Wheeling Rotary Donates $23,000 to Orchard Park Hospital
Lauren Taylor Trending
WHEELING -- The Wheeling Chapter of the International Rotary showcased its commitment to the community Tuesday, conferring a $23,000 donation to Orchard Park Hospital at its Rotary Changing of the Guard at Oglebay Park.
Members gathered for an afternoon dedicated looking back at their past year of accomplishments including volunteer work, sizable donations and community improvement projects.
The most recent and final donation of the Rotary Club's fiscal year benefits Orchard Park Hospital. Proceeds came from the club's annual Taste of the Market fundraiser that was held in May. Wheeling Rotary Club President Rabbi Joshua Lief said this year's event was the most successful in the Rotary's history.
Members of the Orchard Park Hospital administrative board were also in attendance to receive the donation. CEO Jacquelyn Knight said the organization is thankful not just to the Rotary Club for its generous donation but also to community members who came to the event.
"We are so, so grateful," she said. "It's phenomenal to get support from all different organizations, especially the Rotary, and just knowing all the community members came to and supported the event that led to us getting this donation is just so appreciated."
Orchard Park Hospital is set to open at the end of the summer at the former Robert C. Byrd Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health Center on the OVMC campus and will provide short-term psychiatric and behavioral health treatment to children.
The monetary contribution will aid the renovation process and help purchase resources for children utilizing its services.
Lief said the club wanted to help aid the shortage of children's mental health resources in the Ohio Valley area.
"There's a real shortage in our community of mental health care overall," he said. "There is no facility for inpatient care for children so this new opportunity will simultaneously revitalize part of the former OVMC campus and also fill a serious gap in health coverage for our community."
Lief said the club's last two years have been especially impactful to the community.
"We've raised over $10,000 for Rev. Darrell Cummings in The Back to School programs that they provide to the community," he said. "We packed 30,000 meals for Rise Against Hunger with our friends from the Moundsville and New Martinsville Rotary Clubs, and we raised over $10,000 to help them move the McCulloch's Leap statue to a beautiful new plaza."
The Wheeling Rotary Club has been serving the area since its inception in 1915. Lief said the club will continue to make an effort to help the community as a whole but that they take extra pride in helping vital community organizations that are just getting started.
"As Rotarians we want to have our service be impactful," he said. "If we just gave to things that we're already doing well, that'd be great, but to give to those who are truly in need and to meet a community need in the process is a win-win."