A two-year old girl named Kadie Stonebraker who is battling cancer has captured the hearts of WyoTech- Blairsville employees and students with her touching story. It all started when a WyoTech employee saw a flyer for a spaghetti dinner fundraiser at the local VFW.
After doing a little checking, the campus was in touch with Kadie's grandfather, Dave Evans who verified the story. Kadie was on her way to Pittsburgh for a bone marrow transplant and they were trying to raise money to pay for Kadie's mother to be able to stay near her daughter during the 100+ days of hospitalization.
WyoTech -Blairsville employees knew they could raise a lot more money with a few community events than by buying tickets to a spaghetti dinner. The employees got together and created a series of fund-raising events that brought in more than $3500 in cash and several toys and stuffed animals for Kadie to take to the hospital.
The fundraising events were in total character with WyoTech- the first event pitted day students against evening students to see who could raise the most money in the "car smash." Prime areas like windows got auctioned off first and then students paid $1 a swing until the car was demolished.
The second event, called Dyno Days, dynamometer test that would typically cost between $80 and $150 in a shop was offered for $20. These dyno tests were snapped up like pancakes by the community.
Kadie's family came to Blairsville to pick up the check and the gifts for their little girl. Blairsville Campus President Art Herman summed it up saying, "It felt really good to join together to help out this family. Our employees and students feel connected to the community, this was a great way to show it."
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