Beaatitude House hopes to raise funding bar with rappelling event

YOUNGSTOWN

Ky’liah Finger has no problem occasionally living life on the edge.

“I’m not afraid at all, because it’s for a good cause. I always wanted to do something like this,” the 17-year-old Boardman girl said, referring to the prospect of being slowly hoisted up one side of Youngstown’s tallest building.

The good cause she alluded to Saturday was Beatitude House, the recipient of the second annual Over the Edge for Beatitude House rappelling fundraiser event. The all-day uplifting experience, which kicked off Friday, allowed participants to rappel down the 18-floor, 225-foot First National Bank building, 1 W. Federal St., downtown.

Over the Edge is a national company that hosts rappelling events in the U.S., Mexico and Canada to help nonprofit organizations raise money, said Julia Pisansky, Beatitude House’s development associate.

BH’s two main offerings are transitional and permanent-supportive housing for women and children who are victims of poverty, domestic violence and other difficult circumstances, she noted.

Those who rappelled first had to raise a minimum of $1,000 each, which will go toward the agency’s programs, she continued, adding that last year’s event brought in about $110,000, a goal organizers hoped to match or exceed this year.

Read more about its programs and the rappelling event in Sunday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.