Buckeyes Care Day A Success at French Field House – Ohio State Buckeyes
9/30/2015 12:00:00 AM | General
Sept. 30, 2015
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – Pizza, sports and a ton of smiles were all on display last Saturday at French Field House during Buckeyes Care Day.
The Ohio State Department of Athletics, in partnership with Donatos, AEP, Kroger and WBNS 10TV and 97.1 The Fan, held its second annual Buckeyes Care Day before the home football game against Western Michigan. A brief program was held to launch the event, while additional mentions and recognitions took place during the Buckeyes’ big win over the Broncos at Ohio Stadium.
“Thank you all for being here on this special day,” said Director of Athletics and Vice President Gene Smith. “We know we are blessed every single day to be embedded in the great city of Columbus. We also know there is a tremendous responsibility with that. We need to make sure we will do everything that we can for the young people in our community to have a remarkable experience in Buckeye land.”
More than 600 pizzas were ordered from Donatos for those in attendance to enjoy, while 11 Ohio State varsity programs were present for a meet and greet with the youth. Twenty-three community organizations, which all have made an important impact around the state of the Ohio, were also invited to Buckeyes Care Day.
“Buckeyes Care is a chance for young people to come to this facility and interact with our student-athletes and have a chance to go to some of our contests that they otherwise might not have the opportunity to do so. Hopefully this inspires them to go to college someday and get an education. I want to thank all our sponsors for their continued support of Buckeyes Care.”
The day started with 10TV’s sports anchor Dom Tiberi welcoming everyone with an “O-H…I-O” chant and a message to the youth in attendance.
“As Woody Hayes used to talk about paying forward, that is what this day is all about, Buckeyes Care,” Tiberi said. “We really want to thank all of you that our community leaders, especially when it comes to our youth. As you know, the youth is something that is near and dear to my heart with Maria’s Message. For you young people out there, I just want you to know that people love you and that you are important.”
Alongside Tiberi to greet the crowd was 10TV’s news anchor Jerry Revish.
“It’s so great to see everyone out here today and we’d love to meet everyone,” Revish said. “This is what it is all about, giving back to the community.”
There were plenty of activities to take part in. Kids could pass around the soccer ball, work on their shot in front of the lacrosse goal or even try out their quarterback skills at the inflatable target.
The Ohio State women’s swimming team was seen working on their accuracy with the football, while the Ohio State divers had a handstand contest with Brutus and the Ohio State cheering squad before the program.
“We are very fortunate to be student-athletes at this great university,” said Ohio State sophomore women’s swimmer Cheyenne Meek. “I think it’s awesome to see these kids out here enjoying themselves. I hope this experience encourages them to attend college one day and excel in their classes.”
Who had the best arm on the women’s swimming team? “Without a question, Katy Luchansky.”
It was also an eye-opening experience for sophomore men’s diver Colin Zeng.
“I’m really proud to be a part of an athletic department that cares about people who maybe are less fortunate than we are,” Zeng said. “This day helps us see what else is outside of our world. We live in our own box with our busy schedules during the year. It’s not all about us but the community around us as well.”
The day capped off with a group photo filled with grins from one side to the other at French Field House. To see more scenes from Buckeyes Care Day, click above.
#BuckeyesCare
The four pillars of the program are fitness, wellness, education and public service. The goals and objectives of Buckeyes Care are to:
- Organize and highlight current outreach initiatives under an overarching community umbrella
- Engage, educate and inspire the community
- Build community goodwill.
A website, OhioStateBuckeyes.com/BuckeyesCare, and #BuckeyesCare have been established to share uplifting experiences and stories from the community.
“American Electric Power has promoted community service for more than 80 years and what I see here today is enthusiastic group of people who are all making their community a better place. There are a lot of organizations here today that are doing wonderful things for our city and its programs like Buckeyes Care that embeds that in the fundamental ethic of our society.”
Dale Heydlauff, AEP Foundation President
“We have a huge presence in the Columbus community with all of our store locations around the area and to be a part of an event like this is really great. We get to have everyone enjoy our pizza for lunch, but it’s more than that. For a lot, today will be their first time at Ohio Stadium and to be a part of that excitement is a lot of fun during Buckeyes Care Day.”
Dave Parsons, Donatos
“As a community partner, we know it’s our obligation to give back to the community and help all the organizations that do such good work throughout our state. Partnering with Buckeyes Care now gives us the opportunity to take it to another step. It’s great to have everyone here today and support these organizations. It makes us very happy and proud to be part of Buckeye nation.”
Cheryl McCormick, Kroger
BUCKEYES CARE DAY ORGANIZATIONS
MID-OHIO FOODBANK
BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS OF ATHENS
BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS OF NORTH CENTRAL OHIO
BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB
GOODWILL NEWARK
SECONDARY WARD COMMUNITY INITIATIVE OF DELAWARE COUNTY
SOUTHSIDE LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT CENTER
THE WELL AT SUNNYSIDE
A KID AGAIN
AMERICAN RED CROSS
FLYING HORSE FARMS
JDRF
MID-OHIO FOODBANK
SPECIAL OLYMPICS
2ND & SEVEN
BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS OF CENTRAL OHIO
BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF COLUMBUS
COLUMBUS URBAN LEAGUE
LUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICES
MAKE A WISH
NATIONWIDE CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL
ST. VINCENT FAMILY CENTER
THE BUCKEYE RANCH
