We see kids who own only one pair of pants, one shirt for school, kids that are teased and ridiculed because their parents are working poor. We try to help these families. That's our mission. Each Christmas, the center's children and their parents are invited to a special winter wonderland celebration. Among the festivities are gifts for all the children, from basketballs, footballs, toys and games to Nike tennis shoes and designer clothes.
Every youngster receives both toys and clothes.
Gilger worked seven years at the Youngstown Rescue Mission, but his inspiration for getting involved with a youth program came from his work as a teacher with the prison population of Northeast Ohio Correctional Center in Youngstown, he said. After 20 years, if the trunk is all twisted and leaning to the side and the branches are reaching to the ground, there's not much you can do to straighten it out. The Warren Family Mission and Youth Center is a nonprofit organization that relies on about 400 individual donors for its funding. It receives no state funds. Still, Gilger has big plans for the future that likely will require additional financial and material support from area businesses and individuals.