BELINGTON, W.Va. — An effort to raise $2 million for a new community athletic and activities facility at Philip Barbour High School took a step forward after a major donation Monday.
The Belington Community Medical Association presented the Promise Foundation of Barbour County with a $100,000 check designated to the BCBank challenge grant fund.
“It was just a matter of time before somebody like this could step forward and I’m so glad the Belington Clinic did,” said Jeffery Goff, BCBank President and CEO. “I think it’s a great partnership. It’s beyond an athletic field. People look at it as a football field, but it’s really more than that. It’s a health and wellness initiative in the community as we look to make an impact in the community, not just now but over the next 10 to 15, 20 years.”
Goff and BCBank put forward the challenge to the community with a promise to match them dollar-for-dollar up to $250,000. That $500,000 would combine with a $1.5 million donation the bank made toward the project back in September to fund the project in its entirety.
The facility, to be named BCBank Park and completed by the 2016 football season, will include an artificial turf playing and performance field but also other amenities such as an eight-lane track, a field house, concession stand and restroom facilities.
Those who developed the project had a vision that the complex will serve as an outdoor classroom for the community as a whole, encouraging healthy lifestyles.
That vision fell in line with the Belington Community Medical Services Association’s and led CEO Eric Ruf, along with the board of directors to make the donation.
“Yes, the students and staff of Philip Barbour will benefit from it, but the vision has always been about creating a facility that the community can use for fitness, for health.”
The $100,000 check puts the target funding approximately $130,000 away, with Goff anticipating more donations coming in after the first of the year.
He remains optimistic about the project thanks to the smaller donations from parents and individuals in the community, saying they are just as important and just as meaningful.
“People are motivated because they know we’re so close to hitting that goal and their little bit of donation that they might initially feel isn’t much can really make a difference and put us one step closer.”
These donations are also a show of support for the school itself and the students that go there.
Barbour County Superintendent says it goes a long way for the kids to see their community rally around them, especially those whose parents may work for the Belington Community Medical Services Association.
“There moms and dads that work here are contributing a sizable amount to make the facilities of Barbour County much better, and I think that says a lot to those kids.”
Donations to the fund can be made at any BCBank, through the Barbour County Board of Education and through the Belington Community Medical Services Association.