As Woody Hayes’ 100th birthday approaches on Thursday, tribute events are being held to honor the university’s longest-serving head football coach and his wife.
A bronze statue of the football legend is scheduled to be erected in front of the Woody Hayes Athletic Facility Wednesday, and Thursday a “Push Woody’s Car over the Border” event is being held at the Ohio Union to commemorate a story about Hayes pushing his car across the border after running out of gas in Michigan, according to a university release.
Friday a dinner will be held in celebration of Anne and Woody Hayes at the Woody Hayes Athletic Facility.
In commemoration of the legacy of Anne Hayes and her passion for service, OSU social work students scheduled a trip to the Buckeye Ranch as part of the Anne and Woody Hayes Celebration Week.
The Buckeye Ranch is a private, nonprofit organization that has been serving families in the Franklin County area for more than 50 years. Jody Lee Poth, assistant director of OSU’s parent, family and alumni relations, said Anne Hayes greatly enjoyed working with the Ranch and became involved with it back when it was still called the Buckeye Boys Ranch in the 1990s.
On Tuesday, students were scheduled to volunteer at the Ranch’s newest location, the Rosemont Center, which the Buckeye Ranch took over in 2012.
Nick Rees, president and CEO of the Buckeye Ranch, said the Ranch appreciates the support of OSU and enjoys working with the social work students.
“It’s great working with OSU on just about any project, especially with the College of Social Work, because we hire so many social work majors throughout the Buckeye Ranch system,” Rees said.
According to the Ranch’s website, the nonprofit was founded by a group of women concerned with “troubled adolescents” in the Columbus area. The first residential center, Argo House, was built in 1961. Today the Ranch has five different locations.
The Buckeye Ranch provides treatment and care for girls and boys ages 10 to 18 with “mental health, emotional, behavioral and substance abuse issues.”
Maria Pasillas, a first-year in biology, said after having family members suffer from drug and alcohol abuse, she understands the importance of places such as the Buckeye Ranch.
“People who are in those situations often don’t know where to go, and having the Buckeye Ranch could help them step up and go somewhere to get help,” Pasillas said. “I think it’s great that Ohio State has service opportunities like this, because it gives students something better to be involved in around campus other than going out and partying.”
There are various methods of treatment offered for patients at the Buckeye Ranch, including individual therapy, group therapy, family therapy and psychiatric services. The Ranch also provides foster care homes all over the state and has a specialized deaf services program because “statistics indicate that 38 percent of the deaf population experience some form of mental distress,” according to the organization’s website.
Pasillas said she is glad the university is putting on these events because she was not very familiar with Anne and Woody Hayes.
“People like me who don’t know much about them can benefit from this week and learn more about who they were and why they were so important to Ohio State,” Pasillas said.