“Wagfest” bowling fundraiser for parents who unexpectedly lost a child
CORNING, N.Y. (WETM) – The “Wagfest Memorial Fund” is getting ready to host a bowling fundraiser at Crystal Lanes in Corning on April 13th. The non-profit raises money to help parents with funeral costs after unexpectedly losing a child.
The event will run from noon to 3 p.m. Tickets are $20 dollars. The price includes “shoe rental, 3 hours of bowling and door prize ticket. There will also be 50/50, other basket raffles, and merch to purchase. Hope to see you there. As always thank you for your support,” reads a message on the Wagfest Memorial Facebook page.
“Wagfest” was founded in honor of Elmira native Paul “PJ” Wagner. He was killed in a motor-vehicle accident on June 21st, 2017. His mother says the 26-year-old was riding as a passenger in a delivery truck while working for a company that rents furniture and appliances. Wagner died when the driver somehow lost control and crashed.
“Grief can be sneaky, and it can hit you on days where you think that you’re fine,” said his mother, Susan Sterpe. “Unfortunately, when you lose a child, it’s much different than losing a sibling or a parent. It’s not saying that those deaths are not devastating, but a parent you expect to lose some point in your life. Your sibling or your child, you really you don’t expect. So it’s a club that you get initiated into that you didn’t ask to be a part of. Nobody really understands it until you go through it.”
“This was kind of born out of a want to do something after the tragedy of his death,” Sterpe said. “He really was a bright light in the in the area. He was full of life and love. You would find him skateboarding around town. You would find him at all of the local shows, in the front row listening to all the local bands, whether it be at the street painting festival, or one of the local pubs in the area.”
“Those bands got together to do a benefit for us, and some of his friends and I decided we really wanted to do something to pay it forward in his name.
In 2019, Cody Wall, President of Wagfest, told 18 News: “It’s a local charity to help families that have lost a child or children tragically, and to really just take the edge off of some bills,” said Walls. “Money shouldn’t be the first thing on their mind, and that’s what Wagfest is.”
“We learned very quickly how expensive it can be,” said Sterpe. “A headstone can be $1,000 dollars alone. A burial plot is a few hundred dollars. Then you have the funeral home costs. For a cremation you are talking a few thousand dollars. You can get some help from the Department of Social Services, but that’s only a few hundred dollars in help. So, you’re left to trying to come up with, how do you do that cost? How do you find the money to bridge that gap?” Sterpe added.
“Nobody saves for the bereavement fund for their child. You have the college fund, but you don’t have the bereavement fund because nobody thinks or should have to worry about having their child pass before them. So that’s why we decided that since we were fortunate enough to have help, we really needed to help other people.”
Sterpe says 100% of the money raised stays local and goes directly to families. Since 2018 the Wagner Memorial Fund has helped at least 15 families. “We have done things like pay off funeral expenses, we’ve paid off autopsy expenses. We have sent out gas and food gift cards to families.”
“I think the biggest way people can get involved is to run their mouth about us. Because as you discovered, people don’t really know that we exist.” Sterpe said. So, we would like to help families, but we do have criteria that has to be met because we’re very small.”
“We do take it case by case, but mostly we try and focus on kids and very young adults. Usually by the time you get to be in your mid to late twenties or so you’re pretty well established. You may have a job that can help with benefits if something happens. So, I’m going to say the majority of the families that we helped, everybody has been under 25. And it’s been something more sudden, so a motor vehicle accident. We had a family of a child that passed in their sleep. They can contact us we and we can kind of talk about it, what we can do to try and help. We don’t want to turn anybody away if we can help it.”
After the bowling fundraiser on April 13th, Wagfest will also be hosting a “Motorcycle Dice Run” for the Alexei Seymour Memorial on June 29th. It will be held at “Sonny’s Bar & Grille” in Horseheads. The event will also feature raffles and live music by the Bowery Boys.
You can watch the full interview with Susan Sterpe below:
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