Mountaineer Brewfest Donates $30K to A Special Wish Foundation

WHEELING — The return of the Mountaineer Brewfest in August was a big boost to the Ohio Valley chapter of A Special Wish Foundation. The event’s success allowed its committee to donate its largest sum yet, $30,000 to A Special Wish.
The donation included proceeds from the festival totaling $18,000 and $12,000 generated by volunteers of the Circus Saints & Sinners in tips and matching donations.
“After having to cancel the Mountaineer Brewfest in 2020 due to the pandemic, to come back in 2021 and be able to announce our largest donation to date … just speaks volumes for the support the Mountaineer Brewfest receives in our community.” said Brewfest founder and president Jeff Hayes. “This comes from those that invest in our festival, the sponsors, volunteers, committee members, local leaders, and of course our patrons.”
Hayes said that 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic had been extremely hard on local charities, A Special Wish Foundation among them. The hope was that the money donated from the Brewfest could make a day or week special for some deserving children.
Annmarie O’Grady, the foundation’s Ohio Valley chapter executive director, said the chapter was extremely thankful that the Brewfest committee had the chapter in its mind this year.
“This donation is such a blessing and will help us to continue to grant wishes to the children in the Ohio Valley with life-threatening illnesses,” she said. ”We are also very excited to designate the Mountaineer Brewfest Committee as one of our Community Partners for 2022.”
Saints and Sinners President Chuck Hood said his group was proud of the contribution his group makes each year to Brewfest, especially in helping achieve this year’s record donation.
“It’s a lot of work but we consider it a labor of love,” he said.
The Mountaineer Brewfest Committee also announced that, in seven years, the event has reached $125,000 in donations to local charities.