The Berryville United Methodist Warming Center is the latest recipient of the Carla Youngblood Community Spirit Award. The Friends of the Berryville Library presented the award during a recent service at the Berryville United Methodist Church.
This award, established in 2019, honors Carla Youngblood for her years of service to the community through her work at the Berryville Library. It aims to highlight others who tirelessly give their time and talent, often with little or no recognition, to make Berryville a better place to live, work or play.
The Warming Center was conceived in the heart and mind of Tom Chew, who is part of the Berryville United Methodist Church Men (BUMM). His heart wanted to touch the lives of anyone who didn’t have a warm place to sleep, and Chuck Landis and others in the men’s group wanted to support his idea. Starting in the winter of 2023, they began opening the church doors whenever the temperature or wind chill dropped to 15 degrees or lower.
On these cold nights, the Warming Center officially opened for registration from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., with a lock-in at 8 p.m., and reopened at 8 a.m. the next morning. Cots purchased using donations, along with blankets and hygiene supplies, were provided. Men from the church took turns staying overnight, and if women came, a woman from the church would also stay. Men sleep in a separate area from the women and children. With help from the men’s group and the church congregation, a hot meal was served each night and a hot breakfast each morning. Partnering with the Berryville Community Center, tickets were distributed for showers at the Community Center. That procedure continues today, with volunteers from other churches assisting.
In 2024, the numbers grew, and the Berryville United Methodist Church reached out to the community for help and volunteers. Donations of meals, coats, hats, socks, gloves and hygiene packs began to pour in. Freeman Heights Baptist Church started a shuttle bus to pick up and drop off guests. According to a church spokesperson, “The number may vary from two to six per night, but one thing is for sure, those who come have a comfortable, clean and warm place to stay where they will feel loved and cared for.”
Today, the shelter opens if the temperature falls below 20 degrees. The Warming Center has now also partnered with Midtown Laundromat in the Williams Shopping Center to provide washing machine tokens.
Julie Hall, director of the Berryville Library, along with other Friends of the Berryville Library, presented the award during the service on Sunday, Dec. 14. Hall publicly thanked Chew for his vision and all the congregants of the Berryville United Methodist Church for their dedication to serving the community and extending a hand up, and a warm shelter, to those in need.
The BUMC Warming Center will be recognized on an engraved plate on the Carla Youngblood Award perpetual plaque at the library. Additionally, the church was presented with a framed certificate and a $50 donation for the Warming Center from the Friends.
If you know someone who works tirelessly behind the scenes to make Berryville a better place, or if you would like to become a member of the Friends of the Berryville Library, contact the library at 870-423-2323 or visit 104 Spring St. in Berryville.
