A report in Friday’s (5/20) Wheeling News-Register (West Virginia) states, “The Wheeling Symphony Orchestra is asking area residents to show their Ohio Valley pride by voting for the symphony in a Chase Community Giving Facebook Challenge. The symphony is one of 100 nonprofit organizations in the United States—and the only one in West Virginia—eligible to win up to $500,000 in the challenge. Symphony officials said they would use the money to establish mainstream, high-quality, live entertainment productions as a catalyst to help revive the Capitol Theatre and downtown Wheeling. The challenge, which is being done through online voting, runs until May 25. … Voters can cast their vote by going to the Wheeling Symphony’s Facebook page or www.wheelingsymphony.com and clicking on the links provided. The top vote getter receives $500,000 with decreasing monetary awards given to the top 25, the lowest being $20,000. In addition, all contestants were asked by Chase to submit a ‘Big Idea.’ Five contestants will be chosen to present their big idea to a panel, which will select a winner to receive $200,000. The WSO’s big idea was developed with the purpose of stimulating the economy of downtown Wheeling.”
Posted May 24, 2011