SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. – Land of Oz was the theme for the second annual WVU Medicine Children’s Gala held on a recent Saturday evening at the Clarion Inn and Conference Center in Shepherdstown.
Guests walked the yellow brick road to the hotel ballroom where they experienced colorful décor, gourmet dining, silent/live auctions and dancing to the music of Cazhmiere. The 230 guests were generous in their sponsorships and bidding on silent and live auction items.
“The community support was overwhelming again this year, and we raised $100,000 to purchase equipment for our pediatric patients at Berkeley Medical Center and Jefferson Medical Center,” John Beatty, event co-chair and BCT senior vice president, said.
The inaugural event in 2018 netted $82,000 in proceeds to purchase a Giraffe shuttle for the NICU and portable monitors for the pediatric unit at Berkeley Medical Center.
“Our Children’s Gala is all about our kids and providing support to our hospitals here in the Eastern Panhandle to provide care for them locally,” Rafka Chaiban, M.D., event co-chair and WVU Medicine pediatrician, said. She thanked dinner sponsor United Bank and United Wealth Management and all of the sponsors for their generous support.
Once again, it was the kids in the Eastern Panhandle that benefited the most from the annual gala. “As we continue our integration of women’s and children’s services with WVU Medicine Children’s in Morgantown, events like these serve as ‘friend’ and ‘fund’ raisers for the children in our region,” Anthony P. Zelenka, president and CEO of Berkeley Medical Center and Jefferson Medical Center, said.
Planning for the 2020 WVU Medicine Children’s Gala in the Eastern Panhandle has already begun with the naming of next year’s co-chairs. Dr. Chaiban will serve as co-chair again next year along with Chip Hensell, chairman of the WVU Medicine University Healthcare Foundation.