This year’s Morgantown Area Partnership Non-Profit of the Year award goes to a place where shared vision has turned into lasting impact: Hazel’s House of Hope.
Hazel’s House of Hope is a community hub where social service organizations work together under one roof to better meet the needs of Morgantown and Monongalia County.
“To be honored in this way is humbling,” Seth Wilson, chairman of the Hazel’s House of Hope Board of Directors, shared. “But I think it speaks to the collaboration of the community—to envision this and bring it into reality.”
A former Ramada hotel, the property was acquired by WVU Medicine through a grant from the Hazel Ruby McQuain Charitable Trust. Since then, it has evolved into a dynamic space supporting everything from food distribution to literacy programs, addiction recovery, housing access, and healthcare services.
“They really wanted to create a space where agencies could come together and truly meet the needs of the community,” said Brandi Helms, CEO of United Way of Monongalia and Preston Counties.
The United Way runs several programs from the facility, including Helpful Harvest, a large-scale food distribution initiative, and Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, which provides free books to children from birth to age five.
“We needed a space large enough to pack food, store deliveries, and get supplies out efficiently,” said Helms. “Hazel’s made that possible.”
What makes Hazel’s House of Hope especially innovative is the way it enables collaboration between organizations. From tackling homelessness to addressing food insecurity and providing mental health services, agencies now share space, ideas, and solutions.
“We’re proud to co-locate organizations that used to work separately,” Wilson said. “Together, we can serve individuals and families more effectively.”
The space continues to grow—soon, Milan Puskar Health Right will join the campus, adding another vital layer of care to an already robust network.
Throughout it all, the Morgantown Area Partnership has been a committed supporter, helping champion the vision and connect partners along the way.
“This project only works because people believed in it and worked together,” said Wilson.
Hazel’s House of Hope stands as a reminder of what’s possible when a community aligns its values, resources, and heart. It’s not just a nonprofit. It’s a model for how shared space can lead to shared success.
