WEST LIBERTY – The 25th Annual West Liberty Ice Cream Social will be held on Saturday, July 22 from 4-7 p.m.

The event will be held behind the West Liberty United Methodist Church and West Liberty Church of Christ. All proceeds will go to the Scott and Alexandra Woodruff family. The a la carte menu will consist of chicken and noodles, hot shredded chicken, sloppy joe, hot dog and coney dogs, potato salad, slaw, pasta salad, cucumbers and onions, apple salad, pie and featuring home-made ice cream. Carry-outs and gallons of ice cream will be available. West Liberty-area churches and the West Liberty Lions Club are sponsoring the event.

Musical entertainment will be provided by Bill Purk and Friends.

Scott and Alex Woodruff are alumni of West Liberty-Salem and residents of West Liberty for the past 9 years and have 3 children: Lillian (10), Harley (7) and Calvin (16 months). Lori and Billy Wintersteller are Scott’s mom and stepfather, Scott’s dad and stepmom are Jeff and Barb Woodruff and Tracey and Vickie Smith “Smitty” are Alex’s parents.

Calvin was diagnosed at 1 month old with Bilateral Coloboma that has left him visually impaired with no depth perception, no side peripheral vision or upper field vision. As of right now there is no cure for Coloboma, but Calvin and his family will be involved in a study in Washington D.C. in 2024 to research for a possible cause of Coloboma. Calvin has a team of specialists from Logan County Early Intervention, cardiology, genetics, and ophthalmology at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus.

Their home needs safety modifications to help Calvin move more independently safely. Calvin will also need medical equipment such as a cane, new braces, and glasses that can change every 6 months. Calvin’s dad, Scott Woodruff, was diagnosed with HOCM (hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy) and had open heart surgery. They learned of Scott’s diagnosis in February of 2016. After having their second daughter, Harley on May 17, 2016 prematurely, Scott had open heart surgery on July 1, 2016. Scott’s HOCM is genetic so all of the kids have a 50/50 chance of having this.

All 3 kids go bi-annually for echocardiograms until 12 years old, then will go annually. When Calvin was born he was found to have two holes in his heart. The doctor is not wanting to do surgery at this time to see if they will close on their own. Six months after Scott’s open heart surgery, he got a defibrillator put in as a precaution in case his heart stopped. In the last year, Scott’s heart has stopped twice in the middle of the night. His device worked and saved his life. But since it’s been used, it’s taken his battery life down faster than anticipated.

He is looking to have surgery within the next year to replace the battery. They are grateful for their jobs and the flexibility to take care of their family, but it can definitely be a financial burden. Scott will be off work on leave to have a battery replaced, taking time to drive out of state for an appointment with Calvin and the numerous trips to Columbus for everyone. Gas money, home repairs, medical bills, and equipment for Calvin are starting to add up.

The Woodruff Family thanks everyone for this special event.

If you are unable to attend and wish to help this family, please make checks out to West Liberty Ice Cream Social and put Woodruff family in the memo and send to West Liberty United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 606, West Liberty, Ohio 43357. If you have any questions, call Nancy Dowden at (937) 465-4219.

Submitted by organizers