Former Buckeyes give back to their communities

(Donating) Time and Change: Former Buckeye athletes are giving back in their own ways, creating change in the community

by

Driven Foundation

The Driven Foundation began in 2009 with two former Buckeyes’ desire to give back.

Antonio Smith and Roy Hall held youth football camps in their hometowns – Columbus and Cleveland, respectively – and partnered with 25 other former players from The Ohio State University and the NFL to share fundamentals of the game and life lessons with the kids.   

“Our intention was to encourage kids through a sport that was responsible for so much of our own positive development and success,” says Hall. “We focused on behavior, attitude, faith (and) hard work, and we taught the kids how to handle both adversity and success.”

After considering the impact of the camp, a new mission emerged for the Driven Foundation: to change the course for those who have fallen on hard times and those who need a hand by promoting perseverance and building hope through service.

The Driven Foundation now has more than 15 outreach efforts that address basic day-to-day needs of families in the community. The foundation’s annual Food Outreach event, which reaches the 10-year mark in 2018, distributes three to four days’ worth of food to 1,000 Columbus families with the help of donations and volunteers.

“Year after year, the Driven Foundation has experienced significant growth that’s allowed us to expand our programs and the impact we’re able to make throughout Columbus and other areas in Ohio,” says Hall. “In 2018, we’re looking forward to our first annual Driven Foundation Gala in the summer, the second annual Wellness Giveaway in the spring and the continued growth of our student mentorship and student athlete leadership programs, which take place several times a month at six area schools.”

Both Hall and Smith agree that the work ethic and team mentality they learned at OSU has great influence on the Driven Foundation.

“Coach Jim Tressel mentored us as young athletes to use our platform to help others, and it’s something we both embraced and (continue to) live by,” says Hall. “We have the same heart and we know we can use that (Block) ‘O’ to make a difference in the lives of others.”

2nd & 7 Foundation

Another group of former Buckeyes is fighting illiteracy with a foundation dedicated to promoting positive role models and reading.

The 2nd & 7 Foundation was formed in 1999 by Ryan Miller, Luke Fickell and Mike Vrabel as a way to continue to pay it forward after their playing days were over.

By hosting a small youth football camp, the three founders were able to raise enough money to buy books for all of the second-grade students in seven local schools, thus the name.

“They knew they had a platform to inspire kids, and wanted to not only spend time reading with them, but also wanted to give every child they visited a free book to take home,” says 2nd & 7 Executive Director Amy Hoying. “In 2006, Miller, Fickell and Vrabel asked the OSU athletic director for help with their outreach. With Gene Smith’s blessing, student athletes from many different teams at OSU started to get involved.” 

What started as three individuals reading to second-graders in Columbus was about to expand on a national scale.

“We started to see the true growth potential when coaches, athletic directors and student athletes would leave OSU and ask to take the reading program with them,” says Hoying. “Our model is simple: pair student-athletes with second-graders, read with them and give them a book to keep. Once we included high school student athletes into the fold – our first program of this kind was in Albuquerque, New Mexico – we realized that there were no limits to where this program could go.”

By 2007, the Tackling Illiteracy program had grown so much that the foundation realized it was cheaper to begin producing its own books to distribute. Hoying and Miller’s sister, Leah, a teacher in Upper Arlington, would work together to write the first of many books in the foundation’s Hog Mollies series. Hoying’s neighbor, Jason Tharp, contributed illustrations and has continued to do so for the subsequent nine books in the series.

“We are currently working on the 11th book in our series, each story featuring a life lesson that the student-athlete role models can talk to the second-graders about during their visit,” says Hoying.    

Today, 2nd & 7 has nearly 130 programs running in 21 states throughout the country. The foundation has been able to give books to nearly 200,000 students since its inception in 1999.

Lawrence Funderburke Youth Organization

Yet another former Buckeye has made strides in the community through educational programs, outreach and a truly relatable story.

When Lawrence Funderburke was growing up on the west side of Columbus, he recognized that he was in a hard-to-escape community.

“It goes back to my childhood. Like a lot of kids in the inner city, I grew up in a very difficult and dysfunctional environment,” says Funderburke. “… People promise you that they will be there for you, and then they disappoint you. I made a promise to myself, and to God, that if I was ever in a situation to give back, I would.”

After playing basketball in college for OSU and in the NBA for the Sacramento Kings and Chicago Bulls, Funderburke found himself in just that situation.

In 2000, he and his wife, Monya, started the Lawrence Funderburke Youth Organization (LFYO) with a goal to provide low- to moderate-income students and families with critically important math, financial planning and personal development skills.

Though much of the LFYO programming incorporates basketball, there is a heavy focus on education, particularly math.

“I didn’t want (LFYO) to be about sports. … My passion has always been intellectual stimulation,” says Funderburke. “We focus a lot on math skills. If you can’t get math, you can’t get life.”

Funderburke stresses the importance of understanding math as it relates to everyday life and overcoming socioeconomic roadblocks.

“Our unique niche is that we focus on something that helps kids think long term, and see that they can’t just bounce out of a situation by becoming an athlete or entertainer,” says Funderburke.

In 2015, Funderburke and his wife opened FunderMax Fitness, a health and wellness studio offering both physical and financial wellness classes. The profits from the studio go to LFYO, helping to make the nonprofit economically self-sufficient.

Funderburke has written three books, the third having published in November 2017, with all proceeds going to the youth organization. The new book, Sociopsychononmics: How Social Classes Think, Act, and Behave Financially in the Twenty-First Century, looks at the inner workings of our class system and highlights how challenging it is for the lower class to achieve success.

Be the ultimate Buckeye fan by supporting upcoming events and fundraisers

The Driven Foundation

www.staydriven.org

With countless opportunities to donate time and money, Driven is always looking for more people to get involved.

Lawrence Funderburke Youth Organization

www.mrfundy.com

Support LFYO by purchasing Sociopsychonomics. All proceeds go toward the development of more youth programs and community outreach.

2nd & 7 Foundation

www.secondandseven.com

2nd & 7 Foundation has adopted Feb. 7 (or 02/07, if you prefer) as its own day to celebrate readers and leaders. Visitors can attend an open house to see what’s new and sign up to volunteer, as well as enjoy food and prizes.

Jenny Wise is an assistant editor. Feedback welcome at jwise@cityscenemediagroup.com.

RELATED READS