About the WVU Mountaineer Parents Club
The Mountaineer Parents Club was created in 1995 as one of five student life initiatives of former WVU President David C. Hardesty Jr. The organization, which has more than 18,000 members, was established to foster success by connecting parents and family members with the West Virginia University student experience.
West Virginia University’s Mountaineer Parents Club is free and open to parents and family members of current, former and future WVU students. To join just sign-up online.
The Mountaineer Parents Club has 66 local clubs since being established in Fall 1995. Thirty-eight clubs are in West Virginia and others are located in Maryland, Ohio, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey. State chairs have also been established in Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, and Wisconsin. Local clubs design programs to support student activities and also:
- organize “get-acquainted” summer send-offs for students and parents
- host speakers from WVU
- represent the Mountaineer Parents Club at “College Nights” in area high schools
The Mountaineer Parents Club has developed the formation of the Leisure Reading Collection in the Downtown Library Complex and Evansdale Library. The collection is for WVU students, faculty and staff.
All members of the Parents Club have been encouraged to send new or used current (within three years), hardback books (fiction or non-fiction) to the Mountaineer Parents Club office. Donated books can be dedicated “in honor” or “in memory” of someone special and a Mountaineer Parents Club bookplate will be placed in the book. The Collection already has more than 2,000 books and is being used regularly.
Due to the success of the Leisure Reading Collection, the Leisure Viewing Collection has been established. This collection will consist of new or used, standard videos or DVDs. The collection will have 100-105 items and is for in-building use only. Like the books, donations can be sent to the Mountaineer Parents Club.
A toll-free helpline (1-800-WVU-0096) was designed to provide direct and immediate help for parents who have questions or concerns that do not appear to fall within the typical categories of frequently called WVU numbers.
Parents may call the helpline from anywhere in the United States and a parent advocate will research each question, concern or comment. If a message is left, a response will be given in one business day, if at all possible.
Other methods of communication are the Mountaineer Parents Newsletter, published three times a year and an Update newsletter about club activities. To go along with that, there is Parent Electronic News, a free service provided to all members. Parents receive e-mail updates about the new and upcoming events on campus.
Members can benefit from the “Parents Perks” program, which offers discounts from local merchants, hotel and motels. Members of the Club can receive gift certificates, parking perks and items such as window decals and bumper stickers
The Mountaineer Parents Club sponsors many other events throughout the year such as Basketball Day, Parents Club University and Fall Family Weekend.