Local students entering grades sixth through eight this fall are invited to a free Pool Party hosted by Warren Coalition! This annual event will be held on Sunday, August 11th, from 7:30 pm to 9:30 pm at Claude A. Stokes Community Pool. The Coalition is excited to welcome Young Life back to the Pool Party for added activities and fun.
Although admission to the pool party is free, the Coalition will accept donations of nonperishable food for those in need. This includes pasta, rice, cereal, meat or fish in pouches, and canned vegetables, meats, and fruits.
Supervision is provided; parents are welcome to stay but are not required to do so. This event is open to all students entering grades six through eight, whether they attend public or private school, or are homeschooled. For more information, email Celeste Brooks at celeste@warrencoalition.org.
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library provides a free book every month for registered children from birth through their fifth birthday. The Warren Coalition’s HALO Read program supports the Imagination Library by supplying mailing costs and handling the administrative work in Warren County.
Book Character Adoption & Drawing
Upon donating $10 to the HALO Read program (which supports Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in Warren County), you may “adopt” a book character. If you provide your address, we will send you a thank-you bookmark! On June 5th, or when all of the characters are adopted, we will hold a drawing for a $50 Play Favorites gift card. If we draw your character, you win! The winner will be notified via email and/or text, and the character will be posted to our Facebook page.
Note: Characters blocked out and/or not listed have already been adopted. The list of characters will be updated once per day and are awarded on a first-come, first-served basis.
FRONT ROYAL, VA— Nominations are now open for the 2024 Larry M. Funk Memorial Award for Outstanding Service to Children in Warren County, VA. This award was established by the Warren Coalition in 2022 to recognize an individual whose dedication and service to the children of Warren County have made a positive impact on them. The recipient, in 2022, was Roger Smelzer. Last year’s recipient was Laura Nelson Haas.
The award is open to anyone who serves children in any way, though if it is their profession, the nominator will need to explain the way in which they go above and beyond their normal job requirements. Nominators are asked to explain the contributions made to the children and youth of Warren County, cite some specific examples, and list five outstanding qualities of the nominee.
Nominations can be made online at https://bit.ly/LarryFunkAward. (Note that the link is case-sensitive.) A panel will review the nomination packages, and the selected recipient will be presented with a plaque and $500 cash at the Warren Coalition’s Annual Membership Luncheon in late July. Nominations are due May 15, 2024.
Larry M. Funk was a member of Warren Coalition for more than 20 years, serving in a number of positions to include Vice President and President during that time. The Warren County Sheriff Department employed Larry for over 28 years, and 27 of those were as the D.A.R.E. instructor and Community Policing representative. He received many awards and recognitions from community organizations such as Kiwanis, Elks Lodge, Moose Lodge, Warren County Sheriff Department, Warren County Board of Supervisors, and American Legion Post 53, just to name a few. His many activities included presentations at events and distribution of educational materials for the youth of Warren County. This included many bike rodeos; Warren County Fair booths; Warren Memorial Hospital annual health fair; drug awareness displays; car shows; and car seat safety checks. He coordinated and organized the annual D.A.R.E. day, which was the culmination of a year of planning for the fifth graders of Warren County Public Schools as part of the D.A.R.E education during the school year.
At his church, Larry served as an elder, assistant Sunday school superintendent, and a youth Sunday school teacher. His family recalled that he would practice his presentations for hours until he got it just the way he wanted to present it. He took great pride working with the children of the community. Students and former adult students would frequently greet him with hugs whenever they would see him. Larry’s impact was great and long lasting.
Larry was married for 38 years; the proud father of two sons; and grandfather of five grandchildren. He loved spending time with them and especially teaching them.
Warren Coalition is a nonprofit agency established in 1994 to help fill the gaps in health care and substance abuse awareness to the community. The Coalition began under the guidance of Warren Memorial Hospital as an outreach project, but it has since grown and was incorporated in 2001. The office is currently located in the Warren County Community Center. Their mission is to make Warren County a safe, healthy, and drug free community through many programs and in collaboration with 15+ member agencies.
It is time for teams to rigorously train for—or at least register for—the second annual Warren County Rocks Scavenger Hunt being held on Sunday, April 28th! This fundraiser for the Warren Coalition sends teams scrambling to solve clues and hunting for five affirmation rocks, while completing hysterically fun challenges along the way to earn points towards the championship title for 2024!
This year, the Scavenger Hunt features two separate divisions: a Family Division, which will start at 1:00 pm, and an Adult Team Division, which will begin at 3:00 pm. A community showcase will be held from 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm with refreshments. Hundreds of dollars in prizes will be given away, with awards for the teams that finish the fastest, the ones that score the highest on the challenges, and the overall championship title in each division as well!
What’s the scavenger hunt like, you ask? Well, imagine puzzles of all kinds–a crossword, a cryptogram, a riddle–that you and your teammate(s)/family must solve. They lead you to a location where you search for special affirmation rocks. Once you find one, you then complete a challenge–throwing a pool noodle through a hula hoop, or playing a few rounds of Jenga as fast as you can, for example–which earns you points. When you’re done, you get your next puzzle, and on you go!
It is the type of event where there is something for EVERYONE! And you’ll go home with full bellies, t-shirts, and possibly some awesome prizes!
The event will be held at the Health & Human Services Complex at 465 W 15th St, Front Royal.
The entry fee is $100 per team, with a maximum of four people per Adult Division team and five people per Family Division Team. Each team member will receive a T-shirt. Teams are encouraged to register by April 4th, but will not need to pay right away. Beginning on April 5th, teams will receive a website link so they can fundraise online, if desired. While $100 is all that is needed to qualify for the Scavenger Hunt, teams are encouraged to continue raising funds. The team that raises the most money will receive a prize and earn additional points towards the overall championship title! Will Rocking for the Weekend maintain their title for the second year, or will another team knock them off the championship boulder this year?
Registrations will be accepted through April 15th.
To participate in the Scavenger Hunt, gather your team and register online at warrencoalition.org/wcrsh
Thank you to our sponsors: Berry Media Graphics, Skyline Insurance Agency, Lindsay Chevrolet, Play Favorites, and Melting Pot Pizza!
Warren Coalition is accepting virtual auditions from Warren County middle school and high school students now through April 1st. This is not just for singers! Musicians, magicians, comedians, dancers, spoken word…whatever your talent, this is the time to shine and share it with the community! To learn more about this opportunity, visit our event page.
If you already know all you need to know and just want to submit your video, you may do so here!
