MVH awards gala will be virtual this year

By ERIC SEIVERLING

eseiverling@yourmvi.com

After canceling last year’s annual gala due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Mon Valley Hospital Foundation is going virtual this year with one of its biggest fundraisers — the annual awards gala.

The foundation’s officials plan to hold the gala virtually May 8.

Last year’s gala, scheduled in August, was canceled in June after being postponed from May.

Last year’s theme, “Under the Sea,” will be kept as the theme this year, according to foundation Executive Director Mark Spitzer. 

“We already have the sets and costuming,” he said.

Spitzer said it became apparent late last year, after the second wave of COVID-19 cases hit the area, that holding the gala virtually was the right thing to do.

“We didn’t feel like it was the most responsible thing to do,” he said of having the gala in person. “We rescheduled it last summer, but we felt it created some confusion. We opened it up for our board of directors because we were just afraid to reschedule it and have variants of the virus force us to cancel again.”

Formed in 2011, the nonprofit Mon Valley Hospital Foundation was established as a formal, longterm, sustainable fundraising program for Mon Valley Hospital projects and programs, such as staff education and construction projects.

The gala typically raises $150,000 for the hospital and allows the foundation to hold its awards ceremony.

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