Warren Coalition’s Love Our Community event pulls crowd despite cold

The Warren Coalition concluded a successful membership drive for the “We See You, Warren County” program with a “Love Our Community” event on Tuesday, February 15^th outside of Raymond E. Santmyers Youth Center. During the event, which attracted dozens of people despite the cold weather, community volunteers were doused with cold water balloons in the popular “Polar Pitch.”

Children made valentines and wrote love notes to their community, then took pictures with a giant “love” sign created by the Warren Coalition’s Julia Laurent and Ryan Cubbage. Families enjoyed free hot chocolate, granola bars, and Hershey kisses. There was a guess-the-number-of-candies-in-the-jar game as well as drawings for bracelets, coffee, pop-its, and stuffed animals. The photo booth was entertaining, along with a constant flow of music and some impromptu dancing. In addition, resilience materials were given away to families; these kits help parents and children learn how to build resilience, a key component of preventing drug and alcohol misuse.

Of course, there was also a table for registering for the We See You, Warren County program, which brought in seven new memberships in less than an hour. Overall, the membership drive ran February 7^th-15^th and resulted in 40 new members for the program, a resounding success.

“We are thankful for the support of all the volunteers who came to the event to set up, run stations, and clean up,” said Warren Coalition Executive Director Christa Shifflett. “We are grateful to the volunteers who were courageous enough to get a water balloon dropped on their head in the middle of February. Their commitment to our community is palpable and hope-inspiring!”

The seven Polar Pitch Burst volunteers were: Beth Waller of What Matters Now & Beth Medved Waller, Inc. Real Estate; Front Royal Police Chief Kahle Magalis; Warren County Sheriff Mark Butler; Jen Avery of Jen Avery, REALTOR & Jenspiration, LLC; Terry Caldwell of House of Hope; Kyle Dulapa of Marlow Motors; and Bret Hrbek of Edward Jones.

It took five “We See You, Warren County” registrations to get a volunteer into the “cold” seat of the Polar Pitch Burst. With no more volunteers on stand-by for the Pitch Burst, when the registrations hit 40, Shifflett took a seat with no hesitation. Once she was dripping wet, Cubbage, who had been running the Polar Pitch, took a seat, getting an extra dousing when the community volunteers helped the kids dump the extra tubs of water onto him.

We See You, Warren County, is a program of intentionally reaching out to others, to help build a sense of connection within Warren County. Developing a sense of belonging within the community helps improve mental health and prevent drug and alcohol misuse. There is no cost to the program; signing up is simply commitment to do your best to participate. Individuals, businesses, and organizations are welcome to join. For more information, visit weseeyou.warrencoalition.org, visit the Facebook group at facebook.com/groups/wecuwc, or email wc@warrencoalition.org.

Easton Avery, Willow Rutz and Jo Rutz

Grandmom Phyllis Pierpoint and Berkley Pierpoint enjoy the photo booth during the Love Our Community event.

Tina Culbreath, from I’m Just Me Because Movement, and Jen Avery with the LOVE sign.

Robbie Sealock, Jen Avery and Kahle Magalis

Ryan Cubbage and Christa Shifflett having a little fun; Christa was taunting the kids to get them fired up as she sat in the chair.

Ryan had the COLD buckets dumped on his head by the children. They LOVED it!

Christa Shifflett

Kyle Dulapa

Mark Butler

Terry Caldwell

Beth Medved Waller

Bret Hrbek

Kahle Magalis