“Help is on the way.”

Every day, many Ohio State students, staff and faculty pass the man who created this catch phrase.

He can usually be spotted on High Street between 12th and Lane Avenues shaking a cup of change with a smile. Though people pass him while he belts out rhymes and asks for spare change, many do not realize the history he has with OSU.

His real name is Don Allen Robinson, 54, and he was born in Mississippi.

“I’ve always had a good life,” he said.

At the age of 20, he said traveled to Ashland, Ohio, where he worked two jobs – one as a security guard and another as an employee for a reproduction company. These jobs were to be his last sources of steady income – in 1989 he moved to Columbus.

The start of his 16-year endeavor as the “Help Is on the Way Man” would begin with a home football game against Michigan State.

“I made a lot of money that day,” he said.

Robinson said his friend introduced him to panhandling. Robinson was at first opposed to the idea. “Man, I don’t beg for no change,” he remembers telling his friend. Throughout the course of that day, Robinson’s outlook on the matter changed.

Since then, he has built the act of asking for money into a craft. Instead of just taking change from the pockets of students, he has made an effort to balance the relationship by providing quick rhymes and anecdotes for entertainment purposes.

“He’s the only bum you can quote,” said Elizabeth Spellacy, a senior in art and film.

Students have recognized this distinction by not only screaming out his lines in the middle of the night, but also by giving him more than the usual extra change from their pockets. From about 1992 to 1996, a “Help Is on the Way” painting created by OSU students hung on the inside walls of the Ohio Union. Beyond the students of OSU, Robinson has also been recognized in The Columbus Dispatch, radio segments and few television debuts.

When asked what “Help Is on the Way” means, Robinson said “Graduating seniors going into the real world today are brand new. That’s help on the way.”

Robinson said the ’90s were his best years on High Street.

“All you could hear from Lane to (United Dairy Farmers) on 12th was ‘Help is on the way,'” he said.

During Robinson’s ’90s heyday, the area which is now the South Campus Gateway was a strip of clubs and bars. He said he made the most money there from 10:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m.

“The times have changed,” he said. “It ain’t nothing like what I made back in the day. Back then everybody was laid back and everything was cheap. Now tuition is high, food is high, clothes are high … and it’s a credit card world now.”

There is more than what meets the eye when it comes to Don Robinson. The street is not his only source of well-being. Using his reputation and popularity among students, he said he has been able to become a self-made business man. During the past three years he has made two CDs, one of which sold 3,500 copies while the other has yet to be released. Along with his musical aspirations he was also able to take his phrase, “help is on the way,” and create personalized T-shirts.

“I had so many orders, I couldn’t even fulfill them,” he said. “I made a lot of money.”

What the world has yet to see from Robinson is his secret collection of paintings and drawings.

“I have stuff you wouldn’t even believe, but I want to finish up the collection before it goes out,” he said.

Robinson said his friend has sold two of his paintings in a gallery show, but he is not anxious to display any more of his artwork quite yet.

“We are the eyes and ears and conscience of campus,” he said. “The bums, or whatever you want to call us, if we weren’t here you’d have people robbing, sticking up, breaking in houses, kicking in doors … but they know we’re out here.”

Aside from standing on High Street every day, meeting people and looking for spare change, Robinson likes knowing he serves as a source of protection.

Robinson said people appraoch him and ask for advise on committing various crimes, “I tell them this ain’t the place,” he said.

After 25 years in Columbus, Robinson may be on his way out.

“I’ve always wanted to go to Memphis,” he said. “Memphis is my next destination.”

Along with the possibility of traveling to another city, he has also set another goal for himself – writing a book.

When asked if there was anything he wanted people to know, Robinson said, “That it’s better to live and try than to live and just die.”