The House of the Carpenter’s new Youth Center on Wheeling Island will be named for Toni and Nancy Bedway.

WHEELING – A donor has secured the naming rights for The House of the Carpenter’s new Youth Center on Wheeling Island.

It will be named The Toni and Nancy Bedway Center for Youth. Marianna Bedway and family members made the announcement at noon Monday.

According to Bedway, both of her parents were artistic and intrigued with arts programs. The Bedway family is happy that the House of the Carpenter is willing to expand art programming and all youth programming at the new youth center. She added that both of her parents were very giving and always interested in the youth of the Ohio Valley.

“On behalf of the board of directors, our staff, our volunteers, and most of all, our neighbors who come for assistance, we thank the Bedway family for their generosity in helping to make our vision a reality,” said Executive Director Mike Linger. “We are so grateful to the Bedway family and all of our donors for helping us build a safe place for youth growth and development. The Toni and Nancy Bedway Center for Youth, that is rising next door, will enable the House of the Carpenter to offer life changing events for children, youth, and families for many years to come, and we are so grateful.”

$2 million has been raised for the project and construction is progressing on the 8,500-square-foot youth center, with the hopes of a June 2020 opening.

The House of the Carpenter’s growth over the past decade has left the agency in need of more space. Serving 1,400 weekly, this number includes families, children and teens. The new Youth Center will provide a safe location for area children to come and have fun as well as give the agency the space needed to expand youth programs.

Existing programs that will be expanded in the near future include the literacy program with Madison Elementary School as well as the literacy camp; art programs, music programs and Pathways to Success for middle school students seeking apprenticeships in the trades, enrolling in college, or seeking civil service careers.

The House of the Carpenter was opened in 1964 in cooperation with the West Virginia Conference of the Methodist Church as a mission project with the purpose of addressing the growing needs of individuals and families, resulting from the decline in the coal and steel industries in the region. The House of the Carpenter serves people throughout the Upper Ohio Valley on both sides of the Ohio River.

The House of the Carpenter provides a variety of enrichment programs for children and youth throughout the year such as after school programs, enrichment, and summer internships programs. Some are practical such as the youth cooking classes. Others are more artistic like the strings program. There are also art classes and future plans to add dance classes and a drama program. These are programs that families could not afford for their children outside of the House of Carpenter programming.

For more information on the House of the Carpenter’s new Youth Center or to make a donation, call Mike Linger at 304-233-4640; email him at mlinger@houseofthecarpenter.com; or visit the website at www.houseofthecarpenter.com. Look for youth center under the menu bar to watch the video, check out the architect renderings of the new building, and to make a donation.