Disability Action Center gets $50K windfall to develop wellness center

Times West Virginian - 5/3/2023

May 3—FAIRMONT — The Disability Action Center is $50,000 closer to making its Wilfong Wellness Center a reality.

When the DAC was forced to relocate after several bouts of flooding two years, W.Va. Sen. Mike Caputo, D-13, was one of the first to commit dollars to the helping the nonprofit purchase a new building.

Now, as the DAC prepares to raise funds for its first expansion project, Caputo is, again, one of the first major donors, committing $50,000 of his senate discretionary funds to the project

Each state senator is given the opportunity to submit projects for grant dollars and when given the chance, Caputo couldn't think of a more deserving project than what the DAC is doing on Leonard Avenue.

"The DAC is something that is going to support this community for generations to come. You put a roof on someplace or provide money for a little project, those are nice things... but an investment here is an investment in the community for generations," Caputo said. "When you invest in people, it's absolutely incredible what can happen."

The source of the $50,000 is the same discretionary funds where Caputo and former Sen. Bob Beach joined together to present $200,000 to the DAC to assist with their relocation effort in 2021.

With its programs and clients settled into their new home, DAC Executive Director Julie Sole was quick to set her sights on the future.

"We could've stopped with the renovation of this main facility, but we saw the hope, we saw the promise and we saw the opportunity from these other properties around us," Sole said. "We could've stopped and be happy, but this is an opportunity to... build a state-of-the-art wellness center that puts people with disabilities first."

The DAC has begun to acquire the properties adjacent to their new facility.

The two plots where the wellness center will be built have already been razed and there are plans to acquire several more of the nearby structures for further expansion.

For now, though, Sole is focused on building the Wilfong Wellness Center.

"This will put people with disabilities first. It's not a little section of what we do, we're not building a little small area... this is their area first, then we open it up to the community," Sole said. "We understand that everything we do here is disability service focused first, but right behind that is community service."

Sole estimates that the DAC is around one-third of the way toward its $1.1 million goal, and is still raising funds and writing grants.

Caputo encouraged anyone looking for a good cause to donate to, to consider sending money toward the DAC's expansion.

"I want to see this place continue to grow until we have no more room to grow and I want to see it be a gem of this community to benefit those people who are maybe not as fortunate as us," Caputo said. "They say, 'The gift that keeps on giving,' well this place really is the gift that keeps giving."

Reach David Kirk at 304-367-2522

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