Access to the Parks

With the extreme downsizing of the industrial base of the Ohio Valley and either the closure or the moving of many companies, the economic base for Wheeling and the surrounding areas has become a challenge. As a result of this, the income level of many of the families has significantly decreased.

The Wheeling Park Commission, through Oglebay and Wheeling Parks, has long serviced the needs of the entire citizenry of Ohio County and the surrounding areas. Programs have been developed over the years to allow access to the parks by thousands of youngsters who under normal circumstances could not afford either the transportation or the use cost of a wide variety of facilities. These facilities include swimming, golf, tennis, children's zoo, ice-skating, boating, fishing, and others. Many educational and instructional programs are also included.

This past year 40% of the youngsters in Ohio County qualified for the free or reduced lunch programs within the public school system. This translates to over 3,000 youngsters that come from families whose financial base makes it difficult for them to participate in many community activities.

Approximately 2,000 children take advantage of the program initiating over 20,000 visits a year to Oglebay and Wheeling Parks. In addition to the public school systems, over 25 youth serving organizations in the area participate in this program. Activities include swimming, golf, tennis, children's zoo, museum, outdoor theater programs, ice-skating, and educational programs. In addition, over $10,000 a year is being currently spent on providing free transportation from all areas of the community. Annual cost of this program now exceeds $125,000 per year. Donations to Access to the Parks make it possible for even more children to build treasured memories of having fun at Oglebay or Wheeling Park.

An effort is also being made to obtain $2.5 million dollars to create an endowment fund to serve as the economic catalyst to take this Access to the Parks Program into the future. It is anticipated that the funds being generated from this endowment serve as a matching source so that program now concentrated primarily in Ohio County can be expanded to youth of the entire Northern Panhandle and adjacent counties in Eastern Ohio.

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