Four Decades of Aid

W.A.R.M. plans yearlong celebration of 40th anniversary

The story of W.A.R.M. is a story of evolution.

The heralded food and social assistance program that serves needy Westerville City School District residents grew from its beginnings as Paul’s Pantry to a multifaceted, generously supported presence today.

It has been four decades since Paul’s Pantry was set up in the basement of an old white home on the St. Paul Catholic Church campus on North State Street. Now, the Westerville Area Resource Ministry is observing its 40th anniversary all through 2012.

In that expanse of time, the pantry has become a full-fledged charitable organization supported by a generous community and 25 local churches.

Within just a few years of the organization’s genesis, the size of the operation, coordinated then by Westerville area ministers, “had become unmanageable,” says Scott Marier, the outfit’s executive director. W.A.R.M. got its new name when it was incorporated as an official charitable organization in 2001.

Marier, who had been minister at Westerville Christian Community Church, joined W.A.R.M. in 2005 after longtime administrator Jodi Humphries had to quit for health reasons. Marier’s 11-year ministry had involved outreach and missions, and his church was a member of W.A.R.M., so he was familiar with it.

Its effort grows steadily with an emphasis on helping the needy get back on their financial feet. Its purpose is “a hand up, not a hand out,” says Marier.

“Poverty is migrating from urban areas to the suburbs,” including from Columbus to Westerville, as people are drawn by jobs, better schools and housing, Marier says. To deal with the influx, W.A.R.M. has three full-time and nine part-time employees, and enlists about 250 volunteers.

The organization has several avenues to help people, the most prominent of which is food assistance. The organization works to help the needy overcome “food insecurity,” that circumstance under which “they’re not sure what’s going to be in the cupboard each night.”

Traditionally, recipients receive a bag containing a three-day supply of groceries. “Three days doesn’t eliminate the problems,” Marier says, adding that it “doesn’t make sense for people to drive across town” for so few groceries.

Some qualified recipients may instead get a six-day supply of basic foods, along with some household supplies, based on the federal nutrition chart. The income limit to qualify for help from W.A.R.M. is 200 percent of the poverty level, compared to 180 percent in government programs, Marier says.

Volunteers help recipients make selections using colored charts that break down need based on family size. Twice monthly, these recipients are given food amounting to half the nutritional values on the food table. Recipients usually get food stamps they can use to supplement their needs, as the pantry doesn’t carry perishables or much meat.

Clients are served by appointment, which controls the flow and allows 20 to 30 minutes for recipients to talk with the staff. In addition, the individual attention has a reassuring effect on clients.

But that’s not all there is to it. When they are enrolled in the program, recipients talk with W.A.R.M. staffers about their struggles and how to overcome them, whether they need to find a job, return to a job or train for a new job. They have a “client slate” listing challenges they face and, on each visit, discuss with the staff what they have done to deal with those challenges. Marier calls it a “sort of tough love sheet.”

There is a difference between “generational poverty” and “situational poverty,” Marier says. The first includes those who have lived in poverty for two successive generations and know no other way. The latter poverty can be from any number of causes, ranging from divorce to job loss to illness.

The W.A.R.M. approach targets the restoration of self-esteem, meaning recipients are treated with dignity; Marier is well aware of the stigma that can accompany accepting free food. Recipients can get help budgeting limited income so they “can have a little more stability,” he says. Some might receive some limited financial assistance and employment coaching, such as resume writing and interview skills, all to “help people help themselves.”

W.A.R.M., headquartered at 175A E. Broadway, is self-sufficient and survives solely on contributions that have taken it to a more than $1 million organization. Late last year, the White Castle Foundation gave W.A.R.M. an unsolicited $100,000 grant, payable over three years, one of the largest one-time donations the non-profit has ever received.

The organization works with clubs, schools and business groups to raise funds and food. It buys 60 percent of its food and household supplies, and the amount needed has increased steadily. In 2008, W.A.R.M. served 9,159 people. In just two years, the latest for which data was available, that rose to 14,038.

In 2010, 56 recipients found jobs, and 49 still had them a year later. Their average pay was $11.20 an hour, which in turn added more than $1 million to the area economy. “The highest shakeout period is the first 60 to 90 days,” Marier says.

Not everyone comes to W.A.R.M. headquarters for assistance. Last summer, the organization sponsored a children’s club in Ridgewood Park to provide youngsters some playtime and a lunch. It was located near a school that has a high level of free lunch recipients. Next summer, the organization will sponsor four clubs.

Cheryl Wooten, who handles donor development, notes W.A.R.M. is successful because of wide community support and businesses large and small in the Westerville area that are generous supporters and sources of jobs for recipients.

Besides an annual prayer breakfast, W.A.R.M. also receives a financial boost from an annual walk and 5K run, and this year will hold its first benefit dinner, as well as its usual smaller-scale, community-based efforts.

The anniversary theme will be carried through the year. The fall benefit will be an opportunity “to thank the people who have brought us here,” Wooten says, and to consider “what the next 40 years are going to be like.”

For more information, go to www.warmwesterville.org.

Duane St. Clair is a contributing editor. Feedback welcome at gbishop@pubgroupltd.com.

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W.A.R.M. 40th Anniversary Events

May 3

Westerville Prayer Breakfast

7-8:30 a.m., Westerville Recreation and Community Center

$40 admission per person.

May 19 Walk 4 Faith

8:30 a.m., Columbus Zoo & Aquarium

$20 entry fee, plus pledges for a church or faith-based organization.

Aug. 5

Family Fun Fest

3-6 p.m., Alum Creek Park Free games, family entertainment. Community musical concert follows.

Sept. 29

W.A.R.M. Benefit Medallion Country Club

Details to be announced.

By Garth Bishop