North Wheeling Youth Center Reopens
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WHEELING -- After a year's hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the North Wheeling Community Youth Center has reopened its doors and is welcoming students back for another season of enrichment.
The center reopened in response to a call from local educators, working alongside college students to provide services to local students. The youth center operates from 3 to 6 p.m. Tuesday to Thursday, providing a place for students to socialize and work on homework after school.
Some Ohio County buses take students to the center after school and return to pick them up and take them home afterward.
The youth center was designated as a hotspot by Ohio County Schools, allowing students to download their homework and work on their assignments in a group environment. The Rev. Darrell Cummings, pastor of the nearby Bethlehem Apostolic Church, said the kids' social lives have suffered over the last year, and he was happy to help provide an environment to correct it.
"Some of the kids really suffered, not being able to be with other kids," Cummings said Wednesday. "We thank God for the virtual learning, but it's definitely not the same as in-person. Some were going through depression, some just wanted human contact. We follow the masks and social distancing, but at the same time, we try to be there for them, and sometimes to eat together is to stay together."
The North Wheeling Community Youth Center, Cummings said, was fortunate to have received a grant from the city of Wheeling to cover some of the cost of supplies, printers, COVID-19 safety-compliant upgrades, and food. This year, two students from West Liberty University — Mary Rose Creedon, working on her master's degree, and undergraduate Hannah Jacobs — are assisting at the youth center, earning community service hours by tutoring.
The center provides meals for the kids, and sends meals home on off-days and weekends if necessary. The program is open to any students, not limited to Ohio County. The current program will run through June before re-evaluating for the summer and fall.
Though the city's grant covers much of the costs, there are costs incurred that are shouldered by the Bethlehem Apostolic Church, Cummings said.
"It's an expense that we have to find a way to cover, and we will," he said. "It would've been great if we could have gotten total coverage, but we were not successful at that. The church has made a decision that we'll cover through any means necessary."
"The church, like many churches, our attendance has gone down, our support has gone down, because of COVID. We are offering services virtually, which we're grateful for, but it's not the same. But we are surviving, and I would say thriving, but we've definitely been hit. But God has been good to us. Sadly, I'm told there are some churches that will never open again, but that is not our plight, thank God. We're trying to reach the next generation, and show them not only the love of God, but the love of their community."
Cummings paraphrased a quote commonly attributed to Frederick Douglass: It is easier to build strong boys and girls than to repair broken down men and women. Through the youth center, Cummings hopes to provide community support as families emerge from the worst of the pandemic.
"We're trying, even in pandemic, to build good boys and girls and let them know that they are not abandoned or forgotten."
Those interested in participating in the program are asked to call 304-233-8899.