St. Louis Man is “All In” on Commitment to Help Wyoming Children with Fundraising Efforts

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By Austin Huguelet, Wyoming Tribune Eagle

St. Louis Mo- A St. Louis area teacher is excited to add to his list of already extraordinary charitable work. “It is all about the kids” Jonathan Wehrenberg, 56, of Columbia, Illinois told Wyomingnews.com. Wehrenberg has been teaching history and coaching basketball on the Illinois side of the Mississippi River for over 25 years. He will be retiring from Columbia Unit School District 4 in May; but after a quick conversation with Jon, it is easy to see that he will not be hard-pressed for things to keep him busy after he leaves the classroom. Jon plans to continue coaching his 8th grade Eagles basketball team well after he retires to stay involved with his community's school district. Alongside coaching basketball, upon retirement, Jon plans to keep himself busy through multiple part-time jobs including catering Chic-Fli-A, selling advocare healthcare products, and hopefully giving tours of Busch Stadium, the home of the St. Louis Cardinals, of which he has always been a fan. “I grew up going to Cardinals games and touring the stadium, I have always wanted to give tours and interact with other Cardinals fans after my teaching career is over.”

On top of his full time job as a respected and decorated teacher/coach, Wehrenberg has a laundry list of charities and non-for-profit organizations he is involved with and even started himself. “Working through charity has always been one of my passions, the sense of accomplishment you can get after working with a group of students who benefit from your time is something I will never get tired of” says Wehrenberg. Throughout his lifetime Jon has been active in too many charities to count, “I couldn’t even give you a number” he says with a smile. “Upwards of 25-30 organizations I have been apart of. It’s special.” Faith Christian Church, Martha's Kitchen, Monroe County YMCA, more charities are some of the most recent organizations to be blessed by Wehrenbergs time and efforts.

Wehrenberg has even started his own organization, Teamwork, to help adults with disabilities become acclimated to life after school. The organization has helped fund numerous projects helping dozens of adults with disabilities and their families. “I wanted to find a way to help these fantastic kids after they graduate high school. I like to think we have done a pretty great job of that so far.” Teamwork holds two annual golf tournaments in Waterloo, Illinois each year that benefit Teamwork. Golf, a Chick-Fil-A lunch, bar-b-que dinner, and silent auctions help make the event fun for all involved. In typical fashion, Wehrenberg refuses to take credit. “We have so many people volunteering at these tournaments, the numbers are through the roof! Co-workers, my congregation, and lifelong friends help make these tournaments possible.” The tournaments are not all work for Wehrenberg, however, “with the volunteers, I’m usually able to play the front 9, which means my team has the low score every year” Jon says through contagious laughter.

This year, Wehrenberg is hoping to add another charity and successful fundraising event to his very successful list of charitable contributions. The next obstacle, St. Baldrick’s Charitable Foundation. St. Baldrick’s is a fundraising charity that collects money in hopes of finding a cure for childhood cancer. Since 2005, St. Baldrick's has awarded more than $253 million to support life-saving research, making the St. Baldrick's Foundation the largest private funder of childhood cancer research grants, per the foundations website.

Individuals set-up a fundraising website where friends, family, and co-workers can donate money electronically straight to the St. Baldricks foundation. The fun part of raising money for St. Baldrick's participants comes on September 29th at the Cheyenne Elks Lodge. This is one of over 100 St. Baldrick’s events across the country where participants have their heads shaved on stage in front of thousands of donors.

Wehrenberg has been interested in participating in the event for over four years when four of his co-workers at Columbia Middle School began fundraising during the school year. “I thought it was great to see some of the younger teachers in the building become involved in such a fantastic cause” Wehrenberg said. The reason why Wehrenberg, up until this year, has yet to participate in the fundraising and head shaving? “I am 56 years old and I haven’t had any hair to shave for the last 20 years!” he joked. “Now, I am kind of advertising it as make a bald guy balder, for a good cause.” He has joined his fellow CMS teachers in fundraising efforts at school where students bring in a donation and have a pass to wear a hat throughout the school day.

The St. Baldrick’s event in St. Louis has been the event raising the most money for childhood cancer research for three years in a row, which is why Wehrenberg is taking his fundraising talents to Cheyenne this September. “I wanted to help out in a way I never have been able to, I think branching out my charitable work to a new community is one of the most exciting things I have ever done.” Why did Mr. Wehrenberg choose Cheyenne? “I have visited the west multiple times and each time I’ve come through Cheyenne, the people have been unbelievable to my family and me. This is just one way I can give back to a community that has been so respectful and helpful to my family.”

Visit Jon’s donation page by following this link https://www.stbaldricks.org/participants/mypage/988946/2018 and make sure to come see Jon and the other St. Baldricks participants at the Cheyenne Elks Lodge on September 29 from 11:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. and give him a big “Wyoming Welcome”.

This is a satirical website. Don't take it Seriously. It's a joke.