Photos courtesy of Russ Gill
Holiday light displays aren’t the only ways to raise money for worthy causes during the winter months.
In every winter but one since 1982, Russ Gill has embarked on a major stair-climbing race at the Rhodes Tower in downtown Columbus.
Until 2013, it was for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Since 2015, it’s been the American Lung Association’s Fight for Air Climb.
Gill takes his climbing seriously. Over the last 34 years, he’s climbed more than 1 million stairs and raised more than $550,000.
“I was fortunate enough to break the world record for stair-climbing in the 1990s – twice,” Gill says.
Randall L. Schieber
Columbus Symphony Orchestra
His fundraising has been so consistently prolific – both for stairs climbs and, when he was younger, various marathons and foot races – that he’s won a long list of prizes for events’ top fundraisers. And that’s only one of his passions; he’s also played double bass for the Columbus Symphony Orchestra since 1978.
Knowing how strenuous it is to climb 40 flights of stairs, Gill always asks his donors to match his physical effort with a financial effort.
The 2017 Fight for Air Climb is scheduled for Feb. 18. The fundraising goal is $100,000. Learn more at Lung.org.
Garth Bishop is managing editor. Feedback welcome at gbishop@cityscenemediagroup.com.
