With the extreme downsizing of industry in the Ohio Valley, and 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 local families has significantly decreased.

The Wheeling Park Commission has long serviced the needs of the citizenry of Ohio County and the surrounding areas through the Oglebay Park Children’s Association program and free admission to many facilities for non-profit youth-service organizations. The latest, and most comprehensive undertaking, is Access to the Parks, a program started in 1999. Access was founded to allow youngsters who ordinarily would not be able to afford the facility fees at Oglebay and Wheeling Park to visit and enjoy their favorite recreational activities on a regular basis. These activities include swimming, Par-3 golf, tennis, fishing, boating, skiing, ice-skating, the Good Zoo, and more.

More than half of the youngsters in Ohio County qualify to enroll in Access to the Parks and approximately 2,000 of them take advantage of the program each year. This translates into almost 20,000 visits a year. Annual cost of the program exceeds $175,000 per year, with an additional $10,000 needed for transportation costs. Your annual gift, or endowment gift, to Access to the Parks will make it possible for even more young people to build treasured memories at Oglebay and Wheeling Park.