On Sunday, Nov. 15, more than 600 of the YMCA’s most generous donors, including the Warden Family, gathered for the YMCA’s annual Festival of Trees appreciation event at the Orlando Museum of Art.
It was the 14th year for the celebration, which thanks and recognizes major donors whose charitable giving supports the Y’s cause and mission.
During the event, the Y presented its 2015 Dr. P. Phillips Champion of Youth Award to the Warden Family, led by Andy Warden.
Throughout the years, the Warden Family Foundation has generously supported many Y causes, including Camp Wewa, which instills faith, values and leadership skills in our young people.
The foundation also donated a major capital gift in 2013 to establish the Y Links2Learning Golf Center at the South Orlando YMCA. Located within the Oak Ridge Road/OBT corridor, this Y provides after school safety, learning and mentoring for at-risk youth, while strengthening local families and communities.
Dan Wilcox, YMCA President/CEO, praised the generosity of Warden Family, as well as the leadership of all of the Y’s major donors. “Our YMCA and community are stronger for your compassionate leadership,” Wilcox said. “You set a power example for others to follow, and you remind us that anything is possible when we work together to improve the lives of others.
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Previous Recipients of the YMCA’s Dr. P. Phillips Champion of Youth Award
- 2002: Dr. P. Phillips Foundation
- 2003: Charles Bailes, III
- 2004: Tracy Swanson
- 2005: James Downing
- 2006: Greg Nelson
- 2007: Bill Browder
- 2008: Winter Park Health Foundation
- 2009: Mary Jane Arrington
- 2010: Richard Crotty
- 2011: Leonard Williams, Sr.
- 2012: Evans Hubbard
- 2013: Tyra Witsell
- 2014: Glen Davis
- 2015: The Warden Family