United Way of Trumbull Finds Potential in New Location

WARREN, Ohio – A lot has changed at United Way of Trumbull County since Christine Cope was named president of the organization in July.

A ribbon cutting on Tuesday celebrated United Way of Trumbull County’s recent move to 295 Harmon Ave. NW. Formerly, it was at 3601 Youngstown Warren Road SE.

“What the [new location] will do for us is really create efficiency,” Cope said. “We’re not worried about the building anymore. We can focus our time on everything that United Way is supposed to be doing.”

The previous building was too spacious and had several issues, Cope said. Now that United Way of Trumbull County has relocated, Cope said it has more time to help its partner agencies and support those in the community.

“It took the month of July to move,” Cope said. “We were really focused on doing that so we could have a nice fresh start right here in this building.”

Cope spent her first month as president overseeing the move. But it has been a busy time for the organization in other ways, she said.

“Our 100th year is coming and that’s what we’re going to be working on and focusing on,” Cope said. “Really, what we want to focus on is raising funds to get it back into the community for our partner agencies. They’re the experts out there and they are providing their direct services.”

United Way has continued to reach out to and support local families and children through its programs and services. The organization also provides a direct service in their “Women United” initiative, providing vouchers for insulin.

“We did that a lot through [the pandemic],” she said. “Now it is just more emergency based.”

The organization is looking to add programs.

“Our mission is to be united in helping children and families thrive,” Cope said. “There is also a significance in being in downtown Warren. We are serving all of Trumbull County… but a lot of the people that we need to connect with are located here.”

Although the building is smaller, Cope said she believes it is the perfect fit.

“We made sure when we moved out of our old building that we fit here,” she said. “We sold some things, we donated some things. We did everything we could to make sure we fit in this building… Being here and more laser focused on what we need to do instead of the building will definitely allow us to succeed.”

While the previous building had more space than United Way of Trumbull County needed, Cope said it is in good hands with the new owner.

“It was an older building, and it was going to need a lot of updates,” Cope said. “There were some other areas in the building that really needed some special attention. The new owner, Jim Dobson from Servpro, will be able to do all of that.”

The United Way of Trumbull County moved into its current location – a building owned by Ken Haidaris, president of THG Real Estate – in August.

“We own this building, and we did some renovations for them [United Way of Trumbull County],” said Haidaris. “This is really the perfect space for them. United Way does a lot of great things and they can continue their mission.”

The renovations made for United Way of Trumbull County were mostly cosmetic, such as carpeting, painting walls and adding coffee stations, he said.

“I’m proud of our downtown,” Haidaris said. “I think it’s nice to have people downtown. The nice thing is that the building has a lot of parking behind it, so it’s a good location for that.”

The building was previously utilized by Title Professionals.

“There is a nice conference room for them, there are five or six offices, there’s kitchen space, a nice upstairs, a hanidcap-accessible restroom,” Haidaris said. “It’s really the perfect building. The space fits the tenant.”

It is the 100th anniversary of both United Way of Trumbull County and the Robins Theatre, and Haidaris said a fundraiser celebration will be organized. Haidaris manages the theater.

“We are just happy to be here in the heart of downtown [Warren], but also for the support Ken and his team provides us,” Cope said. “We saw the support today that everyone was giving us, and we couldn’t be happier.”

For information on United Way of Trumbull County, go to www.unitedwaytrumbull.org.

Pictured above from left: Doug Franklin, Mayor of the city of Warren; Lisa Taddie, United Way Board Chair; Eddie Colburt, director of public safety and services for the city of Warren; Ken Haidaris, president of THG Real Estate and owner of the building; Christine Cope, president of United Way of Trumbull County; Thomas Adair, vice president of THG Real Estate; Melissa Maki, United Way board secretary, Tammy Jorgensen, director of private banking at Premier Bank.

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