With finals week starting Monday, Dec. 12, at West Virginia University, members of the Mountaineer Parents Club have been busy spreading cheer and nourishment to their hardworking students.
Mineral County parents gathered on campus Thursday, Dec. 8, distributing care packages filled with fun snack foods like Ramen noodles, popcorn plus bottled water and hot chocolate to wash it all down.
Its a fun thing to do for the kids,said Anna Clay, whose daughter, Kathryn, is a pharmacy student and son, Morgan, is an accounting major at WVU .It has been a growing tradition.
Clay chairs the club with her husband, Scott.
Over the years, finals treats have ranged from simple WVU toothbrushes reminding students tobrush up for finalsto nylon backpacks full of goodies, with some including gift certificates for pizza or checks for $25.
An assembly line of 11 parents made 101 bags, Clay said, while four parents handed out bags Thursday at the Mountainlair, College of Engineering and Mineral Resources and the Health Sciences Center.
Clay said the response has been enthusiasticmore than half of the care packages have already been picked up. Mineral County students unable to get their bags can retrieve them from the Mountainlair administrative office through finals week.
Mountaineer Parents Club Director Sabrina Cave said other local clubs have also prepared care packages for their students over the course of the semester to show their support. They include Doddridge, Grant, Hardy, Harrison, Marshall, Monongalia and Ohio countiesplus Garrett County, Md.; northeastern Maryland and western Pennsylvania.
WVU students love receiving care packages from home,Cave said.The week before finals and final exam week are a great time to be reminded that someone is thinking of you.
Started in 1995 as one of five student life initiatives by WVU President David Hardesty Jr., the Mountaineer Parents Club has grown to more than 13,000 members and 66 local clubs. Hardestys wife, Susan, is a full-time volunteer and serves as the national chair.
With a coast-to-coast network of families and international chairs in Canada and Germany, the Mountaineer Parents Club publishes a newsletter three times a year (online edition athttp://www.wvu.edu/~parents/newsletter/index.htm), sends Parent Electronic News updates and organizes summer send-offs and winter festivals to keep parents connected to the WVU student experience.
The group also works with WVU s Department of Public Safety and Transportation to coordinate holiday break transportation, offers the toll-free Mountaineer Parents Club Parent Helpline (1- 800-WVU-0096) and sponsors special events such as Fall Family Weekend, Parents Club University and Mountaineer Parents Club Winter Weekend.
On the Net:http://www.wvu.edu/~parents/