Staff at the Murphy Harpst Childrens Center, 740 Fletcher St., Cedartown chat with visitors and check out their motorcycles during Saturday's fund-raising rally. Pictured at front is a large plush Chick-fil-A cow prop. The restaurant chain provided food for the event.(Lowell Vickers/thepolkfishwrap.com)
Sharon Rocchie, left, of Your Seamless Events, draws raffle numbers from a basket as emcee Alan Hunt, of radio station WSB (AM750, FM 95.5 Atlanta) calls out the winning numbers. (Lowell Vickers/thepolkfishwrap.com)
Charles (Chuck) Troutman, chief executive officers at the Murphy Harpst Children's Center in Cedartown, chats with emcee Alan hunt during the event. (Lowell Vickers/thepolkfishwrap.com)
The event, Rescue Riders for the Children at Murphy Harpst, was held at noon on the grounds of the facility, located at 740 Fletcher St., Cedartown.
Murphy-Harpst is an independent not-for-profit agency that houses, cares for and educates abused and neglected children.
Charles Troutman, chief executive officer for Murphy-Harpst, said Saturday’s rally was a part of the center's annual campaign, which funds programs and activities left unfunded by state and federal reimbursement for the residential treatment center.
Motorcyclists pre-registered for the rally. The $35 fee included a lunch from Chick-fil-A restaurant. Participants also received a T-shirt, goodie bag and toured the facility.
Murphy Harpst also has a separate fund-raising effort ongoing to fund the construction of an indoor recreation center at the facility.
“Our residential facility that is licensed for 57 children remains at capacity throughout the year,” Troutman said in a statement released prior to Saturday’s event.
“Recreation therapy along with other therapeutic approaches work together in helping each child to overcome behavior issues that threaten themselves and others; to learn to trust others; to build self-esteem and cooperate with peers and adults, and to make a successful transition to community life,” Troutman added.
“Since 1942, with the construction of Merner Chapel, indoor recreation has been confined to the Chapel basement, suitable for only a small number of indoor games and activities. This limitation annually inhibits recreation therapy on over 100 days of inclement weather.”
Proposed is a pre-engineered metal, 80-foot-by-100-foot gymnasium on a concrete pad.
“The cost of this project is $230,000, or an average cost of $28.75 per square feet,” Troutman said. “So far $125,000 has been raised, so we are nearly half way to our goal.”
Murphy Harpst also hopes to receive private donations. For information about making a contribution, contact the organization by mail at: Murphy Harpst Children’s Centers, 740 Fletcher St., Cedartown, GA 30125; or contact them online at:
www.murphyharpst.org
Edited Tuesday, April 17 to clarify the separate fund-raising efforts at Murphy-Harpst. An earlier version of this story linked the bike rally to the wrong fund-raising project.
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