Foundation helps disadvantaged youth shine
Megan Savage
Issue date: 6/2/08
Section: Sports
Ryan Miller met his best friends Luke Fickell and Mike Vrabel on the Ohio State football team. They came in together as freshman and became close friends over the four years they spent at OSU.
"We developed such a close relationship through our bond with OSU athletics," Miller said.
The three had more in common than just football. The football team was involved in a number of community service products, including Habitat for Humanity. It also frequented area elementary schools, where the players would read to students.
"We thought 'boy, this is nice,'" Miller said. " 'Maybe this is something we can continue once we graduate.''
The three graduated in 1997 and football sent them all in different directions. Fickell spent a year on the injured reserve list for the New Orleans Saints, Miller was off to the New York Jets training camp and Vrabel was drafted by and played for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
"In the offseason, we just thought," Miller said. "'Let's do something.' We wanted to raise money and start buying books for kids in the inner city."
The three decided to hold a football camp in Westerville, Ohio and charged $55 a person. They then used the money from the camp to buy books.
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