North Wheeling Youth Center Helps Keep Young Minds Sharp
Lauren Taylor Trending
WHEELING -- Students at the North Wheeling Youth Center can be found conducting science experiments, practicing handwriting, gluing together collages or playing catch in the backyard.
The center is currently in the midst of its free summer education program that runs each week from Tuesday-Thursday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., providing local school aged children the opportunity to keep learning all year long.
The North Wheeling Youth Center is a part of Suff. Bishop Darrell Cummings' Greater Love Ministries, which aims to make a difference in the local community. Cummings, pastor of Bethlehem Apostolic Temple in Wheeling, says he wants to inspire kids to want to make a difference.
"I know what it is for your parents to be good working people, but they just don't have enough to take care of everybody's needs," he said. "There is nothing wrong with getting a little help -- the only problem is that sometimes we need help in order to help others, but that's why we do what we do."
Each day of the weekly program focuses on a different educational area for attending children. One day covers science, math and other STEM related topics, another focuses on physical education and the other centers around practical skills like cooking. Students also have the opportunity to take field trips to different spots both in and out of the Wheeling area.
The center has opened its doors to the North Wheeling community since 1992 and operates year round. During the school year, students can attend its afterschool program to help with homework and staying on top of curriculum.
Cummings says he and his staff try to spend extra time and build a relationship with each student who comes through the center.
"We're probably one of the smallest youth centers in the city, but we get to spend perhaps extra time with them," he said. "We've seen some of them grow up, and we've seen that change in their life."
The center works with Ohio County Schools and West Liberty University to secure transportation, student volunteers and to encourage young students to attend the summer and school year programs.
Hunter Knight, assistant coordinator at the North Wheeling Youth Center and community education student at West Liberty University, has been working with the center since the beginning of the year. She says her favorite part is seeing students' excitement on a daily basis.
"Just seeing the brightness on their faces and the excitement that they come in here with every day to see us and to do what we're doing today, it just makes it all worth it," she said.
Cummings's son, Richard Cummings, went from being a student who attended the center, to working at the center and helping his father support kids in the local community. He said growing up in the center makes his involvement especially fulfilling.
"Watching it revive has been just such an amazing experience because it's like seeing my childhood revive," he said. "It's just really special to be on this side of it, and I get to work with kids now as an adult."
The North Wheeling Youth Center is currently in the process of expanding and moving into a larger space to accommodate more students. Greater Love Ministries is taking donations to aid this process at their website at https://www.greaterloveministrieswv.org/giving.