Author: distroteam

By Chris Ruvo Correspondent:

Just for a moment, take a few steps in their shoes:

You’re the single mother of a little girl battling cancer — and you have recently lost your job. Income was light to begin with. But now, scraped to the financial bone, you’ve fallen far behind on your bills. You want to provide a Christmas, but there is barely money for necessities, let alone gifts.

Or, maybe, you’re the mother of a pre-teen girl — a beloved daughter who suddenly goes into heart failure and requires a transplant. Miraculously, your daughter receives a successful operation. But now, as a devoted mom, you can’t work anymore, for your full-time job has become caring for your daughter, taking her to doctor appointment after appointment, laboring to ensure she’ll be OK. As a result, the household budget atrophies and withers. Christmas looms. Where will the money come from?

Such stories kindle compassion in even the hardest hearts. Sadly, they’re not the fictional foundation for plot lines of holiday movies where all problems magically disappear just before the credits roll.

They’re the real stories, of real people, living in The Intelligencer’s circulation area. Around the holidays they need a bit of help — help The Intelligencer and the Bucks County Opportunity Council strive to deliver through Give A Christmas.

Now in its 30th year, Give A Christmas is an altruistic campaign that raises money to support less fortunate families in Central and Upper Bucks County, as well as Eastern Montgomery County and the North Penn and Indian Valley communities.

Only possible through the generous donations of people in the community, Give A Christmas helps locals struggling with poverty do everything from buy gifts and groceries, to aid with rent payments, medical bills and utility needs.

So far this year, Intelligencer readers have been doing their bit to support the cause. Through the first handful of December days, reader donations empowered the Bucks County Opportunity Council to lend a hand to 555 people — 310 children and 245 adults. That translates to $14,025 in financial assistance.

“Our staff has been working hard welcoming all that come requesting assistance for the holidays,” said Tammy B. Schoonover, director of community services at the Bucks County Opportunity Council.

While Give A Christmas was off to a strong start, Schoonover and others on the front line of the campaign encouraged community members to open their hearts and their wallets to donate to help neighbors in need during the final stretch before Christmas.

Contributors can feel certain the money goes directly to support people experiencing economic hardship. The Opportunity Council assiduously administers the Give A Christmas Fund, 10 percent of the proceeds from which are shared with the Souderton-based Keystone Opportunity Center. Complementing each other, the two community action agencies work on behalf of Give A Christmas to identify individuals and families who truly need financial assistance during the holidays.

In 2016, caring members of local communities donated $126,594.64 to Give A Christmas. Since the late 1980s, generous area residents have given nearly $2.8 million — a tally organizers are keen to add to substantially this year.

Help make that goal a reality. Help those neighbors, those loving moms with sick daughters, experience a little of the light of Christmas with their families this holiday season.

By Chris Ruvo:

After her partner abandoned her and their children, the young mother from Bucks County found herself trapped in a catch-22.

She needed a job to support her kids, but she couldn’t afford the child care that would allow her to work and earn.

The pressure and pain of the predicament intensified as the holiday season closed in.

“I have no income to buy presents,” said the mother.

She detailed her situation in a letter to the Bucks County Opportunity Council in which she asked for assistance from Give A Christmas, an annual holiday season campaign that raises funds to lend a helping hand to families grappling with poverty in Central and Upper Bucks County, as well as Eastern Montgomery County and the North Penn and Indian Valley communities.

The Opportunity Council, which conducts the campaign in partnership with The Intelligencer, was happy to step in and support the mother and her children with some much-deserved support through Give A Christmas.

For 30 years now, Give A Christmas has been providing similar aid to less fortunate locals. That the initiative can do so is down to the generosity of the community, which has donated nearly $2.8 million since the program began in the late 1980s.

“We continue to be struck by the extreme kindness of our community and the extreme appreciation of the recipients,” said Erin A. Lukoss, executive director of the Bucks County Opportunity Council.

This year’s Give A Christmas outreach got underway a couple weeks ago. Within the first day-and-a-half, the BCOC had assisted 61 families — some 198 people in total.

“One of our staff members reported that within the first nine minutes of opening the doors, she had assisted four families,” said Lukoss.

Give A Christmas donations help fund a range of assistance initiatives, from helping parents buy gifts and groceries, to aiding with rent payments, medical bills and utility needs.

In 2016, generous Intelligencer readers contributed $126,594.64 to the cause — an impressive showing that organizers hope will be surpassed this year.

“This program gives parents the joy of fulfilling a holiday wish for a child,” Lukoss has said. “While Give A Christmas helps families and individuals at Christmas, the donations received are also used to help community members in need all year long. It’s like a safety ‘trampoline’ in that it catches people when they fall, and helps them bounce back to stability.”

More locals are in need of that helpful leg up than might be realized in a surface-level glance at the relative affluence of many local communities. Still, government data shows that 6.6 percent of Bucks County alone — nearly 42,000 people — live below the poverty line. Many others are just above, unable to make ends meet.

To help these neighbors in need, the Opportunity Council administers the Give A Christmas fund, 10 percent of the proceeds from which are shared with the Souderton-based Keystone Opportunity Center. The two community action agencies identify individuals and families who need financial assistance during the holidays.

During the 2016 holiday season, the Opportunity Council provided assistance to 441 families (1,308 individuals). The average assistance per family was $176. Families served had an average income of $14,844.

This year, Intelligencer readers have the chance to increase the number of people helped by donating to support the Give A Christmas mission — a mission powered by the true spirit of the holiday season.

By Chris Ruvo:

Jim and Kelley Tallia have fond memories of Christmas from their childhoods.

While they were not from wealthy families, their devoted parents always made the holidays special.

For the Doylestown couple, it’s deeply troubling to think that poverty could cause local children to miss out on the magic of the Christmas season that they so enjoyed.

That’s why the Tallias have been donating to Give A Christmas for nearly 25 years.

“We hope that we can help the parents of less fortunate children create similar memories for their children,” said Jim Tallia, president of Warminster-based Anchor Pump and Engineered Equipment.

The Tallias are among the caring locals who make Give A Christmas possible through their generous donations.

Now in its 30th year, Give A Christmas is a holiday outreach campaign The Intelligencer conducts in partnership with the Bucks County Opportunity Council, which administers the fund, 10 percent of the proceeds from which are shared with the Keystone Opportunity Center.

Complementing each other, the two community action agencies work on behalf of Give A Christmas to identify individuals and families struggling with financial hardship during the holidays in Central and Upper Bucks County, as well as Eastern Montgomery County and the North Penn and Indian Valley communities.

Once locals in need are identified, Give A Christmas donations go to help them do everything from buy groceries and gifts for their children, to aid in paying rent, medical bills and utility bills.

“The support of the community makes Give A Christmas possible,” said Erin A. Lukoss, executive director of the Bucks County Opportunity Council.

Over the years, that support has been robust.

Since Give A Christmas launched, the community has contributed nearly $2.8 million. In 2016, Intelligencer readers gave $126,594.64 — a tally organizers hope to surpass this year.

Doing so would, of course, empower Give A Christmas to deliver more holiday cheer to some of the more than 41,800 Bucks Countians — 6.6 percent of the county’s population — living below the poverty line.

Of course, those aren’t just numbers. Each is a real person, a neighbor, maybe a family member or friend.

There is the single mom working tirelessly in a low-wage job who can’t make ends meet despite her best efforts. There is the elderly widow shutting the heat off and wrapping herself in layers of blankets — a desperate attempt to keep warm while saving money. There’s the two-job working father, embarrassed to be at the food pantry, struggling to pay for his wife’s medical treatment and keep his children in food, clothes and shelter.

“It is hard to believe that so many families live in poverty in Bucks County,” said Jim Tallia. “Instead of one more gift for your family, consider donating so that a less fortunate child can have a Christmas. Just think about the excitement that children have on Christmas morning and how your gift can help one more child experience that.”

By Chris Ruvo:

For 30 years now, the Give A Christmas campaign has helped local people experiencing financial hardship during the holiday season.

That mission strongly appealed to the Francis J. Raab Foundation — so much so that the Montgomery County-based nonprofit just donated $20,000 to the 2017 Give A Christmas fund drive.

The contribution exceeds the already sizeable annual donations of $15,000 that the Raab Foundation made in both 2015 and 2016.

“It’s one of those charities where the support goes directly to the folks who need a helping hand,” David Creamer, treasurer of the foundation, said in explaining part of the motivation for the donation to Give A Christmas.

The Give A Christmas program helps less fortunate families in Central and Upper Bucks County, as well as Eastern Montgomery County and the North Penn and Indian Valley communities.

Conducted in partnership with The Intelligencer and Souderton-based Keystone Opportunity Center, Give A Christmas is primarily administered by the Bucks County Opportunity Council. The organization was ecstatic to receive another generous donation from the Raab Foundation, which has now donated $50,000 over the last three years.

“The generosity of the Raab Foundation is extraordinary, and it has a tremendous impact on our community,” said Joseph Cuozzo, director of development at the Bucks County Opportunity Council. “Their $20,000 gift this year will help hundreds of families in need.”

The Rabb Foundation is fueled by the generous spirit of the man whose name it bears — Francis J. Raab, an Oreland native who served as a radio operator in the U.S. Army during World War II. He was shot down over Germany in a B-24 Liberator bomber, and captured as a prisoner of war.

After returning to the United States, Raab resided in Maple Glen before passing away a few years ago. Raab was known for his spirit of giving to others in the community, and his family created the Francis J. Raab Foundation so that his generosity might live on. The organization puts its primary focus on lending support to veterans, and looks for the opportunity to support worthy charities as well, Creamer said.

Certainly Give A Christmas fits the worthy bill. Money raised during the campaign drives a range of assistance initiatives, from helping parents buy gifts and groceries, to aiding with rent payments, medical bills and utility needs.

Give A Christmas has been doing that work since the late 1980s. Thanks to generous donations from the community, Give A Christmas has raised about $2.8 million since its inception.

“We do a lot of research to find good causes,” said Creamer. “This is one we like.”

By Chris Ruvo:

As a boy, Irv Rubin visited an orphanage with his school. It was an experience he’ll never forget.

“It made a major impression,” said the Doylestown Township resident. “You saw how little they had — nothing really. You just wanted to help.”

Indeed he did, making items that were donated to the orphans. Over the ensuing decades, Rubin has continued his altruism, giving generously to worthy charities, organizations and drives.

The Intelligencer’s Give A Christmas campaign is among Rubin’s favorite beneficiaries.

There’s a good reason, he said, why he and his wife, Patrice, donate every year to the fund drive that benefits less fortunate families in Central and Upper Bucks County, as well as Eastern Montgomery County and the North Penn and Indian Valley communities.

“I want to help the less fortunate people that live in my community — the people I see every day,” says Rubin. “I want to have an impact locally.”

The Intelligencer readers have a great excuse this week to join Rubin in the local outreach effort by donating generously to Give A Christmas as part of Giving Tuesday.

Started in 2012 and occurring annually on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, Giving Tuesday is a movement that encourages individuals, businesses and other organizations to generously support charities, events, fund drives, social do-gooding organizations and the like during the holiday season.

“One of the best ways to get involved is in your own community,” the Giving Tuesday website states.

Rubin encourages other to do just that by donating to Give A Christmas.

“It’s our duty to help people who are less fortunate than ourselves,” he said. “There’s a need for this kind of help in our community and we should meet that need as a community.”

Unfortunately, Rubin is right in his assessment of need. The latest U.S. Census states that 6.6 percent of Bucks County’s population — some 41,818 people — are living below the poverty line.

Over the last 30 years, Give A Christmas has supported those neighbors in need. Thanks to readers’ donations, Give A Christmas has generated nearly $2.8 million since launching in the late 1980s. Last year alone, the community delivered an outpouring of support that tallied $126,594.64.

The donations power a range of assistance initiatives — everything from helping parents to buy gifts and groceries, to aiding with rent payments, medical bills and utility needs.

The Bucks County Opportunity Council administers the fund, sharing 10 percent of the proceeds with the Keystone Opportunity Center. The two community action agencies work on behalf of Give A Christmas to identify individuals and families needing financial assistance during the holidays.

During the 2016 holiday season, the Opportunity Council provided assistance to 441 families (1,308 individuals). The average assistance per family was $176. Families served had an average income of $14,844.

Recipients are thankful for the community support.

Take the single mother from Upper Bucks. Last holiday season, her car broke down and wiped out all the money she had set aside for Christmas. She sought help to provide a Christmas — to keep her fast-growing teenager in clothes that would fit properly. Give A Christmas answered the call.

“I am so appreciative of any help I receive,” the mother said.

This Giving Tuesday, readers have the chance to help another family through Give A Christmas. Don’t miss the opportunity.

By Chris Ruvo: 

During the holiday season a couple years ago, James Nangeroni felt a pull on his heart that couldn’t be ignored.

It occurred while he was reading an article about Give A Christmas, the annual holiday fund drive run in partnership between The Intelligencer and the Bucks County Opportunity Council.

Upon reading that money donated to Give A Christmas goes to support local people struggling with financial hardship during the holidays, Nangeroni knew he had to contribute to the cause.

“I was reading the article and felt touched and then motivated,” said Nangeroni, a Doylestown resident. “We’re always keeping our eyes open for worthy causes to support, and this was definitely one we felt it was important to make a contribution to.”

Nangeroni made the donation, and did so again the following year. He encourages others to do the same this holiday season.

“Any amount of money can help make a big difference in someone else’s life,” he said. “If everyone gives what they can, the world will be a better place.”

The need for donations is real. In Bucks County, 6.6 percent of the population — some 41,818 people — are living below the poverty line.

Sometimes, especially in the well-off suburbs and scenic rural areas of Central and Upper Bucks County and eastern Montgomery County — areas that Give A Christmas serves — that poverty goes unnoticed. But it’s there, and there’s a moral calling to help address it, said leaders at the Bucks County Opportunity Council.

“Poverty is hidden in Bucks, but it exists,” said Erin A. Lukoss, executive director of the Opportunity Council. “It doesn’t look one specific way. It can be a single parent with two children, an elderly person trying to keep the home they’ve lived in for 50 years, a young college student just starting out, a two-parent household with a few children, or an individual working a minimum-wage job.”

Since Give a Christmas launched in 1988, the fund has been helping people in such circumstances thanks to the generous contributions of the community. In total, Intelligencer readers have given about $2.8 million to help less fortunate families residing in Central and Upper Bucks County, as well as Eastern Montgomery County and the North Penn and Indian Valley communities.

Last year alone, Intelligencer readers contributed $126,594.64 to Give A Christmas.

Readers can rest assured the money fuels needed real-world support initiatives, including helping beneficiaries buy Christmas gifts and groceries, as well as aiding with rent payments, medical bills and utility needs.

The Bucks County Opportunity Council administers the Give A Christmas Fund, 10 percent of the proceeds from which are shared with the Keystone Opportunity Center in Montgomery County. Complementing each other, the two community action agencies work on behalf of Give A Christmas to identify individuals and families needing financial assistance during the holidays.

“Give A Christmas is a chance to give back and make someone else’s life better,” said Nangeroni. “It’s something we can do to support our community.”

By Chris Ruvo:

In the comfortable suburbs and scenic rural stretches of Central and Upper Bucks County and Eastern Montgomery County, poverty can go unnoticed.

But economic hardship is there, hidden sometimes behind a smile or a stiff upper lip, cloaked away in lamp-lit midnight hours spent poring over bills as the kids sleep, struggling for a way to make ends meet.

“Every week people visit the food pantries, stand in line for fresh produce at Fresh Connect, call the Housing Link for help with a housing crisis, and seek help to prevent a utility shut off,” said Erin A. Lukoss, executive director of the Bucks County Opportunity Council.

Such want, as Charles Dickens remarked in his classic A Christmas Carol, is most keenly felt around the holidays.

And that’s why, every year since 1988, The Intelligencer has asked readers to open their hearts and wallets to help their neighbors in need by donating to Give A Christmas, which marks its 30th anniversary this holiday season. The fund hopes to reach a goal of $140,000 in donations.

“Each year readers have responded with an outpouring that defines the true meaning of the holidays,” said Amy Gianficaro, director of communications and community engagement at The Intelligencer.

Since Give a Christmas launched, the community has contributed nearly $2.8 million to help less fortunate families in the area.

Last year alone, more than 900 Intelligencer readers contributed $126,594.64 to Give A Christmas, in amounts ranging from $5 to $15,000, Gianficaro said. That money fueled a range of assistance initiatives — everything from helping parents buy gifts and groceries, to aiding with rent payments, medical bills and utility needs.

Hard numbers back up the anecdotal evidence of need in the community. The latest U.S. Census shows 6.6 percent of Bucks County’s population — some 41,818 people — are living below the poverty line.

“This program gives parents the joy of fulfilling a holiday wish for a child,” said Lukoss. “While Give A Christmas helps families and individuals at Christmas, the donations received are also used to help community members in need all year long. It’s like a safety ‘trampoline’ in that it catches people when they fall, and helps them bounce back to stability.”

Lukoss would know. The Bucks County Opportunity Council administers Give A Christmas, 10 percent of the proceeds from which are shared with the Keystone Opportunity Center. Complementing each other, the two community action agencies work on behalf of Give A Christmas to identify individuals and families needing financial assistance during the holidays.

During the 2016 holiday season, the Opportunity Council provided assistance to 441 families (1,308 individuals). The average assistance per family was $176. Families served had an average income of $14,844.

Lukoss vividly recalls the powerful, positive impact the outreach had on one local family last year. Desperate to get her children out of a violent, crime-plagued neighborhood in Philadelphia, a mother used all of her savings to move the family to The Intelligencer’s coverage area. The woman had no money left for Christmas — until the Opportunity Council stepped in with Give A Christmas funding.

“She was so appreciative of the gift cards. She said that as soon as she was on her feet, she would give back to her new community,” Lukoss said. “This program had restored her faith in humanity.”

By donating to Give A Christmas, readers can play a part in making such miracles a reality. All donations will be acknowledged in the newspaper unless anonymity is requested.

“Providing this help to our community for 30 years is a proud legacy for the employees of The Intelligencer,” Gianficaro said. “We know the Give A Christmas fund makes a difference for families at a time when they really need it. We’re proud to do this work and grateful for the partnership of the Bucks County Opportunity Council and the Keystone Opportunity Center.”