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WARM urges area churches to participate in cold weather shelter

Crystal Graham

warm waynesboro Waynesboro Area Refuge Ministry, or WARM, put out a call today for area churches to participate in the cold weather shelter for the area beginning in November.

The notice, posted to their Facebook page, invited local churches to a planning meeting on Monday, Sept. 26, at Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church, 500 S. Wayne Ave., in Waynesboro, at 7 p.m.

The notice read in part: “WARM continued the eighth season of cold weather shelter in our partner churches in November 2019 and expected a normal run that would end in April 2020. Of course, the world was upended by COVID-19 in March 2020 forcing the shutdown of churches and schools, businesses, factories, etc.”

WARM kept its cold weather shelter operational at Springdale Mennonite Church until April 2020, according to the statement.

“WARM received CARES Act funds that allowed us to keep our most vulnerable neighbors sheltered, fed, and cared for a local hotels for two and a half years. With these funds and those of generous donors, 75 unsheltered neighbors were provided for. Now that the funds are set to expire, the shelter sites will be closing,” the post read.

WARM has recalibrated its focus, the notice said, and plans to open our cold weather shelter in November 2022 to serve 35 guests for 20 consecutive weeks during the time of the year that is most perilous, weatherwise.

For more information on the cold weather shelter or meeting, email [email protected]

 

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Crystal Graham

Crystal Abbe Graham is the regional editor of Augusta Free Press. A 1999 graduate of Virginia Tech, she has worked for nearly 25 years as a reporter and editor for several Virginia publications, written a book, and garnered more than a dozen Virginia Press Association awards for writing and graphic design. She was the co-host of "Viewpoints," a weekly TV news show, and co-host of Virginia Tonight, a nightly TV news show. Her work on "Virginia Tonight" earned her a national Telly award for excellence in television.