Brian Boyce
The Tribune-Star
TERRE HAUTE —
What do you get when adding shotguns, volleyball, motorcycles and joggers together?
A very busy month for the Union Hospital Foundation.
“It’s just called coincidence,” foundation director Jim Bertoli said of September’s jam-packed fundraising line-up. Some people have called him crazy for organizing into one month this year’s Volleyball for the Small, Children’s Classic Run, the Eagle Riders Mammogram Assistance Ride and a Sporting Clay Classic.
“And I’m not disputing that,” he joked. “But you do it because it’s the right thing to do.”
Last year’s inaugural Volleyball for the Small and the annual Children’s Classic Run just happened to be in the same month, and the Eagle Riders motorcycle ride for charity is a Labor Day weekend event. This year, the addition of a sporting clay shoot capped off the month, providing something for everyone, regardless of age or field of interest.
Nationally, charitable giving is down as the grip of a disastrous economy tightens people’s wallets, but Bertoli said he and others are continually surprised at the giving nature of the Wabash Valley. “I think all of the events are going to be a big success,” he said.
Eagle Riders Mammogram Assistance Ride — Saturday
Get the motors running. This Saturday morning, motorcycles from across the Wabash Valley will descend on the Fraternal Order of the Eagles Lodge at 823 Poplar St. for a 170-mile, five-county 5-card draw run to raise money for mammograms.
Ron Alvis, president of the Eagle Riders, said the group hopes to get 50 riders for the third annual event. Each year, the Eagle Riders organization participates in motorcycle-related fundraisers for charities across Indiana. “We were the second group to form,” Alvis said of Terre Haute’s group, adding there are now 17 clubs across the state. All together, the groups have raised more than $200,000 for charities.
Registration for the ride is from 9 to 11 a.m. with the launch at 11:30 a.m. The 5 Card Draw run will cover five counties and five Fraternal Order of the Eagles clubs, with all proceeds benefiting Union Hospital’s Clara Fairbanks Center for Women Mammogram Assistance Fund. Riders will travel through Terre Haute, Sullivan, Brazil, Greencastle and Clinton.
Bertoli explained the purpose of the fund is to offset the cost of mammograms for low-income women who might not otherwise be able to afford the procedure. Last year the effort raised about $3,000, he said.
Cost to ride is $10 per bike or $15 per couple, with a BBQ rib dinner for $12.50 offered after 5 p.m. Evening festivities will include a “Western Fling” theme with music from the Midwest Playboys. Door prizes will be drawn for all participating riders.
Event sponsorships are still available., For more information contact the foundation at (812) 238-7534.
Union Hospital Sporting Clay Classic — Sept. 17
The inaugural year is already filling out be a big one for a fundraiser with bang.
“It’s one of the faster growing sports in the country,” Dan Zuener of Garmong Construction said of competitive sport shooting. “It’s very similar to the way golf is laid out only its done with a shotgun.”
This year’s event will take place at Terre Haute Sporting Clays, 1041 W. Sanford Ave., just north of town on Indiana 63. The site will host state championships there Sept. 10-11, with nationally ranked shooters coming from across the country.
“We have 108 acres and the course they’ll be using is about a mile long,” Laura Borders, who owns the facility with her husband Doyne, said of the hospital fundraiser. Proceeds from this event will be split between the foundations of Union Hospital’s Terre Haute and Clinton facilities, Bertoli said.
Zuener said he shoots with a Beretta semi-automatic 12-gauge shotgun. “It’s a great recreational sport,” he said, noting between 40,000 and 50,000 people participate in recreational shooting each year. “There are a number of huge fundraisers across the country,” he added, explaining he thought this would make for a great way to help a local cause as well. “It should be a full house. We’re almost full.”
The Sept. 17 event will open at 10 a.m. for warm-ups. Shooting begins at 1 p.m. Cost is $150 per shooter or $700 for a five-person squad.
For more information, contact the foundation at (812) 238-7534.
Volleyball for the Small — Sept. 23
Bertoli said organizers of the second annual charity volleyball match between Terre Haute North and South Vigo High Schools hope to more than double the first year’s net of $8,582, spiking their goal up to $20,000.
Funds raised at the match benefit the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Family Assistance Fund. Bertoli explained the money goes to help offset costs of families with babies placed in the neonatal intensive care. Each year the unit cares for hundreds of babies. In 2007, 28 sets of multiple births were delivered there. But traveling back and forth to the hospital, and the other associated costs, weigh heavily upon the families, something the volleyball players hope to help offset.
Terre Haute South coach Madison Minnick said her 14 players are ready to go. “This is really a great cause and it just makes the match all that more important to the girls,” she said, adding the competition against cross-town rival doesn’t hurt. “The girls never have any problem getting emotionally hyped for that match,” she said.
And while North coach Kris Painter said last year’s event went well organizationally, there are a few details she hopes go differently this year. The South team won the inaugural event 3-1.
“We certainly hope to,” Painter said of her 19 players’ plans to win this year’s event. The fact that the 2010 match-up will be on a Thursday should help attendance, she said, noting the competition with a football game takes from the draw. “I thought it went very well. I thought the community was very receptive to it,” she said of the game.
For more information, contact the foundation at (812) 238-7534.
Children’s Classic Run — Sept. 25
The 18th annual run kicks off with registration at 8 a.m., entertainment from 8:30 to 9 a.m., and then the start. The grand opening of the new Terre Haute Children’s Museum will follow at 10 a.m., and organizers hope the added draw will bring more children to the starting line. This is the second year the race will be hosted in conjunction with the Terre Haute Street Fair.
“We’re hoping to have 500 kids run this year,” said Kate Spencer, co-chair for the CCR and a member of the Service League. Cost to run the 1-mile race is $10 and includes a T-shirt.
Funds raised from the race go toward the pediatric therapy unit, which treats children with conditions ranging from cerebral palsy to Down Syndrome.
Bertoli explained that many children can only receive a limited number of therapy sessions due to insurance restrictions and these funds help offset those costs.
Last year the race generated about $20,000, “and that does not nearly meet the needs we have,” Spencer said.
Children can register for the race the day of the event, go online at www.myunionhospital.org or call (812) 238-7000.
Brian Boyce can be reached at 812-231-4253 or brian.boyce@tribstar.com.
