Hi everyone, the mod team from /r/buckscountypa here. We are trying something new this holiday season.

TL;DR: Donate to BCOC this holiday season. This is set to be one of the roughest holiday seasons ever for many residents. We need to fight back against the formenting hardship affecting our most vulnerable neighbors.

We've been hearing the stories about how our local food banks are squeezed. How SNAP is getting cut. How the shutdown persists, and those lacking benefits still need to eat.

Because of cruel and shortsighted politics, our citizens are experiencing a higher insecurity level of every human need. Healthcare, food, housing, employment, and financial. We now are left to either watch or help.

For those unfamiliar with GoFundMe, your donation goes directly to BCOC. No middleman.

Are you a bored celebrity living in Solebury/New Hope? Do you want to score some humanity points with the locals? You could make a small sacrifice to make a HUGE difference in people's lives.

Last year's statistics:

(This years are obviously projected to be worse)

* 36,821 people (5.7%) in Bucks County live in poverty. (BCOC 2023-2024 Annual Report, pg. 2)

* 56,570 residents are food insecure. Even more now because of avoidable economic instability and SNAP cuts.

* More than half of the food-insecure make too much money for SNAP. (BCOC 2023-2024 Annual Report, pg. 2)

Last year, BCOC:

* Stopped 395 evictions (Annual Report, pg. 7)

* Housed 91 homeless families (Annual Report, pg. 7)

* Prevented 175 utility shut-offs (Annual Report, pg. 7)

* Distributed 3.3 MILLION pounds of food (Annual Report, pg. 5)

* Graduated 17 families from poverty who now earn $46,387/year average (Annual Report, pg. 12)

What does a donation buy?

* Your $50 = groceries for a week

* Your $150 = prevents a utility shut-off

* Your $500 = first month's rent to stop homelessness

Real people from the report: Mary (sleeping in her car with MS, pg. 9), Vince (came out of prison, now has 2 full-time jobs at $19/hr, pg. 8), Nicole (single mom, now owns home and earns $12/hr more, pg. 13).

BCOC provides these services to those in need:

* Housing Planning

* Eviction Prevention

* Court Mediation

* Street Outreach

* HORP

* MH TBRA

* Rapid Rehousing

* BTH

* Housing Location

* Pathways

* PECO MEAF

* Give A Christmas

* MH Transportation

* General Utility Assistance

BCOC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit celebrating 60 years of breaking the cycle of poverty in Bucks County.

/r/buckscountypa is a free online discussion community on Reddit with nearly 40k members. https://reddit.com/r/buckscountypa

Sources: BCOC 2023-2024 Annual Report