Rachel Muha, founder of the Brian Muha Foundation, is the Columbus Sports Community Champion recipient for Spring 2025, our first honoree.

Rachel has committed her life to helping the inner city children of Columbus. What began as a scholarship fund has grown into so much more, as Rachel’s experience with the foundation grew. I spoke with Rachel to learn more about her motivation for taking on such an important challenge.
 

Q:  What’s the mission of the Brian Muha Foundation?
A: Our mission is to help inner city children in any way that we can so they can overcome the struggles of living in the inner city and become what they were meant to become, to follow their dreams, to really make their life better than it is.

Q: What role do sports play in the inner city community?
A: A big role. The children that come through the center, Kindergarten through high school, need that outlet and it's very hard for them, because houses are close together, yards are small, streets are busy. The kids want to play, run, compete and have fun, so it’s really important they have a place to do that, and there aren’t that many places for that in the inner city.

Q: What has been the largest obstacle your organization has faced, and how did you overcome it?
A: The largest obstacle I would say as a non-profit is always funding. We work really hard to raise enough funds because we don’t charge anything for what we offer to the community. If we did that would eliminate a lot of the kids, so we have to raise all the money that we need in order to run things like basketball leagues, flag football, taekwondo. All of that costs money, equipment, refs, coaches, just the utilities to have the gym available. 

Q: The Foundation's work has grown so much. Has that always been the vision or was it answering needs as they came?
A: Exactly that. As we saw the need, we thought maybe we can do something to try to fill that need. My vision in the beginning is totally different from what we’re doing now. When we first started I thought we could get together a couple days a week and tutor, offer snacks, play games, and that would be it and just for second and third graders. But that was not fulfilling the greater need in the community and we learned that by the second and third graders asking, “can I bring my siblings, can we meet more often?” The need was bigger than I realized. Then things changed, Covid is what got us into having the day school because the schools were closed and parents asked us could we help educate their children. So, yes, as the needs come up we ask, is there something we can do? And if there is, then we do it.
 

>> Nominate a Columbus Sports Community Champion here
 

Q: How has your understanding of the community, family and children also grown?
A: I thought I had an idea of what was needed in the inner city. And I thought that meant some tutoring to help children stay with their studies, clothing, and food. But it’s actually easy to get clothing in the inner city, there’s a lot of churches and free stores that give clothing away, it’s really easy to get food, there are food pantries everywhere. But it’s not easy to get the constant, committed attention, or guidance, or education that the children need. All of the schools on the Westside of Columbus are graded by the Ohio Department of Education as failing schools, every single one of them. And so, every child that comes to us is at least two years behind in reading, math, study habits, in the value of an education. What we’ve learned, is you can give a child clothing and food, but you’re not making a difference in their lives long term. Everything we thought we would be doing has become really secondary to what we have learned we need to do, and that is to be there in their lives consistently and befriend them, let them know there are people who really care about them, and will help them in all aspects, academically, emotionally, physically. That’s why sports are so important, it helps them mentally and physically. 

Q: What do you hope the people you serve get out of their experience?
A: We want the children to see that it’s a big world out there and it’s open up to them too, that they’re not left out. We want to see them come out of Run the Race and the Day School as children who realize that they’re important, valuable, and they have something to offer and they can change the world. That they are a part of our society, not on the fringes of it.

Q: What legacy do you hope to leave through your work?
A: Oh gosh, I don’t really think about legacy. I just want to help as many children as we can. And when one of the, we call them the Older Racers, or the originals, when they come back to the Center to say hi and they want to tell us what they’re doing now, and they have a full time job, they’re paying their own bills, they’re in their own apartments, and they feel important, that’s payment. That happens frequently, and I love that.

Q: What are some ways people can support your work / foundation
A: Besides fundraising (which is a big way), we are always happy to take used sports, arts and school supplies. We have a food pantry at the center, so food for the pantry, or monetary donations specified for that. Something that a lot of people don’t think of and might think it's frivolous, but is so important, are things like tickets to take kids to events, they need that.