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ELKINS -- A newly formed club at Elkins High School has raised substantial funds for an area organization in need.
Created just this past year, the Hearts for the Humane Society Club at EHS has been hard at work doing what it does best – supporting animals in need. The club recently took on a project to raise money for the Randolph County Humane Society and have raised close to $1,000.
The money raised is part of Saturday's walk-a-thon that will take place on the Rail Trail in Elkins. The group will meet at the Elkins City Park at 9:30 a.m. and will make their way to the trail from there. The walk will officially get under way at 10 a.m.
"We had sponsors in the community really come through for us with this project, so it's going to be free for everybody," said Elkins High School's Katie Preusch, who runs the club alongside fellow teacher Liz MacVean. "We sent out letters asking for help with this event and we had a good response from several local businesses."
Sponsors who donated money for the walk-a-thon include: Elkins Auto, Tomblyn Funeral Home, Smoke on the Water, Seven Performance, Newlons International Sales and Lohr and Barb Funeral Home.
"We are doing this to help raise awareness and to support the Humane Society," said Preusch."The money raised will help with food, vet bills and adoption fees for the animals."
The event is open to the public and the Hearts for the Humane Society Club will provide doggie bags, homemade treats, t-shirts, water bottles, and waste bags for those who attend. Preusch said everyone who comes out is encouraged to bring their dog with them. The group plans on walking three miles on the trail.
"We really hope that people bring their dogs with them," said Preusch. "We would really like to have as many as we can walking along with us. We would love for the community to join us and help us get exposure out there about how many people support our shelters."
Preusch said her mother, Lisa, has been on the Randolph County Humane Society board for years. That led to her volunteering at the shelter for many years herself and gave her the idea of starting the club, which currently has 35 members.
"I always helped out at the shelter and thought a club like this would be great for the students," said Preusch. "Even though it's a new club that we just started this year, we already have quite a few students involved. They've all worked hard to help make everything we've done successful."
The club also created a fundraiser and food drive this past February during one of Elkins High School's basketball games. Anyone who brought a bag of food to the contest received free admission to the game. The club raised $500 and some much-needed food from that event.