MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — They danced, they sang, and they raised funds for a great cause. Students from the West Virginia University School of Pharmacy hosted the Seventh Annual School of Pharmacy Variety Show on April 1 and raised $1,100 for the WVU Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center (MBRCC) Comfort Fund.
The Beta Eta chapter of the Kappa Psi co-educational pharmaceutical fraternity coordinated the event. Student performances included a comedy set, vocalists, dancers, and a lip-synching act.
“The variety show has become a tradition for the Kappa Psi chapter,” Olivia Kinney, a third-year student pharmacist from Bridgeport, W.Va., and president of the Beta Eta chapter, said. “The goal of the show is to raise money for the Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center while having fun. Participation in and attendance at the event has increased every year, and this encourages us to keep hosting the show. Our professors and students get involved, and it’s very rewarding to be able to provide a donation to such a great cause.”
The MBRCC Comfort Fund was established to provide temporary, short-term financial assistance for patients being treated at the Cancer Center until they can be linked with appropriate community, state, or national resources.
The WVU School of Pharmacy Variety Show planning committee included Kappa Psi members Jessica Daniels, committee chair, of Lewisburg; Valerie Elder of Parkersburg; Bobbie Jo Julian of Weirton; Amanda Juliani of Carmichaels, Pa.; Emily Larry of Bridgeport; Leeanne Mobayed of Charleston; Jessica Montgomery of Linn; Linden Nelson of Wheeling; Katie Purnell of Stonewood; Lauren Ramsburg of Baltimore, Md.; Brianna Stalnaker of Philippi; and Casey Morgan Tibolet of Charleston.
“We appreciate the hard work the students from the WVU School of Pharmacy put into the show each year,” Jessica Markley, medical social worker at the Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center, said. “The Comfort Fund was started on community efforts such as these. Our patients depend on the financial assistance the Fund provides, and it really means a lot that the students continue to recognize and support the Cancer Center and the Comfort Fund.”
Photo identifications:
(l-r) WVU student pharmacists Jessica Daniels and Olivia Kinney; Jessica Markley, MBRCC medical social worker; and WVU student pharmacists Valerie Elder and Bobbie Jo Julian