The Westerville Education Challenge’s Mardi Gras Masquerade Dueling Pianos event on Feb. 26 has been canceled due to the rise in COVID-19 cases, leaders announced this week.
“The Westerville Education Challenge membership decided the prudent action was to cancel the event with the overall health and safety of the community in mind,” the organization said in a statement.
The event served as a fundraiser for the WEC’s work in supporting social and emotional wellness initiatives for students at Westerville City Schools. The group hopes to reschedule the event when feasible.
“We are proud to have the generous support of our community for WEC because our community understands how important it is to support student well-being, especially now,” WEC leaders said.
As an all-volunteer organization that started in 2009, WEC has supported more than 10,000 students through mentoring clubs; grants for teachers; and programs such as Challenge Day, middle school transition events, and middle school culture summits. The group recently made a long-term commitment to financially support the Hope Squad, a peer-led initiative focused on mental health and suicide prevention/education that started in August.
More than 1,500 community volunteers and 40 corporate and community sponsors partner with WEC and their contributions include thousands of volunteer hours and more than $300,000 in donations.
Additional information, as well as any updates and opportunities to support WEC, are available online at http://www.westervilleeducationchallenge.org.