Mountaineer Brewfest pours $50K into Wheeling YMCA – $374K to date in the community
Trending
WHEELING — The taps may have stopped flowing at this year’s Mountaineer Brewfest, but the money raised by the annual celebration of craft beer is still making its way into the community.
The Mountaineer Brewfest Committee and board presented $50,000 to the Wheeling YMCA on Tuesday evening at Waterfront Hall in Wheeling, marking another year of giving back through the annual event.
Jeff Hayes, founder of the Mountaineer Brewfest, said the event’s contribution was made possible through a combination of donations from participants and fundraising efforts surrounding the festival.
“The Mountaineer Brewfest proceeds are made up of first of all a very generous donation to our firkin auction from Daniel and Chelsea Young,” Hayes said. “Also our food vendors and beer vendors and brewers who donated their deposits and also for a raffle that we ran for a charity picture that we did. It takes everybody."
The annual event selects a different nonprofit organization each year to receive proceeds. This year, the Wheeling YMCA was chosen as the beneficiary as the organization continues expanding its programs and services following a major renovation.
Adam Shinsky, executive director of the Wheeling YMCA, said the donation comes at a time when the organization is serving more people throughout the community.
“As everybody knows we’ve completed a $8.7 million renovation with the YMCA,” Shinsky said. “We have expanded our building but we have also expanded our building and through our program services, we are seeing more people than ever. This is a huge donation to help us accomplish our mission.”
Shinsky said the YMCA recently has started several new programs designed to serve people at different stages of life.
“We just started a bunch of new programs and we’re trying to target every market,” he said. “We have members from three months old in our water babies classes to our silver sneaker members in their 90s. We’re really focusing on the need for preschool and activities at the Y and after school. We have more STEM and we appreciate everything that helps and allows us to expand what we do.”
The YMCA’s expanded facilities and programming include opportunities for children, families, adults and older residents.
“I encourage everyone to come down and see the brand new building,” Shinsky said. “We redid everything and a nice large addition. We encourage everyone to come down and see our services in action.”
Shinsky emphasized that the YMCA’s mission extends beyond its fitness facilities and swimming programs.
“The Y isn’t a gym and it’s just not for swimming,” he said. “Like I said, we have members from three months old in water babies to silver sneakers to chair yoga. We have something for everybody and everybody’s welcome. That’s what’s special about the Y.”
The Mountaineer Brewfest has built its charitable mission into an event that brings together craft breweries, food vendors, entertainment and hundreds of volunteers.
One of the event’s traditions is the tapping of a ceremonial firkin, a small cask of beer used to signal the official start of the festival. And while Tuesday’s check presentation marked the end of this year’s fundraising effort, the results of that herculean effort will be felt throughout the year as the money is put to work in the community.
A big part of the fundraising effort takes place behind the taps in the beer garden, where about 65 members of the Circus Saints & Sinners, along with about 100 other volunteers, helped serve patrons and keep the beer flowing.
The Brewfest itself raised $36,000, while $14,000 in tips brought the total contribution to $50,000.
Jeff Yourkovich, beer garden chairman, said the Circus Saints & Sinners have been part of the Brewfest since its beginning.
“What we raised was a direct contribution to the Y. We’ve been a partner with Mountaineer Brewfest since Day 1 and we try to contribute to the overall festival,” Yourkovich said. "To give back."
With this year’s contribution, the Mountaineer Brewfest has now raised $374,000 for local charities, according to Yourkovich.