Category: News

  • Annual Awards 2026

    Annual Awards 2026

    A crowd of Warren Coalition staff, members, and guests gathered at the Warren County Community Center on July 30th for the Annual Luncheon and Awards, where Dr. Matthew Rosario, Joyce Jenkins-Wimmer, and Coalition Secretary Holly Goode were among those honored.

    Warren Coalition Executive Director Christa Shifflett presents Holly Goode with a pin recognizing her as the Coalition Member of the Year.

    Holly was recognized as the Coalition Member of the Year for going above and beyond in her service to the organization, outside her duties as the secretary. Throughout the year, Holly consistently volunteered at events, attended fundraising meetings, and even gave her time to writing personal thank-you notes to donors. She also supported fundraising efforts with gifts and sponsorships.

    Warren Coalition Executive Director Christa Shifflett presents Joyce Jenkins-Wimmer with an inscribed clock recognizing Joyce's contributions to the Coalition over the past 17 years.

    Joyce was honored for 17 years of service to the Coalition. During her tenure, she ran the College Access Network, helping parents and students understand the college application and financial aid process, and the MORE (My Opportunity for Reinforcement and Enrichment) after‑school initiative, designed to provide youth with structured, positive activities and support to promote safety, health, and personal growth.  Since 2020, Joyce has been the coordinator for HALO (Helping All Little Ones) Read, the name of the Coalition program affiliated with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. Under her guidance, the program has served more than 875 children.

    After two Warren Coalition staff members and one board member narrowed down the nominees to three, Linda and William Funk (Larry’s wife and son, respectively) selected the final winner of the Larry M. Funk Memorial Award for Outstanding Service to Children in Warren County: Dr. Matthew Rosario. He was nominated by Tiffany Halliday.

    Warren Coalition Executive Director Christa Shifflett presents Dr. Matthew Rosario with the write-up of his nomination for the Larry M. Funk Memorial Award for Outstanding Service to Children in Warren County.

    “Dr. Matthew Rosario has demonstrated a strong and ongoing commitment to supporting children and youth throughout Warren County through mentorship, athletics, behavioral health advocacy, community outreach, and educational support initiatives,” she wrote in her nomination.

    While Dr. Rosario serves children through his practice, ClearHorizon Forensic & Counseling Group, Tiffany’s nomination demonstrated that he does even more beyond his office walls.

    “Dr. Rosario has supported local youth athletics through the sponsorship of sports teams and community-based youth activities. He has also served as a coach for the Skyline High School track team, where he has mentored student-athletes both on and off the field by encouraging discipline, perseverance, teamwork, and positive goal-setting,” she wrote.

    His nomination goes on to say “Dr. Rosario has also contributed directly to youth engagement through community outreach and mentorship initiatives designed to encourage confidence, accountability, leadership, and personal growth. His work emphasizes creating safe and supportive environments where youth feel seen, heard, and empowered.

    “Through his practice, ClearHorizon Forensic & Counseling Group and the ClearHorizon Foundation (501c3 nonprofit organization), he has awarded grants and provided support to local organizations that offer educational programs, mentorship opportunities, youth enrichment activities, and community-based services that positively impact children and adolescents across Warren County.”

    “I don’t get emotional, but that…that really got me emotional,” Dr. Rosario said, referring to the nomination Christa had read a moment earlier. He shared a little about his childhood, sharing that his experiences were what motivated him and allowed him to connect with kids. “How can I play poems? So understanding that this is a lot for me right now. I was like, whoa, I didn’t realize we’re doing so much stuff, but understanding that we’re doing things out of passionate care, to understand that we are about the people and about the community.”

    “We do this as a community,” he explained. “We do this to uplift one another. Children are having a huge disparity of mental health. Unfortunately, I don’t work with the adults. I only work with children, but understand that alone in the past three months, I have worked with over 20 kids in Warren County who are on substances. It is an upbringing. It’s an uprising. We have to be careful with our children, with our youth, understanding that substance use is not just affecting adults, but it’s now affecting our children. It’s affecting the generation because they don’t understand how to cope with their life stressors.”

    In addition to the previously listed awards, Christa shared that the Coalition had intended to honor Lauren Foltz, who has been the youth representative to the Coalition board for more than two years. Lauren was unfortunately unable to attend the event, so the award will be presented at a later date.

    During the luncheon, President Nick Croft, Vice President Michelle Smeltzer, and Secretary Holly Goode were also honored for perfect attendance at meetings throughout the year.

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  • Warren Coalition Receives HCAT Grant

    Warren Coalition Receives HCAT Grant

    Warren Coalition has been named a recipient for a new three-year grant from Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth (VFHY) (https://vfhy.org/)! VFHY grant funding provides infrastructure support to build and sustain Healthy Communities Action Teams (HCATs). Warren Coalition refers to their program as Project WAHOO (Working to Achieve Healthy Outcomes and Opportunities), which is a community effort to prevent and reduce childhood obesity. This is the fifth consecutive time the Coalition has been awarded an HCAT grant.

    HCATs work collaboratively to implement policy, systems and environmental (PSE) changes that support at least one of eight healthy behaviors which can prevent and reduce childhood obesity:

    1. Breastfeeding
    2. Eating More Fruits and Veggies
    3. Reducing Consumption of Ultra-Processed Foods
    4. Moving More
    5. Decreasing Screen Time
    6. Getting Enough Sleep
    7. Reducing Stress with Increased Mindfulness
    8. Decreasing Consumption of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages

    Warren Coalition was awarded $120,000 ($40,000 per year for three years) to fund projects and programs between May 1, 2026 and June 30, 2029. These include the SPARK (Sports, Play and Active Recreation for Kids) program and intramurals in partner schools, to increase exercise. Through partnerships with Reaching Out Now, the Community Garden, and Debbie’s Lighthouse, the grant will support local community gardens and community meals designed to promote healthy eating. Youth Unplugged Parties and Warren County Unplugged activities organized under this grant will encourage students to reduce screen time.

    Over the next three years, funding will also go towards new built environments at E. Wilson Morrison Elementary School, Hilda J. Barbour Elementary School, Warren County High School and/or the Santmyers Student Union. Skyline Middle School, Warren County Parks and Recreation, and Reaching Out Now will also receive financial support to purchase exercise equipment. In addition to all of this, funds will support the Safe at Home tournaments and the Coalition’s Health Video Contest for middle school students.

    Past projects funded in part by the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth HCAT grants over the past 12 years have included the splash pad, the basketball court and exercise course at Rockland Park, the basketball court at Skyline Middle School, playground equipment at the Soccerplex and Thompson’s Park and Ride, pickleball nets, a portable frisbee golf course for the 4-H Center, and much more.

    A full list of HCAT recipients can be found at https://vfhy.org/healthy-communities-action-teams-grants/.

    About Warren Coalition

    Warren Coalition is a nonprofit agency established in 1994 to help fill the gaps in health care and substance misuse 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 member agencies and businesses.

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  • Now Accepting Nominations for Larry M. Funk Memorial Award

    Now Accepting Nominations for Larry M. Funk Memorial Award

    Warren Coalition is now accepting nominations for the 2026 Larry M. Funk Memorial Award for Outstanding Service to Children. This award, established by the Warren Coalition in 2022, recognizes an individual who has made an exceptionally positive impact on the children of Warren County through dedicated, selfless service.  

    The award is open to anyone who serves children in any way. However, if serving children is their professional occupation, the nominator will need to demonstrate the ways in which they go above and beyond their normal job requirements.

    Nomination Process

    Nominators are asked to explain the contributions made to the children and youth of Warren County, cite specific examples, and list five outstanding qualities of the nominee. The selection of the award recipient is based solely on the nomination provided, not on outside information that the selection committees may have. The nomination is also used for the award write-up and subsequent media releases.

    Nominate someone for the larry m. Funk memorial award

    Nominations can be made online at https://bit.ly/FunkAward2026. (Note that the link is case-sensitive.) Nominations are due June 15, 2026. After the deadline, a panel of Warren Coalition staff and members will review the nomination packages, and select three to five packages to forward to the Funk family, who will make the final decision of who this year’s recipient will be. The selected person will be presented with a plaque and $500 cash at the Warren Coalition’s Annual Membership Luncheon in late July.

    People who have been nominated before may be submitted again. However, past honorees are ineligible for five years following receipt of the award. Past recipients include Roger Smelzer (2022), Laura Nelson-Haas (2023), Michael S. Williams (2024), and Harmony Hike (2025). Questions may be sent to Celeste Brooks at celeste@warrencoalition.org.

    About Larry

    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.

    Larry’s 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 them just the way he wanted.  He took great pride working with the children of the community.  Students and former students would frequently greet him with hugs whenever they saw 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. 

    submit a nomination

    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.

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  • Warren County Unplugs for Mental Health

    To help raise awareness of the dangers of excessive social media use, Warren Coalition created “Warren County Unplugged,” a community effort to encourage individuals of all ages to get off of their phones (or at least social media) for a day (or so). This 24-hour event is held in conjunction with the Global Day of Unplugging the first weekend in March, which was March 6-7 this year. During Warren County Unplugged, people of all ages are encouraged to sign up to unplug and were entered into a prize drawing for doing so. The first year, a total of 55 people signed up; the following year, that number was 108. This year, 132 signed up.

    “We coordinate events all over the County, and the point of those events is to make it easier for folks stay off of their phones,” said organizer Celeste Brooks, Deputy Director of the Warren Coalition. “Our ultimate goal is to raise awareness about how social media impacts mental health, especially for our youth, and to get people to make a plan to stay off of their phones, or at least off of social media, for a little while.”

    Since 2012, smartphone use by teens has increased, and anxiety, depression, and loneliness have skyrocketed. Social media companies deliberately designed their algorithms to be addictive, which could potentially prime the teen brain for substance use disorders (addiction) later in life. In fact, studies have already shown that teens who regularly use social media are more likely to buy cigarettes, drink alcohol, and/or use marijuana.

    As part of this year’s Warren County Unplugged activities, children of all grade levels (and parents as well) enjoyed a variety of activities at Friday night’s Youth Unplugged Party, hosted by the Coalition, Warren County Parks & Recreation, Warren County Young Life, and Scouting America. Those activities included tossing beach balls into “granny pants” worn by Dave Goss and Ed Daley, The Quiet Game, arts and crafts, archery, bingo, 9-square in the air, Volley Bound, basketball, and an inflatable gaga pit.

    “Warren Coalition hosted the elementary school student activities, and it was heart-warming to see the families enjoying time together without a phone in sight,” said Brooks.

    Additional Friday evening activities included karaoke hosted by Reaching Out Now at Santmyers Student Union, a Scottish Cèilidh at Samuels Public Library, and a Hyper Party at the Royal Family Bowling Center. Brooks estimated that there were well over 350 people at the various events held on Friday evening.

    Saturday brought a push of attention to local retail stores and the downtown area, with kid-friendly stores like Play Favorites and Main Street Geek offering discounts and free activities. Habitat for Humanity of Warren County hosted Backyard Games at the Gazebo with an inflatable obstacle course and entertainment by the talented students from the School of Rock in Haymarket. On Cue Sports Bar hosted a casino-style fundraiser, and Ruby Yoga offered a discount on several classes throughout the day.

    Altogether, 37 businesses and organizations came together to provide some sort of phone-free experience for the Warren County community. An additional 15 restaurants allowed the Coalition to place “table tents” of information on their tables in the weeks leading up to the event, helping to promote awareness of the risks of excessive social media use and awareness of Warren County Unplugged.

    “We are deeply thankful that so many organizations recognize the importance of this event and the issue it addresses,” said Brooks. “This day helps us all become a little more aware of what the concerns are, for both ourselves and our kids.”

    Those who signed up online are eligible for an upcoming prize drawing. A survey has been sent out to them, and those who complete it will receive an extra two entries into the drawing, which will be held on March 20th.

    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.

  • Trauma-Supportive Certification Training February 12th

    Trauma-Supportive Certification Training February 12th

    The Warren Coalition will host a free, in-person Trauma-Supportive Training and Certification course on Thursday, February 12th, from 9:30 am to 2:30 pm at the Warren County Community Center. This is the first time in over two years that the Coalition has offered this Level 2 course to the community.

    Trauma-Supportive Training teaches the knowledge and skills required to support those possibly affected by trauma and toxic stress. Attendees will learn resilience-based practices that are applicable to classrooms, offices, and public services. They will also understand strategies to address hidden effects of trauma & toxic stress and to foster resilience in the individual and community.

    Registration is required. To sign up for the Trauma-Supportive Training and Certification being held on February 12th, visit bit.ly/ts-feb2026. Please note that to be eligible for the Trauma Supportive Training: Course 2, you must have a Trauma-Informed (Course 1) certification.

    For more information, email Celeste Brooks at celeste@warrencoalition.org.