Hometown Hero: Betty Brainerd & The Wade Center

BLUEFIELD, W.Va. (WVVA) -

“The Wade Center is set up as an after school christian-based after school program for children. So they’d have a place to go. They’ll have a hot meal. There’ll be tutored, we have extracurricular activities that we do also, but it’s a safe place to come to after school if there’s no one at home,” said Betty Brainerd.

Brainerd is the powerhouse executive director behind the Wade Center.

”I’m loving it. If I wasn’t having fun, I would stop, but I’m having fun.”

While she may be the executive director, she will be the first to tell you educating our children and executing the mission of this place is not only a team effort, but a community one.

“Number one, my staff, you’re only as good as your staff. And they support me and I support them,” said Brainerd.

“Several groups, Family Carpet, who just put in the carpet. Lowe’s just provided a lot of our paint and our new bathroom fixtures. Citizen’s Supply helped me out with the windows and they actually got ten windows for the price of nine.”

The wealth of new programs are continually being added to foster that sense of discovery for our children.

“Last year, we got them out of this area as much as possible. A lot of them had never been to an exhibition mine to a coal mine; they knew what a coal mine was but they’d never envisioned what it was really like..[We went to] the Sanders’ House, just over the hill. A lot of them had never been there. We went there. We made butttermilk you know, that’s something they’ve never done.”

When it come to the legacy of folks like Betty Brainerd and the Wade Center these are her thoughts:

“My legacy is not important. I’m going to come and go the legacy of the Wade Center to be here and provide for these children that need this type of care and this type of influence and guidance.”

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