The Yellow Springs Senior Center is planning to erect a memorial plaque honoring the Reverend Dr. Wesley S. Matthews. The plaque will be installed on the front of the Senior Center building, right in the heart of downtown Yellow Springs. In the 1970s Reverend Matthews organized local leadership and other community members to create the first Yellow Springs Senior Center, where he served as Director for 16 years.
Today, the Yellow Springs Senior Center continues to provide an array of support services, several begun by Reverend Matthews, that enhance the dignity and quality of life for older adults living in Yellow Springs and Miami Township.
Reverend Matthews served as Pastor of Central Chapel A.M.E. Church in Yellow Springs in the 1940s and helped organize the sit-in that ended Jim Crow seating at the Little Art Theatre. He also instituted a Youth Community Center, an interracial organization serving the needs of youth in the neighborhood. In addition to his contributions in the Yellow Springs community, he was also founded and directed the Greene County Commission on Aging, a precursor to the Greene County Council on Aging.
To honor Reverend Matthews’s dedication to building a supportive community for senior adults in our village, a public dedication ceremony will be held to unveil a bronze plaque of Reverend Matthews. All proceeds from this Giving Tuesday will go to the creation and installation of this memorial plaque honoring the Reverend Dr. Wesley S. Matthews.