Mickey Kim
You’ve heard it a million times: What goes up must come down.
Well, Columbus community leader Mickey Kim figures that could be somewhat questionable come Sept. 20.
That Friday, he’ll go up on the roof of Moose Lodge No. 398 at 330 Eighth St. in downtown Columbus. And coming down? That looks to be open to the playful whimsy of his friends and humorous frenemies.
His top-of-the-building event, “Mickey at The Moose,” beginning at 5 p.m. is part of a tweaked, annual fundraiser for the Columbus-based nonprofit Turning Point Domestic Violence Services, working toward the prevention and the elimination of domestic and dating violence. One fund will be for people donating to bring him down from the roof, preferably by nightfall or so.
The other fund will be those donating to keep him on his perch at the facility where its members have long been strong supporters of Turning Point’s shelter.
Those giving to that latter fund probably will be “my peculiar group of friends,” as Kim humorously calls them.
“I know there are some people who might want to keep me up there for a while,” he said.
In some ways, the longer Kim stays put, the more residents can mingle below amid food for sale for the cause and more in a kind of generous, subdued picnic atmosphere. Plus, Kim hopes to have a sound system to speak to those below.
Whittney Loyd, Turning Point president, said that the rooftop fundraiser events “have become a staple of our agency,” as she put it.
The fundraisers began in October 2018 when manager Nick Grams sat on the roof of Amazing Joe’s Restaurant to raise funds. Since then, Hutch Schumaker, Rick Silvers and Tony Gambaiani have been roof sitters on different structures. The event was not held in 2020 and 2021.
“The sits have been an incredible source of vital funding for our organization, but they have also allowed us to engage with the community in a new, and fun way,” Loyd said. “While it is a fundraiser, it feels more like a gathering of friends. It has provided us the opportunity to speak about advocacy, provide resources, and raise awareness surrounding Turning Point services.”
Last year, Gambaiani raised about $75,000 for Turning Point on the roof of First Financial Bank downtown. Kim originally mentioned that he wanted to top that total by a dollar.
But Kim, a managing partner at Kirr, Marbach & Company investment firm locally and perhaps even better known to some as the wisecracking host of Turning Point’s Not-So-Newlywed Game for several years, has since gotten high on the idea of hitting the six-figure mark for the cause.
“It’s an audacious amount,” Kim said, “but with the added spice”of the parallel “Keep Him On (the Roof)” campaign, I think it’s achievable.”
He chose the Moose facility because he is a longtime member and respects the organization community support.
The Moose supports agencies ranging from Our Hospice of South Central Indiana to Lincoln-Central Neighborhood Family Center.
And the Moose’s benevolence to other causes here stretches for decades. Administrator Brian Holbrook at the Moose Lodge mentioned that the staff even makes pizza for Turning Point clients each week — and gets a handwritten thank you each time.
“It’s unfortunate that we have to have Turning Point and its work,” Holbrook said about the sad reality of domestic violence. “But’s it’s also incredibly fortunate that we DO have Turning Point and its work.”
