WESTBOROUGH – The Westborough Athletic and Social Association (WASA) is offering refunds after its Ice Out Challenge was knocked down sometime on Feb. 5.
“Sadly, on Sunday, Feb. 5, the WASA ice sculpture was vandalized and destroyed. The Westborough police were notified and have been handling the investigation. Due to the extent of the vandalism, unfortunately the 2023 WASA Ice Out Challenge was discontinued. WASA is directly contacting all participants that had submitted guesses and are offering a full refund of their money,” according to a release issued by WASA.
The ice sculpture was set up in front of Hastings Elementary School. The goal of the challenge was to guess the date and time the sculpture melted to a predetermined point. The person with the guess closest to the actual date and time would have won $500.
The Ice Out Challenge was created to raise money to help fund the programs that WASA supports in the community. All of the fundraising money goes toward a variety of programs, including youth sports teams, local charities, town programs, the Westborough Food Pantry, Special Olympics and Project Graduation. And every year WASA awards three $1,500 college scholarships to local students to help continue their education.
“In addition to being an important fundraiser, the WASA Ice Out challenge was also created to help generate community spirit and have some fun during the middle of the winter,” according to the release.
“It’s important in times like these that we take the opportunity to show our gratitude for organizations like these,” said Kelley Petralia, executive director of Westborough Connects, who shared a letter about the Ice Out Challenge.
WASA will accept donations outside of its normal fundraisers and events. Those who would like to donate may visit https://www.westboro.org/ to find the QR code for the WASA Venmo site.
Donations may also be mailed to WASA, P.O. Box 165, Westborough, MA 01581, or donate via Venmo, @wasa_1935.
