Press Release

Scott's Run Settlement House Provides New Purpose After Church Closure

Pursglove, WV – April 29, 2024 – Scott’s Run Settlement House, an area 501(c)3 focused on food insecurity across Monongalia County for the past 100+ years, is moving to a new location.  The new SRSH base of operations will be located at 750 Fairchance Rd, Morgantown, WV 26508 in the former Cheat Lake United Methodist Church building.

It was with heavy hearts that the congregation at Cheat Lake United Methodist Church acknowledged it must close. They desired to leave a legacy of their ministry as a United Methodist Church and began exploring possibilities with Scott’s Run Settlement House.

“Our church had served the local community for over 60 years, and we prayed that the church building would continue to be used in some capacity for the greater good. We were ecstatic when it was announced that Scott's Run Settlement House would be moving to our building! Our prayers were answered!” stated one church member.

Since 1926, the mission of Scott’s Run has grown from serving hundreds in the Osage community to serving thousands across Monongalia County, all from its current location on 41 Lady Bug Lane in Osage.  However, the aging building can no longer meet the growing organization's needs.  The severe lack of parking has become problematic as mass pickup days have created hazardous traffic conditions throughout the community while trying to serve ten times the number of families. Limited ADA compliance presents challenging conditions navigating the building for clients and volunteers.  The overall deterioration of the structure, including immediate needs to replace the HVAC system, resurfacing of the parking lot and restructuring the curb, will continue to worsen over the coming years.  

Michael Richard, Executive Director stated, “This next chapter of Scott’s Run Settlement House is an opportunity to have a new location that can continue to serve our clients and community, while providing transformational improvements and areas to expand in the future. The Fairchance Road location is a much newer building, boasts significantly more parking and is on a current bus line that our Osage location is not. This move is essential to continuing our mission of ‘being a place to turn to’ for the people of Monongalia County. We are very excited to provide a new location that is more accessible and better suited for our next 100 years.”

While Scott’s Run Settlement House was chartered in 1922 to serve a massive influx of immigrants relocating to Osage, WV for mining jobs, the mission has truly expanded to all of Monongalia County over the past several decades.  Today’s client base is spread across western, central and eastern areas of the county with heavy concentrations in the Westover, Downtown, Suncrest and Brookhaven areas. For some, our clients extend even beyond the county’s border into Marion and Preston counties.  Over time, as the general population of Monongalia County migrated further east, need in the central and eastern areas of the county also increased.  With the move, Scott’s Run seeks to continue to serve the full client base and be positioned to support additional needs across the county.

“We have been fortunate to be affiliated with the WV United Methodist Conference and to receive its support throughout the years, including use of our current building” says Jessica Bright, Board of Directors President. “As the board considered how to best serve the full Mon County community for what we hope is another 100 years, it was a blessing to be offered a rare opportunity of a far newer, more modern building and a small fund to help retrofit it to its new mission.”   

The food pantry will begin the process of packing up and moving to the Fairchance Road location beginning May 25th. The move is expected to be completed by June 9th with services resuming June 10th.  

During the move, the food pantry will be closed to the public. However, resources will be posted and available for other area agencies available for urgent needs at that time. Current clients will be scheduled for immediately before or after the move to minimize the risk of anyone missing out on regular services. 

Following the move, the Mountain Line Transit Authority has confirmed that, upon request, the Eastern Circulator line will be able to extend from the Mon-Fayette Industrial Park stop to the SRSH Fairchance Road location. 

“We have been based in the Osage area for more than a century, and while we are excited about our future move, we still want to continue our presence in this part of the county. Once a week, we will offer regularly scheduled pantry services at the original Osage location, exclusively for residents in the western side of the county, to ensure that they continue receiving the services they need. Additionally, we will continue to bring fresh produce for our Free Market at least twice a week to ensure that people in the Osage area can continue to access healthy and fresh food.” said Devon McDaniel, Assistant Director

Scott’s Run Settlement House is grateful for the support of the broader Mon County community over the past 100 years. SRSH looks forward to continuing to serve area clients for many years to come.

If you would like to provide feedback or have questions about the relocation, a form is available on the website at srsh.org.  If you need assistance or would like to learn how you can help, reach out by phone to 304-599-5020 or also on the website.

Scott’s Run Settlement House provides services for those in Monongalia County finding themselves in economic hardship. Scott’s Run tries to address the root cause of why community members need help, and then create a customized approach for each need. From job interview coaching, to informational assistance, the agency does more than just provide food to those in need. Coordinated programs provided include a food pantry, a backpack feeding program, senior food boxes, various seasonal outreach programs, and a free farmer’s market weekly. The food pantry includes canned, frozen and fresh food and personal items, baby items including diapers, school supplies and pet food. Scott’s Run proudly partners with the United Women in Faith, the United Way of Mon and Preston Counties, the Mountaineer Foodbank and Empty Bowls Monongalia.

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