YWCA Wheeling to Give Out 37 Scholarships through OVAASA Program
WHEELING, W.Va. – May 10, 2023 – Each year, the YWCA Wheeling holds the Ohio Valley African American Student Association Banquet where nominated students receive scholarships from partnering businesses, schools and individuals to help them further their education and secure a future career path. This year, 37 students will receive a minimum of a $200 scholarship.
The YWCA Wheeling received 89 nominations from Ohio Valley schools including; Olney Friends School, Wheeling Park High School, The Linsly School, John Marshall High School, Bridgeport High School, St. Clairsville High School, Martins Ferry High School, Weirton High School, Wheeling Central High School, and Bellaire High School.
The Ohio Valley’s top African American High School seniors are being invited to receive these awards. Submission by their guidance counselors and evaluations by the committee aids the YWCA in deciding who will be honored each year. This year the banquet will be held on May 11th.
“This is the 14th year we will be holding the OVAASA Banquet to hand out scholarships and really just honor the students for their achievements over the years. The students deserve this time of recognition and each year it’s an awesome feeling to see past scholarship winners attend the banquet or want to get involved on a different level because of the impact it had on them,” said Ron Scott. Jr., Cultural Diversity & Community Outreach Director at the YWCA Wheeling and founder of OVAASA.
Community members and businesses have partnered and donated to the YWCA Wheeling to designate a gift towards students going into a certain profession.
The YWCA Wheeling is on a mission to eliminate racism, empower women, stand up for social justice, help families and strengthen our community. The organization offers programming for family violence prevention, cultural diversity and community outreach, residence and emergency homeless sheltering, human trafficking victims and non-treatment recovery. YWCA Wheeling is an active member agency of the United Way of the Upper Ohio Valley. For comprehensive information, visit www.ywcawheeling.org.
YWCA Wheeling commemorates National Crime Victims’ Rights Week April 23–29, 2023
WHEELING, W.Va – April 14, 2023 – The YWCA Wheelingis commemorating National Crime Victims’ Rights Week from April 23–29, 2023 by displaying mannequins that have been commissioned by West Liberty University Art Department students which portray thought-provoking pieces related to domestic violence, substance use disorder, hate crimes and human trafficking.
According to a report from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, in 2021, there were more than 4.6 million violent victimizations and 11.7 million property crimes, the latest year for which such information is available.
“It is crucial in our line of work to be able to hear and believe the victims we are charged with helping,” said Lori Jones, Executive Director of the YWCA Wheeling. “It is so important that the victim know they have a safe space to tell their story and know they are being believed. It’s important for their healing and to have support at every step of the criminal justice process and beyond.”
West Liberty University art students were eager to be a part of a project that would bring awareness and foster conversation around topics that are often hushed.
West Liberty University Creative Arts Therapy Instructor, Terri Giller is especially proud to be a part of this awareness project. “As an art therapist, who has worked with individuals that have experienced or who were recovering from crimes such as domestic violence, substance use disorders, human trafficking, and hate crimes, I am so grateful for this opportunity for WLU Studio Art and Creative Arts Therapy majors to participate in this project. Art has the ability to help the public understand the impact of violent crimes and the victims of crime as more than just a statistic. The visual representations can allow the viewer to see the impact of crime on victims in a whole new way or gain a deeper understanding of the experiences of others.”
The federal Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) leads communities throughout the country in their annual observances of National Crime Victims’ Rights Week by raising awareness of victims’ rights and honoring crime victims and those who advocate on their behalf. This year’s theme is “Survivor Voices: Elevate. Engage. Effect Change.”
Partner organizations are committed to engaging with victims of crime; learning from their lived experiences; amplifying their voices; and fostering an environment where they are heard, believed, and supported.
During NCVRW 2023, YWCA Wheeling will share information about victims’ rights and resources and underscore the importance of listening to survivors’ voices in every space where decisions are made that could impact them by displaying these pieces of art that invoke a sense of empathy towards the victims path.
For additional information about this year’s National Crime Victims’ Rights Week and how to assist crime victims, please contact the YWCA Wheeling at 304-232-0511 or visit our website at www.ywcawheeling.org
For more information about how to support all victims of crime, visit OVC’s website at ovc.ojp.gov.
Since 1906, the YWCA Wheeling has provided services to individuals regardless of race, gender, age, or religion in the West Virginia Northern Panhandle, including Ohio, Marshall, Brooke, Wetzel, Hancock Counties, and Belmont and Jefferson Counties in Ohio.
YWCA Wheeling Capital Campaign Kick-Off, Already Over 80% of Goal
WHEELING, W.Va. – January 11, 2023 – Expanding upon its 117-year history of eliminating racism and empowering women in the Ohio Valley, the YWCA Wheeling has secured over $9 million in their first ever Capital Campaign, with a goal of $11 million to make necessary structural repairs and upgrades to the historic building that sits on Chapline Street, meet programming needs and allow for expansion to meet the needs of the Ohio Valley. The Building Hope, Reclaiming Lives campaign hopes to raise the remaining $1.8 million to support the necessary renovations.
The “Building Hope and Reclaiming Lives” campaign began a quiet phase in 2020 and has been able to meet a significant amount of the goal through some donors and grants. The money secured from the campaign will renovate needed areas within the YWCA walls including upgrades to the elevator, increase the amount of rooms for residents, central heating and cooling, among other critical changes. The cost of the many renovations originally started at $5 million and steadily rose due to the increase of costs and needed repairs, putting the total at $11 million.
Due to the wear and tear of the building over the last 100 years coupled with the consistent growth over the years of families and individuals in need, the YWCA is in need of these renovations now more than ever before.
“Successful campaigns bring focus and unity to a shared vision,” said Executive Director, Lori Jones. “This shared vision of eliminating racism and empowering women will move the YWCA forward as we continue this critical work that our community needs, and ultimately help more people as we pivot and adapt to the complexities we face and the issues facing those we serve.”
The campaign is structed so that community members can contribute to specific target areas of their choice through naming and recognition opportunities. “The generosity of our community continues to amaze me,” added Jones. “The YWCA Wheeling relies on the kindness of individual donors, grants and foundations in order to carry out our mission, and this campaign is no exception. What will be your share?”
YWCA Wheeling Receives Purple Ribbon Awards
WHEELING, West Virginia – May 9, 2023 – The YWCA Wheeling was awarded the Purple Ribbon Awards through DomesticShelters.org in two categories; Outstanding Thrift Shop for the Y-Not-Repeat Boutique and Outstanding New Service Launch for the YWeCook Program debuting last summer. The YWCA Wheeling also nominated The Health Plan for Business Partner of the Year and they placed in that category as well.
The Purple Ribbon Awards are comprised of 34 categories and judged by a national panel of respected professionals from the domestic violence field. This is the first comprehensive awards program honouring the countless heroes of the domestic violence movement. Nominations come from all across the United States and Canada.
“We are very honoured to receive this recognition,” said Lori Jones, Executive Director of the YWCA Wheeling. “The YWCA Wheeling is in an era of change and we are striving always to be the best we can for the people we serve. Our staff and the community partnerships such as The Health Plan, is the reason we can continue this hard work that we do.”
The Health Plan has been a strong community partner with the YWCA Wheeling for several years and continues to be involved in whatever way they can.
“The Health Plan team is honored to receive the YWCA Wheeling’s Business Partner of the Year award,” said Jeff Knight, president and CEO of The Health Plan. “We are inspired by YWCA Wheeling’s mission and their impact in our communities, and we are committed to working together to drive even greater change. We remain dedicated to our shared goal of bettering the health, wellness and lives of those we serve.”
Purple Ribbon Award winners are also eligible to receive grant funding through DomesticShelters.org. The YWCA Wheeling will be a part of a virtual celebration on May 18th to share grant winner stories and celebrate the work being done to help victims and survivors of abuse.
MPLX Donates Concert Tickets to YWCA Wheeling Clients
WHEELING, West Virginia – April 4, 2023 – MPLX, the largest midstream gas processor in the Northeast, donated concert tickets to the clients and staff of the YWCA Wheeling to see Casting Crowns as they stop in Wheeling on their “The Healer Tour”.
YWCA Wheeling is sincerely honoured to receive these tickets that are available to the residents and staff who might have not been able to attend this uplifting concert otherwise.
Lori Jones, Executive Director of the YWCA Wheeling was very grateful for the thoughtfulness of MPLX. “We are extremely grateful to be the recipient of such generosity. Residents and clients seeking services and sanctuary from the YWCA Wheeling may not always have the ability or opportunity to attend an event like this, so we thank MPLX for their thoughtfulness.”
The Casting Crowns concert is taking place at the Capitol Theatre on Thursday, April 6 beginning at 7:00Pm.
MPLX is a diversified, large-cap master limited partnership formed by Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC) that owns and operates midstream energy infrastructure and logistics assets, and provides fuels distribution services. MPLX’s assets include a network of crude oil and refined product pipelines; an inland marine business; light-product terminals; storage caverns; refinery tanks, docks, loading racks, and associated piping; and crude and light-product marine terminals. The company also owns crude oil and natural gas gathering systems and pipelines as well as natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGL) processing and fractionation facilities in key U.S. supply basins.
Since 1906, the YWCA Wheeling has provided services to individuals regardless of race, gender, age, or religion in the West Virginia Northern Panhandle, including Ohio, Marshall, Brooke, Wetzel, Hancock Counties, and Belmont and Jefferson Counties in Ohio.
YWCA Wheeling Puts on Culturally Specific Escape Rooms
There’s a new one-of-a-kind experience now open in the Ohio Valley that will transport you to other cultures.
While you learn about history, you’ll also be solving a mystery.
“The Last Queen of Hawaii” escape room is now open in Wheeling.
It’s the first in a series of Culturally Specific Escape Rooms created by the YWCA Wheeling.
Ron Scott Jr., the Director of Cultural Diversity and Community Outreach at the YWCA Wheeling, said he was inspired to think of a new way to get his message across.
No matter how cool the power point might be, that isn’t how they learn or how they’ll get it. So we thought if we can come up with something that’s more hands-on or immersive that I think there’d be a whole group of folks we could link in. So, we decided to put the message into something like an escape room.RON SCOTT JR., DIRECTOR OF CULTURAL DIVERSITY & COMMUNITY OUTREACH, YWCA WHEELING
This first room is dedicated to Hawaiian and Polynesian culture.
The YWCA Wheeling partnered with the company Glass Eye Worx to make it happen.
“It “The Last Queen of Hawaii” immerses participants in a specific scenario, giving them a hands-on way to learn about different cultures that exist in our communities.
Scott said participants don’t even realize they are learning because they’re having so much fun solving the room’s puzzles.
There’s still a lot of that history that is very personal and very emotional to the people from Hawaii. Events like this you really get a chance to examine that and talk to folks about it. Not one group has gone through yet that didn’t’ still have questions when they were done.RON SCOTT JR., DIRECTOR OF CULTURAL DIVERSITY & COMMUNITY OUTREACH, YWCA WHEELING
The Last Queen of Hawaii Escape room is now open inside the former book store at West Virginia Northern Community College at 1704 Market Street in Wheeling.
It will be there until April 30 before being transformed into a new culture.
Groups of three to six people are ideal for the room size and puzzles.
The escape room is $10 per person and $5 per student under 12. A portion of the proceeds go back to the YWCA Wheeling to support its mission and programs.
If you’d like to sign-up for a time slot follow the QR code attached to the flyer.
