By Felix Hoover

For YourNewsColumbus.com

 

Columbus--The Ohio High School Athletic Association conjures up images of rules, eligibility challenges and sports tournaments, but families in the Clintonville know its giving side as well.

The association’s office on Roselea Place, off N. High Street, allows workers to take part in dress-down Fridays, soup sales and other things that raise money for charity, said Andrea Rossi, assistant comptroller.

The 20-member staff raised more than $800 during the past year with the dress down for charity, which allows workers to make a donation in exchange for the right to wear jeans and tennis shoes on Fridays.

Initially the program initiated by Webmaster Brenda Murray ran only during the Ohio State University football season, but expanded because of popular demand, Rossi said.

Money from the dress down buys Christmas gifts for needy families in the Sponsor-a-Family program at the Clintonville Beechwold Community Resources Center, 14 W. Lakeview Ave.

This year, 135 needy families will receive items on the Christmas wish list thanks to donations from the athletic association and other generous donors, said Angela Kypriotis, the center’s associate director.

The center receives other gifts from other efforts at the association, including  Souper Help for the Hungry. Between October and December, a rotation of eight staffers prepares lunches of soup, bread and dessert.

“I usually do the chicken noodle soup,” Rossi said.

A food drive in which canned goods and money are collected for the community center rounds out the athletic association philanthropy.

“Our office staff is very generous to do that much with only 20 people in our office,” Rossi said.