Mars couple makes big donation to West Virginia University
West Virginia University gave a lot to both Gregory and Amber Nailler of Mars. Now the couple is preparing to repay the favor.
The Naillers recently announced their intentions to donate more than $660,000 to the university, where they first met as undergraduates.
The gift, made through the nonprofit WVU Foundation, will be split among several university programs. These include the Mountaineers football team, WVU Medicine Children’s Hospital, and the Country Roads program, which benefits students with disabilities.
The campus of West Virginia University, located in Morgantown, W.V., is an hour and a half south of Mars.
Today, Greg and Amber have two daughters — 20-year-old Claire and 16-year-old Addie. Claire was actually born in Morgantown at the WVU Medicine Children’s Hospital and barely survived birth, living out her first month in the hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
Although Claire is still battling developmental disability to this day, Greg credits the hospital with saving Claire’s life.
“She was in really rough shape. The first couple of days were touch and go,” Greg said. “The Children’s Hospital is super close to our hearts because of that.”
Claire is one of 16 students who has been accepted to West Virginia University for the upcoming school year as part of the Country Roads program. The program, overseen by the university’s Center for Excellence in Disabilities, aims to prepare students with disabilities for independent life.
Today, Greg works at Western Pennsylvania-based power management company Eaton Corporation.
