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Life in Warren County > Community > Organizations
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Warren County is a community full
of dedicated volunteers and generous benefactors. We have active
groups of Jaycees,
Lions,
Zonta, Rotary, Kiwanis, Knights of Columbus, Exchange Club,
and other local chapters of national organizations as well as
many locally-chartered groups. Our United Fund has been consistent
in meeting its goals, raising nearly $6 million in the last
ten years. A listing of many community organizations can be
found here.
YMCA
“The Warren County YMCA . . . . building strong kids, strong
families, strong communities.”
The Warren
YMCA operates a 57,000 square foot facility that includes
two-full-size gyms, an indoor swimming pool, teen activity room,
four-station computer lab, child care/pre-school room, babysitting
room, a character club indoor playground, weight room, Nautilus-cardiovascular
center, indoor running/walking track, four racquetball courts,
and a parking lot for 338 vehicles. The facility is just the
means to an end. Its real strength is bringing people together
from all walks of life in pursuit of common goals.
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Child care, aquatics, summer camps, teen leadership, older
adults, youth and adult sports, wellness, and family development
are all important programs that the “Y” offers. The YMCA is
also bursting with youth programs with 108 youth participating
on the Blue Dolphin Swim Team in 2003. Over 2,000 kids have
participated in the "Y" Progressive Swim classes, over 800
kids and adults are signed up for the 2004 Fall Outdoor Soccer
program, the "Biddy" Basketball program has nearly 400 kids,
and 428 are enrolled in the Blair Learn-to-Swim program.
Jefferson DeFrees Family Center
As the former Warren YWCA, the Jefferson
DeFrees Family Center has served Warren County for over
90 years. Today, as the Jefferson DeFrees Family Center, the
Center offers child care services, wellness classes, a Fitness
Center, special programming, community meeting rooms and community
service projects, all from its downtown location at 207 Second
Avenue. 
Providing families with child care is a priority for the JeffersonDeFrees
Family Center. The facility operates 4 classrooms for children
ages 3 through 12 which include  full
day care with preschool time, before and after school care,
no-school day care and summer programs. The Center’s community
service projects include theCASA (Court Appointed Special
Advocate) program, Community Resource Directory, Women are
Wonderful, AskTheJD.com (link) and Project Kidsafe.
Healthy Communities/Healthy Youth and A Bear Affair
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In an effort to bring the community together through the interaction
of adults and kids, Healthy Communities/Healthy Youth organized
the “Bear Affair” project. Placed throughout Warren County are
50 five-foot-tall fiberglass bear sculptures. Each of these
critters has been decorated by a group of adult artists and
volunteers working together with kids of all ages. In order
to claim a bear, HC/HY created an adoption process in which
the parent business or organization must promote at least one
of the forty “key assets” to building a healthier community.
The assets, geared toward developing a caring environment to
foster healthy lifestyles among our youth, include responsibility,
planning and decision-making, and the presence of adult role
models.
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United
Fund
The United Fund of Warren County has been an integral part of
Warren County’s community culture since 1924. The last five
United Fund Torchlight Campaigns have raised $2,920,700. The
Warren United Fund can rightfully boast that 100% of a donor’s
tax-deductible contribution is distributed to its 21 member
agencies:
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For more
information, contact The United Fund office at 814-726-0292
or e-mail ufowc@unitedfundofwarrencounty.com.
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