Ohio University students took advantage of the warm weather Saturday by stripping down to their skivvies for the fifth annual Bare on the Bricks.
The event collects clothing donations for several local charities — the Hocking-Athens-Perry Community Action, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and My Sister’s Place.
Money from the $10 pre-registration and $12 day of registration fees will be donated to Good Works, Inc.
Participants filled the fourth floor of Baker University Center in preparation for the nearly-naked run, which started at noon at the intersection of Court Street and Park Place and ended at the Pigskin Bar and Grille, 38 N. Court St.
“I’m glad that the weather is nice,” Haley Luedeke, a sophomore studying child and family studies, said before the event.
The weather in Athens on Saturday reached about 60 degrees Fahrenheit, according to The Weather Channel’s forecast.
The Student Alumni Board and OU’s Phi Kappa Psi hosted the run. According to Bare on the Brick’s Twitter page (@NearlyNakedMile), there were 352 runners.
More than $2,000 and 40 bags of donated clothes were collected.
“I think it’s an awesome event,” said George Peck, a junior studying marketing and a member of Phi Kappa Psi. “It’s a lot of fun and it’s for a good cause.”
Around 300 runners attended last year’s event, and about 1,000 pounds of clothing were donated.
“On campus you don’t really get to see the impact that homelessness really affects our area and Appalachia,” said Rachel Sharkey, vice president of philanthropy for the Student Alumni Board. “We’re just really happy to be able to give back to this community that has given so much to us.”
The first 300 registered runners received a complimentary T-shirt, paid for by the student activity fee and Student Senate’s uFund, a fund that provides money to events that offer alternatives to “nighttime high risk behavior,” according to a university news release.
Participants were invited to attend a party at the Pigskin after the run.
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