By Michele Deluca
Niagara Gazette
NIAGARA FALLS —
If everything goes as planned, those little things dangling over the edge of the Seneca Niagara Casino today will be brave volunteers raising funds for the Special Olympics.
And just in case there are a few hardy souls around the region who might enjoy participating as well, there is still have one opportunity left, according to Amy Schedlbauer, a local spokeswoman for the Special Olympics.
“We're selling raffle tickets and auctioning off a rappelling spot at the end of the day,” Schedlbauer said Wednesday as she navigated the chaos of a wind-ravaged Media Day where celebrities and members of the press had been set to rappel down the 26-story building.
While today’s participants had to collect $1,000 in donations for the opportunity to rappel, the raffle tickets for the one spot left at 6:50 p.m. will be sold for $10. The winning ticket will be announced at 4 p.m. and the ticket holder must be present to win the spot, she said.
The event is being organized to draw the community to the casino parking lot to witness the rappellers scale the side of the building.
A tent will be set up selling “Over the Edge” souvenirs and there will be food and music. Besides the rappel spot being raffled, two helicopter rides will be raffled as will spa treatments and overnight stays provided by the casino.
“The casino has been a tremendous help to us,” Schedlbauer said, adding, “There is even a special Over the Edge drink being sold inside the casino.”
Although heavy winds finally put the kibosh on Wednesday’s Media Day, organizers are expecting a beautiful wind-free day for today’s event.
About 30 city firefighters with rappelling certification will be volunteering their time to make sure the 100 scheduled participants travel safely down the side of the building.
The event is being overseen by representatives from a company from Nova Scotia called Over the Edge, which provides professional rappellers and safety equipment to non-profit organizations seeking a unique way to raise funds.
Today’s event is one way that non-profits are trying to get people excited about donating, according to Neal Johnson, president of the Special Olympics for New York State.
“We have to try and find ways new and different and exciting ways to get people to participate,” he said.
While the Over the Edge event is expected to raise about $100,000, other local Special Olympic events have raised more, he said. The organization also holds Polar Plunges throughout the state. The most recent winter swim event on Lake Erie in Hamburg raised $140,000, he said.
The money serves the largest Special Olympic’s state organization in the nation and the sixth largest Special Olympics group in the world, he noted, supporting 49,000 children and adults athletes throughout New York.
When asked if he was considering joining the rappellers, Johnson paused for a moment, then confessed, “I’m still debating it. I looked over the edge to the falls and this is pretty high up.”
