Zoup! will be opening their new location at 522 Polaris Parkway in Westerville on Wednesday, June 12.

From 5 pm until 8 pm, all customers will receive a bowl of award-winning soup, a big hunk of bread and a fountain drink for $5. 100% of the proceeds from this opening day event will be donated to WARM.

You don’t even have to bring this flyer! Just show up and enjoy some some soup, all while raising awareness for hunger issues in our community and funds for WARM.

Visit the Zoup! website to learn more about their business and check on the WARM Facebook page for updates regarding the event!

Let’s get 500 people through Zoup!’s doors on June 12th! See you there!

Thank you to the Westerville Honor Guard for joining us at the 11th Annual Westerville Community Prayer Breakfast on May 2nd for the Presentation of Colors. A little bit of history on this unit:

The Westerville Division of Police Honor Guard Unit has been in existence since 1989.  The Honor Guard Unit serves to represent the Police Department, City of Westerville, as well as the whole law enforcement profession.  They participate in parades, ceremonial events, funerals and other conference events.  In the past, these events have included the National Peace Officers Memorial in Washington D.C., the Ohio Peace Officers Memorial, the Cleveland Police Memorial and the annual parades that are held in Westerville.  The Honor Guard participates in an average of 20 different events each year.  One of the most important and celebrated events is being at the Columbus International Airport when several WWII veterans return on the Honor Flight from Washington D.C.

The Westerville Division of Police Honor Guard Unit is comprised of 11 members.  They are Chief Joe Morbitzer, Lieutenant Jon Scowden, Corporal Jack Johnson, Corporal Jon Bagwell, Detective Mike Pavolino, Officer Doug Staysniak, Officer T.J. Ryan, Officer Kurt Nightingale, Officer Jon Baer, Officer Brian Druggan and Officer Dave Leighty.

Thank you all for your service and your dedication to being at the Westerville Community Prayer Breakfast each May!

The 2013 season of the Westerville Area Kids Summer Lunch Club will run weekdays from May 28 through August 9 at six sites. This year there will be five open sites: Alum Creek South Park, Huber Village Park, La Vista Townhomes, Ridgewood Park and Strawberry Farms Park and one enrolled site: Church of the Nazarene.

Times and locations are as follows:

Alum Creek South Park: 535 Park Meadow Road, Westerville, OH  43081 – 11:00 -11:45 am

Huber Village Park: 362 Huber Village Blvd., Westerville, OH  43081 - 11:15 am -12 noon

La Vista Townhomes: 6797 Spring House Lane, Columbus, OH  43229 - 11:00 -11:45 am

Ridgewood Park: 5402 Buenos Aires Blvd., Westerville, OH 43081 - 11:45 am -12:30 pm

Strawberry Farms Park: 3600 Creek Ridge Court, Columbus, OH 43230 - 11:30 am -12:15 pm

Church of the Nazarene: 355 Cherrington Road, Westerville, OH 43081 – 11:15 am -12:00 pm*

For more information on the Kids Summer Lunch Program, please refer to this FAQ sheet or contact: Jackie Haight, Program Coordinator at 899.0196 x 218, jackie@warmwesterville.org or Laurie Grega, Assistant Program Coordinator at 899.0196 x 220, laurie@warmwesterville.org.

If you are interested in volunteering to be part of the fun, please fill out this volunteer application form and return to either Jackie or Laurie via email or at WARM.

*To participate at the enrolled site, please fill our and return this income eligibility form to WARM in the next few weeks.

Our Organization number is 80750.

Here’s how it works:
• Simply register online at krogercommunityrewards.com
• Be sure to have your Kroger Plus card handy and register your card with WARM as the organization after you sign up.
• If you do not yet have a Kroger Plus card, they are available at the customer service desk at any Kroger.
• Click on Sign In/Register
• If you are a new participant, click on SIGN UP TODAY in the ‘New Customer?’ box.
• Sign up for a Kroger Rewards Account by entering zip code, clicking on favorite store, entering your email address and creating a password, agreeing to the terms and conditions
• You will then get a message to check your email inbox and click on the link within the body of the email.
• Click on My Account and use your email address and password to proceed to the next step.
• Click on Edit Kroger Community Rewards Information and input your Kroger Plus card number.
• Update or confirm your information.
• Enter organization from list and click on confirm.
• To verify you are enrolled correctly, you will see your organization’s name on the right side of your information page.
• REMEMBER, purchases will not count for your group until after your member(s) register their card(s).
• Do you use your phone number at the register?  Call 877-576-7587 to get your Kroger Plus card number.  Members must swipe their registered Kroger Plus card or use the phone number that is related to their registered Kroger Plus card when shopping for each purchase to count.  Enter 80750 (WARM’s number) or name of organization.

Remember, when you shop for your family, you help feed others too!

Throughout 2012, WARM celebrated 40 years of continuous service to our community.  It is with humble gratitude that we take time to say ‘Thank you.’  Thank you Westerville for embracing your neighbors who need a hand up, thank you for supplying resources that become the hands and feet and compassion of Christ, thank you for offering our clients jobs so that they too can thrive.

Westerville is a place that is known for its giving and teaching others to receive.  It’s in this city’s DNA, the Underground Railroad, Honor Flight, Caring and Sharing, My Very Own Blanket and so may other worthy causes.  Westerville gets it.

Thank you for your generous giving which has empowered us to collectively help those in need.  We look forward to the next 40 years, as together we can make a difference in the lives of so many by offering a hand up!

May 30, 2012, Columbus, Ohio – BBB Center for Character Ethics announced the recipients of its 18th annual Torch Awards for EthicalEnterprising?. The recipients will be honored at the Torch Award Centennial Gala Luncheon, held at the Hyatt Regency Ballroom in downtown Columbus on September 6.

Five businesses and one non-profit organization have been selected as recipients of the prestigious 2012 Torch Award.  Recipients of the 2012 Torch Award include: E.E. Ward Moving & Storage, Heartland Bank, Microsolved, Inc., The Motorists Insurance Group, and Safelite AutoGlass.  The Non-Profit category recipient is awarded to the Westerville Area Resource Ministry (W.A.R.M.).

Founded in 1994, the national award-winning “educate & recognize” program is the premier public recognition of organizations that intentionally pursue the six TRUST! Principles of EthicalEnterprising. The award embodies the BBB Center’s mission of advancing marketplace trust.

The BBB Center for Character Ethics develops and conducts assessment, training and best-practice recognition programs designed to advance trust as an element of distinction in individuals and enterprises. By assessing, improving and recognizing personal and organizational performance, the Center for Character Ethics helps to create better leaders, better businesses and a better marketplace.

Central Ohio Torch Award Alumni benefit from ongoing program support and partner with BBB to showcase and share their organization’s best practices to inspire others to join the quest for optimal enterprising. BBB Torch Awards are awarded locally by more than 80 BBBs across the U.S. and Canada, and on the international stage by the Council of Better Business Bureaus – the national organization representing the BBB system.

A panel of judges selected these organizations based on the six EthicalEnterprising criteria and demonstrated a high level of trust among their employees, customers and their communities.

Reprinted courtesy of the Westerville News & Public Opinion/SNP, ©Copyright 2010
Originally published May 19, 2010
Note: ‘STOP’ Program now known as ‘WORK’ Initiative
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Helping unemployed Westerville school district residents find and keep jobs earned the Westerville Area Resource Ministry an Ohio Nonprofit Excellence Award from the Ohio Association of Nonprofit Organizations.

WARM was chosen from more than 100 entries submitted for the award by nonprofit agencies across the state, and presented with the honor May 11 in an Ohio Statehouse ceremony.

The OANO award recognizes “creativity, execution, achievement, and overall excellence of a specific project or program completed by an Ohio nonprofit the previous year.”

WARM was recognized for Steps To Overcome Poverty, or the STOP program, a self-sufficiency program that helps unemployed Westerville City School District residents gain the confidence and skills needed to secure and retain full-time employment.

Volunteer trainers and mentors work with WARM staff to teach resume writing, interviewing skills, job search planning, financial literacy, and job readiness.

“Enrollment in our jobs placement program has increased dramatically due to the tough economy and high unemployment rates we’ve been facing,” said WARM Executive Director Scott Marier in a prepared statement.

Unemployment in Westerville is consistent with that of Franklin County and Central Ohio. But these figures do not speak of the economic impact of unemployment on people’s lives, he said.

“By increasing the employability of our clients, the STOP program alleviates poverty, improves self-esteem, and promotes all the benefits of being a contributing member of society,” Marier said.  “The whole community benefits as demand on public assistance is reduced and the number of people living in poverty decreases. … Improved levels of family stability and civic responsibility are also visible.”

WARM funds the STOP program with general operating funds generated by program partners, grants, special events and individual, corporate, civic and church donations.