BCOC Community Connections Summer Edition, Vol. I

Summer is officially here.... but it's no day at the beach for working families with children who live paycheck to paycheck.

Free Summer Lunches for Kids!

Beginning this week, BCOC will be distributing lunch boxes for children throughout the summer. Provided by Philabundance , the Lunch Box program provides free and nutritious ready-to-eat meals for kids under 18. Meals are produced by the Philabundance culinary training program, Philabundance Community Kitchen, and distributed at all three Fresh Connect sites. A member of the family must be registered at Fresh Connect to receive kids lunch boxes. Each child can receive one per week.

Fresh Connect Bucks County is a free farmer’s market bringing fresh, healthy food to our hungry neighbors in Bucks County. It returns to the same location on the same day at the same time each week, providing reliable and needed food to the 57,000 Bucks County residents facing hunger, 32% of whom are children. Fresh Connect is a collaboration of Bucks County Opportunity Council, Philabundance, Rolling Harvest Food Rescue and St. Mary Medical Center, with generous funding by United Way of Bucks County.

Fresh Connect Volunteers Needed

Volunteer with Fresh Connect this summer!

Tuesdays in Warminster

Thursdays in Ottsville

Fridays in Bristol

We currently have OPENINGS for two more volunteers at tomorrow's Fresh Connect in Bristol, beginning at 11:30 am.

Fresh Connect Bites

Your favorite Fresh Connect recipes available in a PDF format for you to view on the go!

Get recipes

Have a recipe to share? Email [email protected]

Opportunity Center Groundbreaking

Coming Fall 2018! BCOC broke ground on our Opportunity Center in Bristol Township, PA on Friday June 8th. Renovations are now underway to support our vision of new and expanded services to help those in need. Our 6,400 sq. ft center will include a Housing Resource Center; Homeless Recharge center, including shower and laundry facilities; Economic Stability Center; Training Enterprise Center, Emergency services and more.

Bucks County Commissioner Robert Loughery

BCOC Board Chair and Penn Community Bank President and Chief Executive Officer Jean Vidoni

Podcast Alert!

BCOC's Director of Community Services Tammy Schoonover, ACSW, LSW discusses the model we use to further Bridges Out of Poverty dialogue, what we call "Morning Conversations."

Tune in to learn more .

Adopt A Family

Jenny* is enrolled in our Economic Self-Sufficiency program, and has a sponsor through Adopt-A-Family, Kerry. Recently, Kerry delivered tickets for Jenny and her children to go to Great Adventure- plus a parking pass and meal vouchers! A special treat for the family, something they have never been able to do. Thank you Kerry! If you want to support a family in poverty as they journey toward self-sufficiency, sign up for Adopt-A-Family! Learn more at http://www.bcoc.org/support-us/adopt-a-family/

BCOC Leadership at CAPLAW

The Community Action Program Legal Services Annual Conference (CAPLAW) is currently underway. From June 20-22 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Community Action professionals and volunteers from all over the country will learn from CAPLAW’s faculty of attorneys, financial professionals, government officials, and nonprofit managers. A full line-up of workshops addressing current governance, human resources, financial, sustainability and program topics will be addressed this week. Many Pennsylvania CAPS are represented at CAPLAW’s national conference, including our executive director, Erin Lukoss and CFO SaraJane Hamilton (pictured at right).