Warren County UnPlugged

Janet Michael welcomes listeners to another episode of The Valley Today, featuring Christa Shifflett and Celeste Brooks from the Warren Coalition. They discuss the upcoming Warren County Unplugged event, which encourages the community to put away their phones and engage in various activities to improve mental health and social well-being. Christa, the Executive Director, and Celeste, the Community Outreach Coordinator, share insights about the Global Day of Unplugging, for which Warren Coalition was recognized as an unplugged village. The event's goal is to help individuals, particularly youth, reduce screen time and its negative impacts, such as depression and anxiety. This year's event includes various activities, starting with a Youth Unplugged Party (YUP) on the evening of March 7th at the 15th Street Gym. YUP features a range of enjoyable tasks, from cornhole and volleyball tournaments to arts and crafts and interactive games. Celeste emphasizes the importance of offering fun ways for kids to connect offline, noting that excessive screen time has led to detrimental effects on teenagers' social skills and sleep patterns. Janet, Christa, and Celeste discuss the broader implications of screen dependency, including its impact on workforce readiness. Celeste explains that many young adults lack basic social skills as they enter professional environments due to their reliance on phones. During the event on March 7th and 8th, multiple community organizations and local businesses will participate by hosting unplugged-friendly activities, providing discounts, and offering prizes. Activities range from free pizza and popcorn to backyard games, foam archery, and resilience bingo. Celeste also highlights the Hyper Bowl party at the local bowling alley and several unplugged activities on March 8th, like an art exhibit at Samuel's Library, nature expeditions at Shenandoah River State Park, and scavenger hunts at the 4-H Center. The trio emphasizes the importance of creating awareness about phone usage and how it affects daily life, encouraging families to engage in screen-free activities. Celeste provides details on how to participate and win prizes by simply letting the Warren Coalition know they are unplugging for the event. Christa and Celeste further share details about the ongoing Edward Jones 5K, a town hall meeting on underage drinking, and other educational initiatives by the Warren Coalition aimed at improving community well-being. Listeners are encouraged to visit warrencoalition.org for a complete schedule of events and to support the sponsors and local businesses that make Warren County Unplugged possible.