Warren County Commissioners Mrs. Pat Smith and Mr. Dave Young are presented checks representing 22,920 pounds of food and $5,050 in donations for the Warren County Food Pantries by members of the Lebanon and Franklin High School basketball teams and cheerleaders.

The Season of Giving

Schools around the state participate in OHSAA Foundation Service Week

December 18, 2008 

Every year around this time, hundreds of gymnasiums around the Buckeye state hop with excitement as basketball teams begin their quest of reaching Value City Arena in March for the state tournament. With the start of another season, countless boys and girls prep squads once again give their fans plenty to cheer about.

But it might just be another type of season – the season of giving – that draws the most cheers. And it is all for a cause that is helping to brighten the holiday season for those in need.

The Ohio High School Athletic Association Foundation recently held its state-wide Foundation Service Week, which saw OHSAA member schools conduct 136 charity events that coincided with an exhibition basketball game. Together, they produced a massive statewide community service event of unmatched proportions.

“Some schools focused on raising dollars for things like a medical foundation or scholarships, but there were also many schools that took on projects like food drives or Habitat for Humanity,” said Kim Mahoney, who coordinates Service Week for the Foundation. “It’s an unbelievably positive experience for the schools and communities that participate.”

From raising money for the American Cancer Society to volunteering with Special Olympics and Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Ohio is witnessing a new holiday miracle.  

Foundation Goes to the Basketball Court

The OHSAA Foundation was created 10 years ago and is led by a 15-person Board of Trustees. The original mission of the Foundation was geared toward scholarships and leadership opportunities.

“This service component is new,” said Mahoney, noting the Service Week has already been so successful that “this past year we updated the mission. The Board is very excited about extending the reach of the Foundation. They are very happy to see this expansion and it means we can do more for more people.”

Service Week was proposed by Board member Bill Hosket, who starred on the basketball court for Ohio State and the New York Knicks. Basketball was chosen as the sport that would be the background for such a grass roots community service campaign.

“Basketball is a sport played by both boys and girls and it is a sport that almost every member school sponsors,” Mahoney said. “We knew we could reach almost every member school through basketball, and our district chairs were all coaches, who interact with other coaches and act as a positive voice in support of service week.”

Basketball for Food Scores Big

The yellow school bus sat alongside the curb outside the Kroger store in Lebanon, a southwest Ohio community in Warren county. A week later, it parked outside Wal-Mart. It was not a school field trip to compare prices or brands, and the bus filled despite the fact that there were no students on board.

As shoppers entered the store, they received a flyer by Mark North, superintendent of the Lebanon school district, and some of his students. Shoppers were given the opportunity to pick up a few non-perishable items for the school’s ‘Basketball for Food’ program and drop them off in the bus when they left.

“By the time we were done and combined all the food items brought to school by students, we had collected 22,920 pounds of food for the Warren County Food Bank,” North said. “And with donations from local businesses and community members, we also presented them with a check for $5,050.”

It was the third year that the Lebanon school district conducted the food drive, which has grown from about 8,000 pounds of food its first year. Students script the entire program, North said, and it is supported by teachers, the district transportation department, the administration and community businesses.

With the creation of Foundation Service Week, “it was a great match and we are happy to be able to partner with the OHSAA Foundation,” North said. “I feel as strongly about what our students are doing with ‘Basketball for Food’ as I am with our excellence distinction rating or what they do in athletics or the fine arts.”

The ‘Basketball for Food’ event kicks off with pep rallies at each of the six buildings in the district. Members of the basketball team, cheerleaders and pep band members get each student body excited and informed about the food drive and speak about what it means to help others without expecting something in return.

“This is another area that contributes to the whole student,” North said. “They’re making an impact and mentoring young students. One student commented to me that when you bring in a couple cans of food, you don’t think much of it, but when you see 23,000 pounds of food, you know that will make a difference. The event starts with our sponsors, but it ends with our students. Their pride and compassion for this event is remarkable.”

Hoops 4 Healing is a Slam Dunk

Basketball coaches often discuss strategy, swap ideas and share practice concepts. Unbeknownst to four coaches in northeast Ohio, they all shared something much more serious.

Those four coaches – Uniontown Lake High School coach Bruce Brown, Wooster High School coach Chuck Cooper, Malone University coach Hal Smith and Walsh University coach Steve Lloyd – created Hoops 4 Healing 10 years ago to work towards a cure for a disease they all shared.

“In a 12-month period, we were all diagnosed with Portosystematic Encephalopathy, or PSE,” Brown said. “It’s the same disease that killed Walter Payton and develops into liver cancer. Right now, the only cure is to have a liver transplant. With all four of us having a basketball background, we opted to create an organization with basketball as the medium to raise funds for liver disease research, organ donation and helping families who are dealing with this.”

A two-day basketball event, Hoops 4 Healing includes two high school games and two college games. With the creation of Foundation Service Week, Brown and members of two conferences – the Northeast Buckeye Conference and the Federal League – partnered to create an eight-game basketball event in which each member of one conference takes on a member of the other conference.

“The athletic directors all stepped up and said, ‘Let’s designate all the revenue from the eight games this year go to Hoops For Healing,’” Brown said. “We were very humbled by that decision. And the officials for each game, 48 total officials, worked the games for free.”

Coach Lloyd passed away in 2004, but the $9,056 raised for Hoops 4 Healing by the eight Foundation games this year is helping to prevent loss of life in the future. Coach Cooper had a liver transplant eight years ago and Coach Smith had a second liver transplant after his first one failed.

“Each year we host a Classic, we always try to create a connection back to liver disease or organ donation,” Brown said. “We also have done a golf outing and other things like that, and we are so pleased that Spectrum Orthopaedics of Stark County gives us so much support. They have already pledged to fully support the Service Week games in 2009.”

It’s More Than a Game

In addition to donations and ticket receipts, many schools raised additional money with activities like three-point shooting contests and 50/50 drawings.

“Many schools already require some kind of community service, but this might be the first time some kids are exposed to it,” Mahoney said. “The feedback we are getting is that the kids really enjoyed it and were glad to have the chance to give back. And we are seeing this now extending beyond just student-athletes to groups like student government and marketing classes.”

So many schools and various groups within each school became so involved because they could choose their focus.

“It is very important that the program be flexible so schools could pick a service project that is meaningful to them,’ Mahoney said. “That way, the service projects extends far beyond the basketball court.”

The Foundation and member schools are already looking forward to the 2009 Service Week, which will take place Nov. 18 through Dec. 5.

The eight-game event played between the Northeast Buckeye Conference and Federal League was successful in part because of the familiarity of the schools with each other.

“We said, ‘Hey, we all know each other,’” Brown said. “When Don Spinell, the athletic director at Minerva, approached us about it, we knew it was a no-brainer. It’s truly a win-win-win situation.”

The same can be said for the amount of food raised by Lebanon, and the impact it has on the community.

“We have even put together a manual on how we did it because other schools have called to ask,” North said. “And now with two schools bringing in food, it’s grown even more. It’s a selfless act and not a day goes by when someone from the community doesn’t tell me what an incredible program it is.”

Lebanon assistant principal Robert Buskrik helps students chart and weigh food collected for the district's Basketball for Food campaign.

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By Tim Stried, contact: tstried@ohsaa.org