The Quad

Issue date: 3/3/08 Section: Features

Friday, Feb. 22 was a snowy carefree day off from school for most WCU students; however, for a small handful, Friday marked the beginning of a 36-hour Curl-a-Thon Curling extravaganza.

The venue was held at 65 Plank Ave., Paoli, Pa., at the Philadelphia Curling Club. The event, co-planned by the club's Curl-a-Thon Committee, kicked off Friday at 6 p.m. and lasted until Saturday, Feb. 23 at 10 p.m. They raised over $16,000 through the National Transplant Assistance Fund and Catastrophic Injury Program (NTAF) for Jeff Harris, 24, longtime club member.

"This weekend was truly magical," Steve Harris, father of Jeff Harris, said. "Jeff's tears spoke for all of the Harris family as the club provided us with an experience that we will always cherish and record as a high point in our lives…a huge step and help to Jeff in reassembling the pieces of his life."

Among the many teams to compete, one team in particular was comprised of three WCU student alumnae. Michael Finkle, Ted Lai and Michael Pavalic, of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, donated generously and actively participated throughout the weekend. The sisters of Alpha Sigma Tau also made a kind monetary contribution to the cause.

The event consisted of 36 consecutive hours of curling. Twenty teams playing eight-ends each, raffles and a silent auction filled with items graciously donated by this past men's and women's Olympic curling rinks, a Guitar Hero tournament, an open bar, dancing, board games, a poker tournament and WCU sophomore student Matthew Crater, who DJed the event and kept the spirit and morale high through the late evening and early morning hours.

"It was my pleasure," Crater said. "I was glad to be able to help out at the event. "It was great to see everyone having a great time for a good cause."

Harris, a member of the Philadelphia Curling Club for the majority of his 24 years, suffered from a life-altering spinal cord injury this past summer while vacationing at a beach in North Carolina.

After being pulled from the water by a family in passing and just barely resuscitated, Harris survived. His injuries were extensive. Harris shattered his C6 vertebrate in his neck, leaving him quadriplegic with no use of his legs and little use of arms.

Harris, who once resided on the 600 block of Matlack Street, just steps away from Jake's Bar and Riggtown Downtown, recognizes the challenges of his life-long road to recovery. With a bright of optimism, he has recently been released from the hospital.

Continued...

Page 1 of 2 next >

Article Tools