"We Remember" Campaign Raises $8,053 for Severely Wounded U.S. Military Personnel

Campaign Benefits the Injured Recovering in Iraq, Afghanistan and Germany

For Immediate Release

WHEELING, W.VA. – June 9, 2006 – Hundreds of seriously wounded U.S. military personnel recovering overseas will have their spirits lifted as Upper Ohio Valley residents and businesses contributed $8,053 to the “We Remember” campaign.

The fundraising effort was sponsored by: the West Virginia High Technology Consortium (WVHTC) Foundation; WTOV-TV9, Steubenville-Wheeling; Main Street Bank, Wheeling-Wellsburg; and WOVK-FM, Wheeling. The local fund drive was conducted with the Landstuhl Hospital Care Project (LHCP), Stafford, Va.

The funds raised during the three-week campaign will be used to purchase “comfort items” for patients at U.S. military hospitals and medical units in Iraq and Afghanistan in addition to the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Germany.

“If we’re this excited about the donation total, imagine how our injured military personnel will feel when they receive their comfort items and they realize that there are people who they’ve never met that care about them. We can’t thank the local residents enough for remembering those hospitalized individuals who are so far from their homeland and their loved ones,” said WVHTC Foundation Vice President and General Manager Joseph Allen.

Rich Lucas, Main Street Bank president, said he and his staff are proud to again partner with local organizations to help charitable activities. He added, “This is our fourth fundraiser working in conjunction with other local businesses and organizations. This one was really special and heartwarming. It was an honor to help the men and women who are protecting our freedoms.”

In addition to Main Street Bank receiving donations, the campaign sponsors held a bake sale, raffled a patriotic hand-woven basket and held an auction for a portrait of a former historical building at Bethany College.

The WVHTC Foundation, headquartered in Fairmont, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization functioning as an engine of economic change for growing a regional and statewide high tech business sector.  The foundation has established a multi-faceted approach to maximize economic development, commercialization and workforce development.  In addition to its Fairmont headquarters, it has offices in Wheeling, Moundsville and Glenville.

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Contact:  Gregg Warren, Outreach Manager, WVHTC Foundation, (304) 230-1430.