Wheeling, W. Va. - In just three weeks, the Wheeling University Athletic Department will be hosting it's 2nd Annual Stuff the Truck event, benefiting Catholic Charities of Wheeling. On Thursday, the department announced a partnership with Kroger that will expand the event to a second weekend for Cardinal fans to bring their donations of non-perishable food items. The donation truck, donated by Wheeling University Campus dining, will be parked outside the Kroger located at 200 Mount Dechantal Road from Friday, November 7th to Sunday, November 9th, accepting donations for the event.
"We are very thankful to the management team at Kroger for partnering with us to expand such a great event to a second weekend," said Assistant Athletic Director for Communications and Engagement Zack Zeigler. "This allows us to expand our donation efforts across our beautiful city of Wheeling, bringing in more donations. It will allow us to support Catholic Charities of Wheeling even further, helping in their mission of serving those in need in the Wheeling area."
The truck will make its way over to the Mount Dechantal Kroger on the morning of November 7th, and shoppers can leave donations in shopping carts located at the front of the store. Items that will be accepted for donation include canned goods, cereals, pasta, and different food items with a long shelf life. All donations collected will go to Catholic Charities of Wheeling and will be stored in their food pantry for those in need. Last year, the department's Stuff the Truck event raised over 500 pounds of food donations to Catholic Charities. This year, the Cardinals are looking to expand that number, with a goal of at least 700 pounds of food to be donated at this year's event.
The first weekend of the event will be held at Kroger at Mount Dechantal running November 7th through the 9th for shoppers to donate. The second weekend of the event will be inside the Alma Grace McDonough Center and Bishop Schmitt Field from Friday, November 14th to Saturday, November 15th. The event will span four different Wheeling University home athletic events, starting with Women's Basketball vs. CAL-U at 2 PM on November 13th. The action will continue inside the Alma Grace McDonough Center as Wheeling Volleyball rounds out their regular season against West Liberty on senior night with first serve at 7 PM. On Saturday, Women's Basketball keeps the weekend going when they wrap up their opening weekend against Edinboro at 2 PM. The weekend's events will wrap up Saturday evening, when the Wheeling Women's Rugby team plays host to Penn State in the NCR National Semifinal game.
Catholic Charities of West Virginia is the largest provider of social services in West Virginia. Every year, they provide help to tens of thousands of vulnerable West Virginians, serving 55 counties across the state. Their mission is to collaborate with community partners, parishes, and families to provide caring and compassionate services to people in need and to work toward lasting and meaningful change. The Wheeling location is located at 125 18th street, and provides services to those in need around the community.
The Wheeling University Stuff the Truck event will be held for two weekends in 2025 at two different locations. The first weekend will be November 7th – 9th at Kroger on Mount Dechantal Road and the following weekend the event will be at Wheeling on November 14th and 15th.
