Center and appreciate all they, and Katie, do for their community! If you would like more information on the Promote HEALTH program, smoking cessation programs or other services mentioned in this story, please contact Katie at katie_bauer@urmc.rochester.edu.