BECKLEY, W.Va. (WOAY) – A Beckley woman took the initiative to make sure local kids have the opportunity to learn about STEM fields.
“Our job market is changing, so we have to change with it,” said founder of East Beckley Community Transformation Center Vickie Webb. “A lot of things are going to technology. You’re going ot be either writing a program or running the robotics.
Webb pitched the idea for a Community Transformation Center to councilwoman Janine Bullock last year. It seemed to take off in no time, with donation after donation rolling in. The center received so many computer monitor donations, Webb says they will be re-donated to local schools.
The center has equipment to help teach kids about coding, robotics and more. Right now, the center has five computers up and running for people to use. Webb says the center is far from finished, as she has several ideas she hopes to expand on in the future.
For now, the center is too small to have regular operating hours. For information on when the center will be available for use, how to volunteer to help or teach a class, or to make a donation, contact Vickie Webb at (304) 222-5532.
Webb said the center would not have been possible without the following:
- Beckley Housing Authority
- Mayor Rob Rappold
- Barbara Rappold
- Sean Cook, Adult Education Coordinator — Southern Education Services Cooperative
- Healthcare Associates
- Beckley Area Foundation
- Academy of Careers & Technology
- City National Bank
- NASA SEMMA
- Darlene English
- Janine Bullock-Councilwoman Ward 5
- Mary Mills – NAACP
- Ann Worley – Councilwoman Ward 2
- BEAUTY – Retired Black Teachers
- Community volunteers from WWHS, WVU Tech, Davis & Elkins College, Bluefield School of Nursing, Retired
- Vintage Village
- Resa Ash
- Teachers and other community members
- Downtown Beckley Business Associatoin
- West Virginia State University
