15th Annual Meadowbrook Mall Purchase with a Purpose Brings Record Crowd; Jane Lew's Joanne Zimmerman Wins $5,000 Grand Prize
By Connect-Bridgeport Staff on November 08, 2019
Meadowbrook Mall hosted its 15th Annual Purchase with a Purpose event on Sunday night before a record crowd. Crowd favorites, Jack Logar and Nikki Drake (WVAQ’s Jack and Nikki in the Morning) took the stage at 6pm to kick off the evening. This year’s event set a new ticket sales record with over 7,200 tickets sold. As always, one-hundred percent of the proceeds went to the non-profit organizations selling the tickets. The amount raised this year by charities is up +80% over the monies generated by the event last year.
The Grand Prize winning ticket was drawn this by Alessandro Cava. Machelle Cava presented the very excited winner, Joanne Zimmerman of Jane Lew, with the $5,000 check!
Marketing Director, Robin Urquhart, said the success of the event is a credit to the entire community. “The incentive to attend the event is absolutely paramount to the event’s continued success year after year. Dan Cava Toyota has been the sponsor of the event, providing the $5,000 grand prize, since 2005 when the event began. The Cava family truly believes in giving back to their community and this event allows them to contribute to all of the organizations that participate.”
You also have to recognize mall stores for their contribution to the event. Most of the stores remain open from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm on Sunday night and many of them offer special discounts to tickets holders. “The event has become the unofficial kickoff of the mall’s holiday season,” Urquhart explained.
Participating organizations tell event organizers that tickets are easy to sell. The mall only prints 10,000 tickets, so the odds of winning the $5,000 Grand Prize are good. There are also additional prizes to win during the event, donated by stores in the mall. This year there were over $2,426 in prizes in addition to the $5,000 cash prize. The most sought after store prizes this year included a $250 Ulta Beauty Gift Card, a $200 Marshalls Gift Card and jewelry pieces from both Kays and LeRoy’s Jewelers!
Participating charities this year included Doddridge County High School Band, Fairmont Senior Madrigal Chamber Choir, Harrison County 4-H, Harrison County Special Olympics, Lincoln High School Band, Robert C. Byrd High School Band Patrons, The Studio of the Performing Arts, West Milford Lions Club and WVU Medicine Children’s.
Another reason that the event is so successful is because of all of the local organizations that come out to entertain shoppers during the event. “Our shoppers love to watch performances by local schools and dance groups,” Urquhart said. The entertainment on the main stage this year was provided by the North Marion High School Notables Choir, the Fairmont State University Chamber Choir and the Fairmont Senior Madrigals Choir. The Studio for the Performing Arts and In Step Dance & Fitness also performed in Marshalls court on Sunday.
Since it began in 2005, the event has raised more than $327,000, Urquhart said.
The Meadowbrook Mall Complex is located on Interstate 79, Exit 121 in Bridgeport, West Virginia. It has been serving the people of the Bridgeport/Clarksburg area since 1982. To learn more, visit www.meadowbrookmall.com. Meadowbrook Mall is owned and managed in association with Cafaro affiliated companies, based in Youngstown, Ohio. One of the nation’s largest privately held shopping center developers, the Cafaro organization owns and oversees more than 30 million square feet of commercial real estate in 11 states. For information on the Cafaro organization, visit www.cafarocompany.com.
Editor's Note: Pictured top are Nikki Drake (WVAQ), Alessandro Cava, Machelle Cava, grand prize winner Joanne Zimmerman and Jack Logar (WVAQ).
