Harrisburg, Pennsylvania-based Arooga’s Grille House & Sports Bar hosted its eighth annual “Running for Rachel” fundraising event at several of its Central Pennsylvania locations on Wednesday, February 19, marking their biggest year yet raising $12,000 in just two hours with help from the Hershey Bears hockey club.
The event was hosted by six of Arooga’s Pennsylvania locations in Harrisburg, Mechanicsburg, Camp Hill, Hershey, and Lancaster, and featured Hershey Bears ticket voucher giveaways for cash donations, a silent auction featuring many items donated by Arooga’s beer partners and local distributors, meet and greet autograph sessions with Bears players, and a chance to win a $250 gift card from Arooga’s. Proceeds for the auction, cash donations, and a percentage of sales of a specialty mule cocktail made for the event will all benefit the Running for Rachel 5K, which will be held on Harrisburg’s City Island this year on April 26, in honor of its namesake Rachel Guss, who passed away in 2011 from Duodenal cancer, a rare form of the disease that is very difficult to treat.
“We are so grateful to team up with Arooga’s and the Hershey Bears for the eighth year as we honor Rachel’s memory. And we’re thrilled that we had a record breaking night as the community helped us raise money for cancer research,” said Erin Stone, president of Running for Rachel.
“We look forward to this event each year, and are thrilled to have raised so much in one night for such a great cause.” said Arooga’s Grille House & Sports Bar President and Co-Founder Gary Huether, Jr. “This event wouldn’t be possible without the support of our beer partners’ and local distributors’ generous donations to our silent auction, and we thank them along with our fans, friends, and family for turning out and making this such a momentous occasion.”
“The Hershey Bears hockey club is so proud to be part of such a wonderful annual event for such an important cause. The Running for Rachel event, in partnership with area Arooga’s restaurants, is something our players and staff members look forward to attending every year as part of our ongoing Hershey Bears Cares initiative,” said Bryan Helmer, vice president of Hockey Operations, Hershey Bears. “It is a tremendous opportunity to engage with our fans while helping to raise funds in the fight against duodenal cancer. Thank you to everyone who supported this effort.”
