West Rehoboth Children and Youth Program celebrates 20 years

West Side New Beginnings was formed in 1990 and became incorporated in April 1992. An executive committee was chosen to focus on the goal of WSNB to make the community a better, safer place for area youth and families to live.

Our mission is to establish a cohesive network to address the needs and concerns of the community as they relate to alcohol, tobacco and other drugs, as well as housing, nutrition, education, recreation and self-esteem.

The West Rehoboth Children and Youth Program under the auspices of WSNB Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, began in 2002 with after-school mentoring classes held at the WSNB Community Center.

Brenda Milbourne, co-founder and executive director, and Diaz J. Bonville, co-founder and president of WSNB Inc., are the pioneer organizers of the program. They have been recognized at both the local and state levels for their community service.

A summer program was added in 2003, with additional funding through grants and contributions. In 2005, the summer program was upgraded to increase the emphasis on literacy. The core mission of West Rehoboth Children and Youth Program is to promote literacy, learning and health by providing wholesome after-school and summer enrichment activities for the children of the community. The program is aimed at giving them a chance to succeed in the busy world outside West Rehoboth.

We tell our children where they live does not dictate what they will become, and other people do not decide their future. They decide their own habits; then their habits decide what their future holds. The WRCYP team works to “make the impossible possible by expanding young minds.”  

Since the program’s inception, several  former students and student volunteers have attended and graduated from colleges/universities with degrees in subjects including art, music, law, criminal justice, business administration, accounting, education, information technology, sociology, cosmetology, culinary arts, marketing and more. They have completed studies at the Delaware State Police Academy, and pursued careers in public health and public policy, recording and visual arts, and computer science and web design. Colleges and universities attended include Delaware Technical Community College, University of Delaware and Delaware State University, Drexel, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Goldey-Beacom College, Grambling State, Hampton, Howard, Keystone, Loyola, North Carolina A&T, Philadelphia Arts School, Tennessee State, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, University of South Carolina, Johnson & Wales, and Wilmington University. 

Students have received the Mountaire Better Delmarva Award for community service, participated in Pathways to Success fair housing training, and earned recognition as Cape Henlopen School District Distinguished Students in math and reading based on outstanding test results. Two of our youth are recipients of WBOC-TV Jefferson Awards, three are recipients of Better Delmarva Awards, two were featured in Delaware Beach Life magazine for raising funds to help the homeless, and one received the Ellendale Community Civic Improvement Association Award for community service.

Two students were selected to represent West Rehoboth and Delaware State University at the National 4-H Youth Development Program, and seven earned awards at Delaware State University Summer Enrichment Program for superior academic achievement, and outstanding youth leadership and community service. Several students were selected into the acclaimed Minority Engineering Regional Incentive Training program for academically gifted and talented minority youth.

WRCYP children volunteer in their community delivering meals to seniors, picking up trash, planting and taking care of flower gardens, and setting up and cleaning tables at the community center.

West Rehoboth Children and Youth Program is a recipient of the Governor’s Youth Volunteer Service Award for a variety of community service projects totaling more than 1,000 hours. It has received proclamations recognizing its dedication to enriching the youth of Sussex County through academic and recreational activities, and recognizing July 22 as West Rehoboth Children and Youth Program Day.

West Rehoboth Children and Youth Program is now 20 years old as of July 23, serving children, youth and their families in the community.

We could not have done and continue to do all this without the support of so many caring individuals, organizations, businesses, sponsors, churches and others. We are forever grateful.

Thank you to all our loyal, caring and concerned supporters for your ongoing support. We are all in this together to save our children, because they are our future.

For more information or to donate, contact Diaz Bonville at 302-528-2265 or Diaz122455@aol.com, or Brenda Milbourne at 302-362-0353. Send written communications/donations to WRCYP, 19801 Norwood St., Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971. Please make checks payable to WRCYP.