I think most people know how I feel about paying forward. Woody Hayes introduced this idea to me, and as my life has progressed I’ve learned more and more how important and meaningful it is.
That is one reason I love my role at the Alumni Association. It gives me so many opportunities to pay forward, and I get to see first-hand the great work that our alumni clubs and societies do to pay forward as well. Our groups are the best, and consistently do things in their communities that represent Ohio State well.
My strong belief in helping those in need is one reason that the Alumni Association started its Charity Bowl efforts prior to the BCS National Championship Game in 2007. That year, we adopted the Recovery School District in New Orleans and asked alumni to provide their support. They responded as Buckeyes usually do, with an outpouring of generosity that helped raise nearly $70,000 for the impoverished school district.
Since then, Charity Bowl efforts have raised more than 70,000 meals for those in need and thousands of dollars for Ohio State’s important Students First, Students Now scholarship initiative. This year, we turned our focus back to food.
I have been asked why we selected food pantries again as our focus this year. To me, the answer was simple: You help where there is a need. And there is no question that this is a need.
I think we are all familiar with the economic challenges that our country is facing right now. Those challenges have created a much greater need for food donations, because demand on food pantries is rising. In 2011, the Mid-Ohio Foodbank expects to distribute four million more pounds of food to those in need than it did last year. At the same time, the MOFB is also experiencing a decrease in donations from the food industry, and those donations account for roughly half of all donations made to the Foodbank each year.
The story at MOFB is the same at countless other food pantries throughout the country. Demand for assistance is up, but supply is down. With this in mind, we decided to again ask alumni around the country to pitch in and help in any way they can.
There are a few ways you can assist this effort. Monetary donations to the Mid-Ohio Foodbank are perhaps the easiest way to give and you can donate by visiting our virtual food drive online at go.osu.edu/BeatHungerNow. Or, you can donate food by dropping it off at Longaberger Alumni House.
However, we recognize that we have a widespread alumni base and people may want to help in their home regions, so we encourage you to give locally, too. We’ve already heard from alumni clubs who are donating money, food, and volunteer time to food pantries in their areas. We’ve also heard from individual alums that are helping through donations or volunteerism.
To be honest, I don’t have a great deal of concern over how you help just that you choose to join the effort. We intend to keep the Charity Bowl open until the end of February and have set a goal of surpassing the 72,000 meals we generated from our last effort.
If you or your group are participating in an effort to support the Charity Bowl, we want to hear about it. You can fill us in on your good works by sending an e-mail to community@ohiostatealumni.org with the subject line: Charity Bowl. Or contact alumni club leader Kimberly Lowe (lowe@ohiostatealumni.org) or society leader Craig Little ( little@ohiostatealumni.org) to make sure that your group’s effort is counted.
In general, I hope our clubs and societies continue to focus on charitable efforts once the Charity Bowl is complete. Although we undoubtedly draw focus to a specific effort at this time of year, the commitment to pay forward is an everyday commitment in my mind. So whether you are supporting the effort now, or engaging in community service this spring or summer, I hope you continue to keep paying forward as a priority for your group.
Thank you again for your time and effort supporting this worthy cause. We’ve made a difference before in this area and I know we will again.
