The Caring City: Wheeling’s Longstanding and Successful Social Services Organizations Kelly Strautmann August 14, 2020 Wheeling may be considered small, but its community outreach is the opposite. Few small towns can boast they have as many longstanding, successful nonprofit social service organizations as Wheeling. Wheeling...
COVID-19: Mask-Makers Are Doing ‘Sew’ Much to Help Phyllis Sigal March 30, 2020 Editor’s note: At Weelunk, we’re all about keeping you connected to your community. Because that looks a little different right now, we’re bringing you ways to engage while staying safe and healthy. We hope Wee...
John Moses: ‘You Name It, They Come to Our Door’ Betsy Bethel-McFarland March 20, 2020 In times of crisis, a leader who serves the most vulnerable people in a community needs three things: broad shoulders, thick skin and a compassionate heart. Youth Services System Inc. CEO John Moses couldn’t...
YSS Seeks Safe Solutions as Winter Freeze Shelter Comes to a Close Provided March 7, 2020 The Winter Freeze Shelter at Youth Services System, 87 15th St., will close for the 2019-20 season after Sunday, March 15. More than 250 individuals were served in the 2019-20 season, bringing the 11-year total...
Being Good Samaritans — A Primer for Wheeling Citizens Ellen Brafford McCroskey February 26, 2020 You’re headed home from work on a brisk winter evening. The light turns red, and you hit the brake, mentally planning where you’ll stop to grab take-out for dinner. While you’re debating between pizza or Chines...
Wheeling Mayor Glenn Elliott’s State of the City Address Glenn Elliott February 25, 2020 Editor's note: Mayor Glenn Elliott presented the State of the City Address today, Feb. 25, 2020, at Wheeling Island Hotel-Racetrack-Casino Showroom before an audience of hundreds. Here are the prepared remarks ...
Community Foundation, Women’s Giving Circle Award Grants Provided February 20, 2020 The Community Foundation for the Ohio Valley (CFOV) and the Women's Giving Circle awarded grants this week totaling over $105,000. CFOV awarded Community Impact grants to 10 organizations in the amount of $6...
SleepOut Proves How Homelessness Can Hit Home Cassie Bendel November 16, 2019 Iam a total wimp. When it came down to it, I lasted about an hour at last week’s Wheeling SleepOut for Youth Services System Inc. Thankfully, my participation was limited to that of spectator, but the experi...
YSS Wheeling SleepOut Raises More Than $65,000 Provided November 15, 2019 Despite the frigid temperatures, area residents flocked by the dozens last week to Youth Services System’s ninth annual Wheeling SleepOut to support local youth facing homelessness. It was in the 20s, b...
Wheeling SleepOut Builds Community Support for Youth Facing Homelessness Provided November 2, 2019 To help combat local youth homelessness, Youth Services System Inc. is hosting the ninth annual Wheeling SleepOut on Nov. 8-9. at the Miracle League Field at J.B. Chambers I-470 Complex. The SleepOut is an a...
Youth Services System Opens Winter Freeze Shelter Early for Women Provided November 1, 2019 Youth Services System Inc. will open its Winter Freeze Shelter at 87 15th St. one month early — on Nov. 15 — for women only. It will begin serving both men and women on the regular opening date, Dec. 15. YSS...
Wee Asked Terra Crews Betsy Bethel-McFarland October 14, 2019 Editor's note: WEEasked some simple questions — and your neighbors, friends, co-workers, acquaintances, even some strangers, answered. Get to know them a little bit better with our fun series, “WEEasked.” Look ...
YSS Wheeling SleepOut Art Installation: Calls Attention to Youth Homelessness Provided October 6, 2019 A couch, a car, a tent. To most of us, these are emblems of comfort, freedom, fun. To local youth experiencing homelessness, they are the only things keeping them from sleeping on the streets. To draw attent...
YSS Program Seeks Mentors for Local Kids Provided September 20, 2019 As the number of local children who could benefit from positive adult role models in their lives continues to grow, more volunteer mentors are needed, according to Amy Halicky, Youth Mentoring Network coordinat...
YSS Hosts Meeting to Address Needs of Homeless Women, Families in Wheeling Provided September 5, 2019 Twenty-three leaders — from city officials to health care professionals to social service providers — put their heads together Wednesday to discuss how to meet the needs of women and families who are experienci...
Vineyard at 40: Still a ‘Rock and Roll Church’ Nora Edinger August 23, 2019 The naked ladies were a bit of a stretch, but if there were ever a church that could cope with Art Nouveau statues in its “sanctuary,” the Vineyard would be it. “We Photoshopped Hawaiian shirts on them,” lea...
Tickets Available for YSS Good Samaritan Dinner Honoring Charlie Schlegel Provided August 6, 2019 The Youth Services System Inc. Board of Directors will host the 12th annual Good Samaritan Dinner at 5:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 16, at the Wheeling Park White Palace. Charlie Schlegel, chef/owner of Ye Olde Alpha R...
YSS Celebrates Community, Growth and 45 Years of Service Jessica Broverman June 21, 2019 For 45 years, Youth Services System Inc. has provided the Ohio Valley with programs to assist anyone in need of a warm bed, a hot meal and endless hope. As this year marks the agency’s milestone anniversary,...
Youth Services System Names Schlegel 2019 Good Samaritan Provided April 24, 2019 The question restaurant owner Charlie Schlegel asks himself when anyone calls seeking a charitable donation isn’t “Why should I?” but “Why wouldn’t I?” Giving is second nature to Schlegel, who was raised one...
Out of the Ashes Comes a New Partnership Provided April 12, 2019 Out of the ashes comes a new partnership for Catholic Charities West Virginia (CCWVa) and the Ziegenfelder Company. The Ziegenfelder Company, a Wheeling plant known for making Budget Saver Twin and Monster P...
Holy Local Superhero, Batman! (And Happy Birthday!) Ellen Brafford McCroskey March 30, 2019 Editor's note: Today, Saturday, March 30, is Batman's 80th birthday! In honor of the Caped Crusader’s birthday, the Ohio Valley Batman is encouraging participants at the #selfiestation at Macy’s at the Ohio Val...
Woodsdale Fifth-Graders Donate Tents to Freeze Shelter Provided March 14, 2019 Fifth-graders at Woodsdale Elementary School recently raised enough money to buy 15 tents for people who use the Youth Services System Inc. Winter Freeze Shelter, which will be closing for the season Saturday m...
Winter Freeze Shelter to Close March 15, Looking for Donations of Tents, Sleeping Bags Provided March 8, 2019 Friday, March 15, is the final night of the 2018-19 season for the Winter Freeze Shelter operated at 87 15th St., the headquarters of Youth Services System Inc. The Winter Freeze Shelter offers overnight she...
Cigna Employee Lends a Helping Hand to YSS Youth Mentoring Network Provided March 4, 2019 Colette Sanner knows a thing or two about children in need. As a foster mom, she has learned the ins and outs and ups and downs of the system and the children it serves. Also a former mentor with Big Brothers B...
(Williams Lea) Tag — You’re It Phyllis Sigal March 1, 2019 Along with the fact that there are 100 job openings, why should you consider working at Williams Lea Tag? Because it “feels like home, like family,” said Jennifer Materkoski, senior manager of communications...
Wee Asked Betsy Bethel Phyllis Sigal February 11, 2019 WEEasked some simple questions — and your neighbors, friends, co-workers, acquaintances, even some strangers, answered. Get to know them a little bit better with our fun series, “WEEasked.” Look for it a couple...
Youth Mentoring Network of YSS Celebrates Life-affirming Relationships Provided February 5, 2019 The Youth Mentoring Network of Youth Services System Inc. celebrated the life-affirming relationships between mentors and mentees by treating them to a fancy dinner at Wheeling Country Club. On Wednesday, Ja...
WCDS Students Give Warm Message to Homeless Provided January 24, 2019 Twenty-five second-graders from Wheeling Country Day School took a Martin Luther King Jr. Day field trip in frigid weather Monday to fill plastic bags with hand warmers and heartwarming messages for the homeles...
The Good and the Ugly: Ye Olde Alpha Customers Donate $6K to YSS in Ugly Server Contest Provided January 13, 2019 Here’s a tip: If you want to raise the most money for a good cause, wear red velour overalls festooned with Santa hats and stockings, and weave candy-cane swirls into your hair. Ye Olde Alpha server Catrina ...
Recovery Coach Certification Now Offered Locally Ellen Brafford McCroskey December 12, 2018 “Transformed people transform people.” Those words coined by spiritual author Richard Rohr are the motto of the Center for Addiction Recovery Training’s Recovery Coach Academy, now being offered locally. ...
Can You Spare an Afternoon to Strike Up a Mentorship? Kelly Strautmann November 28, 2018 You don’t have to go far in the Ohio Valley to find good people willing to help others. Good things are happening at the St. Clair Lanes in St. Clairsville on Sunday, and you’re invited. The fun afternoon wi...
SleepOut Raises More Than $56,000 Provided November 18, 2018 The Wheeling SleepOut took place on Friday, Nov. 2, at the Miracle League Field at the J.B. Chambers Sports Complex off I-470. It raised more than $56,000 for Youth Services System Inc.’s Transitional Living Pr...
United Way, Southwestern Energy Fund Mental Health Program in Schools Provided November 14, 2018 A charity clay shoot fundraiser hosted earlier this year by Southwestern Energy and the United Way of the Upper Ohio Valley will help to fund a much-needed program in the Ohio Valley — the Expanded School Menta...
Wheeling SleepOut Gets $10,000 Jolt From AEP Provided November 1, 2018 American Electric Power presented a check for $10,000 to Youth Services System Inc. in support of the eighth annual Wheeling SleepOut, an event held to raise awareness and money to address the critical problem ...
Zieggy Tribe Honored at YSS Good Samaritan Dinner Nick Musgrave August 19, 2018 1 Wheeling Park’s White Palace Ballroom was packed Friday night for the annual Youth Service System (YSS) Good Samaritan Tribute. The event honored Lisa and Barry Allen, leaders of the Ziegenfelder Company — a co...