Volunteers play a number of vital roles in making the Ogden Newspapers Wellness Weekend hosted by WVU Medicine each year a success. (File photo)
WHEELING — Sonia Fedorko and her family are longtime fans of the Ogden Newspapers Wellness Weekend hosted by WVU Medicine, so she wondered if the event needed some help and decided to ask.
“I know how hard it is to find volunteers,” she said, “so it’s easier for me to ask than for them to go around and find people.”
Fedorko and his family will be out on the course this morning manning one of 10 water stations along the Ogden Newspapers Half Marathon Classic course. The Ogden Newspapers Wellness Weekend, hosted by WVU Medicine, wouldn’t have gone as smoothly as it did without the hundreds of volunteers who donated their time and effort to the two-day event.
Volunteers say they are pleased to be able to help with an event that is enjoyed by thousands of people over the weekend.
“This weekend is a celebration of the Wheeling community, and we couldn’t be more pleased that so many members of the Wheeling community gave up their time over the last two days to help put on this event,” said Perry Nardo, general manager of the Intelligencer and Wheeling News Register. “The Ohio Valley is a special place and it’s home to special people with a great deal of community spirit, and it’s at times like these that their kindness and generosity really shines through.”
Participants in today’s Ogden Newspapers Half Marathon Classic and 5K Run and Walk hosted by WVU Medicine Children’s will see that kindness firsthand: They’ll benefit from water stations to refresh while on the go.
In addition to Fedorko and her family, who will be cheering on the three family members running the half marathon, volunteers include Ritchie Elementary School, Main Street Bank, Wheeling Country Day School, Triadelphia Middle School, Bridge Street Middle School, Glow Ohio Valley, St. Michael Parish School and Wheeling Children’s Home.
Luke Hladek, vice principal at WCDS, has run several half marathons. He knows how tough it can be, but also how encouraging a little applause can be for runners nearing the finish line.
“I know it gives me a little boost, especially on the backstretch with that final hill, having a bunch of people cheering me on and encouraging me,” he said.
Employees from Bordas & Bordas and West Virginia University Medicine Children’s will present medals to finishers, as will Emma Griffith, Miss West Virginia Volunteer 2023. A group of amateur radio operators have also been volunteering for the half marathon for many years.
On Sunday, another army of volunteers will be heading out to help The Health Plan with its Tough As Nails Urban Challenge and to operate and support water stations. Organizations planning to help include the Wheeling Lions Club, Boy Scouts Troop 78, BM Spurr School of Nursing, Northern West Virginia Community College, The Health Plan and the YWCA.
“The volunteer support we’ve had over the years to help support race weekend has been incredible,” said Eric Anderson, director of The Health Plan’s Tough as Nails Urban Challenge and publisher of The Green Tab, The Wetzel Chronicle and The Tyler Star-News. “Whether it’s handing out water or Gatorade, giving directions to participants, handing out medals and wet towels at the finish line or simply cheering on participants, their support makes a huge difference.”
The volunteer experience doesn’t just benefit the athletes. Joseph Pratt, clinical services coordinator at Wheeling Children’s Home, said the children at the home also benefit from giving back. The home strives to get the kids involved in volunteer work in the community, and administrators at the home think the Ogden Newspapers Wellness Weekend, hosted by WVU Medicine, is a great way to do that.
“It’s a big confidence booster for a lot of the kids,” he said. “When they’re able to help out, especially when they talk about it afterwards, they’re like, ‘Oh, that person was really cool,’ or ‘This person thanked me and gave me a thumbs up.’ The kids enjoy being part of the community and being able to help out with things like this.”
