We are the Delhi Skirt Game. We operate in Delhi Township, Ohio, just west of downtown Cincinnati. The organization got its start in 1977 and has operated continuously since. The Delhi Skirt Game started as a fund raiser for a boy who was hurt in a bicycle accident. People in the community wanted to do something to help the family with the expenses due to this bicycle accident. In order to raise money, men from the Delhi Athletic Association and the Delhi Fire Department decided to dress up as women and play a softball game to raise money for the family. The boy who was injured was Jeff Zurlinden who was 15 at the time.
According to newspaper reports, the first Delhi Skirt Game was held on Friday September 15th at 7:00 p.m. on Delhi Park Field #1. The newspaper report that recounts the first game can be seen by following this link: (Need link to “Newspaper Article from First Game”) And that was the beginning. There was a second game, then a third and before anyone knew what was happening, there is a 31 year tradition of people helping people in Delhi. Here are some facts and figures about the Skirt Game….
The Delhi Skirt Game is a 501c3 organization that is organized as a corporation in the State of Ohio and registered as a fund raiser in the state. As an IRS registered 501c3 organization, the Delhi Skirt Game Committee files an annual tax report with the IRS and submits all of its financial information. What this means to anyone who wants to donate to or assist the Delhi Skirt Game, is that all donations are tax deductible.
Since 1991 when financial records are available, the Delhi Skirt Game Committee has donated over $630 thousand dollars to over 160 recipients. Most money is raised at the Skirt Game on the First Friday of every August, but we rely heavily on donations from individuals and businesses as well as fund raisers such as the annual golf outing as well as selling refreshments at the Concerts in the Park at Delhi Township Park. Each year we give to recipients on average $30 to 40 thousand dollars.
So what is the Delhi Skirt Game Committee? The Delhi Skirt Game Committee is a group of 200+ people who donate their time to make sure the Skirt Game is organized, set-up, run, and taken down. Most of the money that night is made from the various booths that are set up. All of those booths are run and staffed by people who volunteer their time to the cause. There are businesses such as LaRosa’s and Biggs who donate their time and their product to the cause, but regardless of where the labor comes from it is all donated and no one is paid for participating by the Skirt Game Committee itself.
There is a core committee that is responsible for all of the planning and for determining how the money that is raised is spent. That committee meets almost every month throughout the year, making sure that the Skirt Game is a success. This committee is comprised of about 20 to 25 people who take on this responsibility and again, no one does this for money. It is an all a volunteer effort.
