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22 hours ago (May 12, 2020)
SPRINGFIELD, MA - SEPTEMBER 07: Naismith Memorial Basketball
Hall of Fame Class of 2018 enshrinee Katie Smith speaks during the 2018
Basketball Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony at Symphony Hall on September 7,
2018 in Springfield, Massa
Another successful Katie
Smith mission
Current Minnesota Lynx assistant coach
and former Buckeye standout Katie Smith assisted Ohio State’s LiFEsports
program Friday by providing sporting equipment and at-home fitness instructions
to children in the Columbus area.
Smith, the 1996 Big Ten Player of the
Year who became the first female athlete in Buckeye history to have her number
retired, helped assemble kits for distribution at the Beatty Community Center. She was
one of several staff members who agreed to wear masks and gloves as well as
keep hand sanitizer at their disposal.
“Some things are bigger than just sports,” Smith said during a
television interview with 10TV news. “It’s about the connection, that [the
kids] know that you care, that you’re there for them. Just to provide these, a
basketball, a football, a soccer ball and just some instruction, just knows
that they’re still involved and people are still thinking of them.”
Ohio
State’s LiFEsports initiative, which organized the “Sport In a Bag” event to
help children potentially missing out on recreational activities due to the
COVID-19 pandemic, typically provides approximately 800 kids ages 9-14 with
sports-themed programming each year. While the virus has forced the program to
indefinitely suspend operations, it teamed with the Lindy Infante Foundation to
offer families an alternative suited for current societal conditions.
“When
COVID-19 hit, Stephanie [from the Lindy Infante Foundation] reached out asking
how they might help,” said Rebecca Wade-Mdivanian, director of operations for
LiFEsports, in a release. “After
thinking for a while and having my own kids bored at home, it hit me that many
of our kids might not have equipment at home. I called Stephanie and we
brainstormed what it might look together and created Sport in a Bag.”
According
to Ohio State, 200 families successfully received Sport In a Bag kits on
Friday. LiFEsports plans to hold more distribution days in the coming weeks.
