To assist students traveling home for Thanksgiving and Winter Break, West Virginia University’s Mountaineer Parents Club is offering bus transportation.
“Helping our students get home safely during these major University breaks is important for our West Virginia University families,” said Sabrina Cave, executive director of the Mountaineer Parents Club. “As a result, the Mountaineer Parents Club has been providing buses to aid families in bringing students closer to home.”
On Friday, November 20, the Mountaineer Parents Club and local clubs will help students return to their families for Thanksgiving. Approximately 650 students will head home on 13 buses, which leave from the Prospect Street beside the Mountainlair or Rawley Lane beside the Evansdale Residential Complex.
“I can remember my son’s freshman year in the fall of 2010 when I did the drive to WV and back in the same day. It was over a 12-hour day, and to be honest, – quite tiring,” said Ed McMahon, chair of the Southern New Jersey Parents Club.
“As a result, we organized a trail bus to Southern New Jersey for the 2011 Thanksgiving break that was quite successful, and since that time, we have provided approximately 1,700 rides to WVU students.”
The Mountaineer Parents club works collaboratively with the WVU Department for Transportation and Parking to offer bus service to Hagerstown, MD, three destinations in Pennsylvania including Allentown, King of Prussia and Carlisle, in addition to Secaucus, New Jersey.
The Southern New Jersey club will provide bus service to Newark, Delaware as well as three locations in New Jersey including Mt. Laurel, Hamilton and Wall.
The Central Maryland club will provide bus service to Columbia and Bowie, Maryland; the Long Island club will provide bus service to two destinations including Nassau and Suffolk counties; and the Northern Virginia club will provide bus service to Fairfax.
Seating is based on availability and is sold on a first-come, first-served basis. One-way and round trips are available, and prices vary by destination and range from $75 to $150.
“Parents appreciate that we provide this convenient service for them,” said Lisa Hanselman, associate director of the Mountaineer Parents Club.
“It’s not ‘door to door’ service but very helpful in getting students much closer home,” said Hanselman.
Bus service is also available during winter and spring break.
The Mountaineer Parents Club has 34 local clubs since being established 20 years ago. A total of 18 clubs are in West Virginia. Others are located in Maryland, Ohio, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey. State chairs have also been established in various states.
The Mountaineer Parents Club is free and open to parents and family members of current, former and future WVU students. Some of the benefits include a toll-free helpline, newsletters, on and off-campus events, an interactive website and parent electronic news messages.
For more information visit the Mountaineer Parents Club at http://parentsclub.wvu.edu/.
-WVU-
ta/11/16/15
CONTACT: Sabrina Cave, Mountaineer Parents Club
Sabrina.cave@mail.wvu.edu; 304.293.2506
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