Joan C. Warren, MSW
Honorary Member

In 2000, social worker, Joan C. Warren, MSW, helped Cazzolli launch and pursue the mission of ALS Care Project through the years until her retirement.  Warren coined the name of the nonprofit, ALS Care Project.  

  • Ms. Warren had faithfully served the ALS community since 1983 when she began as a social worker at the former Visiting Nurse Society of Central Stark County in Canton, Ohio.  After obtaining her Master’s Degree in Social Work from the University of Connecticut, she began at the VNS.  In July, 1983, Ms. Warren became the pioneer facilitator of the ALS Support Group in Canton, a program of the VNS, sponsored by the United Way and Stark County Neuromuscular Association. 
     

  • After Warren met Cazzolli on March 18, 1984 at the local support group meeting, the two facilitated the group in Canton, bi-monthly on Sundays for the next 24 consecutive years.  The group was very well attended and became nationally known as one of the largest ALS support groups in the country.  

  • Joan Warren assiduously served the community with heartfelt compassion and dedication.  Her ongoing assistance, encouragement and working together as a team with Cazzolli, helped make it possible to pursue the ALS care mission. 
     

  • In 2008, Joan Warren received the Stark County Minority Health Award. 
     

  • Joan Warren’s family history is also remarkable.  She was born in Alliance, Ohio and reared with a servant’s heart by her mother and grandparents whose accomplishments were significant in the African American history.  Ms. Warren’s grandfather graduated from Morehouse University in Atlanta, Georgia and served as a railroad engineer.  Her mother majored in English and music from the University of Mount Union and acquired a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education from Tennessee State University.  Ms. Warren’s daughter previously won the Best Teacher of the Year Award for the State of Minnesota.  Also, Joan Warren’s aunt was the first black nurse hired at the former Mercy Hospital in downtown Canton. 
     

  • Joan Warren will always be remembered for her profound role in the ALS community of Ohio, as well as her contagious smile, good cheer, laughter, and consistently kind nature.