December 2017
As the Holidays quickly approach, Community Action Partnership of Orange County and our OC Food Bank are dedicated to making sure that children, families, seniors, and Veterans impacted by poverty are not left behind. Please join us for our annual Hope for the Holidays Campaign and give the gift that counts!

There are  several ways that your business, organization, group or self can help support Hope for the Holidays!
Adopt a Family Stories
Martha is a single mother of seven children and receiving assistance in order to provide for her family. Her three youngest children are triplets. When she found out she was expecting triplets, the father left her. Her oldest daughter, Ariana, works and assists her mother in providing for the family. 
Jocelyn's husband, Bryan, injured his knee in October 2016 and since then, Jocelyn has been the sole provider for the family of six and have had to pull together during this difficult time. Their roles have switched, Bryan is now a stay-at-home dad and in addition, trying to resolve his surgery issue that keeps getting rejected. Between their limited income and medical bills, their finances are extremely tight. 

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We are so happy to be able to help families like these any many more last year have an extra special holiday season during stressful times in their lives. This year c onsider adding a few more items to your holiday shopping list to help a family in need. Sign up today to sponsor a family through the Adopt-A-Family program and make the holiday season so much brighter for a local family! 

Contact Natalie at nanderson@capoc.org | (714) 897-6670, ext. 5310

We need your help this holiday Season! This time of year can be especially difficult for families struggling to make ends meet. Gifts and Holiday meals become secondary to low-income families when bills need to be paid. You can help make the holiday season so much brighter by providing new clothes, toys, holiday food baskets, or gift certificates for a deserving family in need. Please download the  Adopt-a-Family information and Contact Sheet  and/or you can  Donate Online . If you wish to purchase gifts for your adopted family yourself, you will receive your family's wishlist around mid-late November. From there, all gifts need to be delivered to their designated family resource center by noon on December 21st.

Please contact Natalie Anderson at 714-897-6670 ext 5310 or Email at  nanderson@capoc.org

Hold a Toy Drive to provide toys or basic necessities to children in need. To hold a drive at your agency, Please download the  Toy Drive Form  and the  Toy Drive Suggestions  list. 

For more information, Please contact Kristin Kvesic at 714-897-6670 ext 3604 or Email at  kkvesic@capoc.org  .

You can help make the holiday so much brighter by joining the OC Food Bank to provide holiday meals to low-income families. Host a food drive with your fellow employees, congregation, neighborhood, or group of friends. You can host a physical food drive and/or a virtual food drive.

Physical Food Drive
This is a great way of getting People/Organizations involved in Helping Others and is a perfect addition to a Virtual food drive. We will Drop-Off and Pick-Up the containers so you don't have to. Please download the  Physical Food Drive Form and the  Food Drive Suggestions list. 

For more information, please contact  Kristin Kvesic at  kkvesic@capoc.org or call  714-897-6670 ext. 3604.

Virtual Food Drive
A virtual food drive allows you and your group to conveniently donate online. Your group can have a personalized website where you can donate from anywhere on any day of the year. This is a great addition to a physical food drive. Please download the  Virtual Food Drive Form  

For more information, please contact  Kathy Ashkins  at  kashkins@capoc.org or call 714-897-6670 ext. 3151.

Photo credit: Curtis Gibbs

As you start to plan for your family's holiday celebrations, please think about all of the families who won't be able to put food on their table this season. Unfortunately, the OC Food Bank does not have enough turkeys for those who walk through our doors this holiday. Everyone deserves to celebrate the season and provide a holiday meal for their family PLEASE consider making a $20 donation to purchase a turkey for a hungry family, or buy a 'flock of turkeys' to feed more than one family. We need your help more than ever this holiday season and we are grateful for anything you can provide.

National Family Volunteer Day
On Saturday, November 18th, 2017, hundreds of volunteers gathered to our OC Food Bank to pack food boxes for seniors. Volunteers from organizations like Disney VoluntEARS, Wells Fargo, Pacific Life, First American, KPMG, Long Tail Alpha, Islamic Society of Orange County, Ingram Micro, Trane, and many more worked together to pack 23,400 boxes for seniors in need.  Click here to view photos from the event!

California Earned Income Tax Credit
As part of the campaign to increase awareness about California's Earned Income Credit (CalEITC), our goal is to increase the number of low-income families and individuals who claim this refundable tax credit.  We know that the more people talk about CalEITC, the more likely we are to reach eligible filers. We hope you will join us and share this valuable information below!
 
For the 2017 tax year, families earning up to $22,300 may qualify for up to $2,775 through CalEITC's refundable credit. In addition, for the first time in 2017 individuals who earn self-employment income may qualify for CalEITC. You can click here  to visit the Franchise Tax Board page and review the complete income guidelines and requirements for 2017 as well as the years before.
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Are you looking for a high impact volunteer experience that lets you work closely with members of your community? There is still time to register and certify as a VITA volunteer through Orange County United Way's OC Free Tax Prep Campaign. Click here to register as a VITA volunteer!
 
You can also find out more about volunteering at one of our specific VITA locations in Anaheim, Orange, or Santa Ana by emailing freetaxes@capoc.org
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As the tax season and New Year inches closer, make sure to stay up to date on all our tax announcements by following us on social media or visiting our tax page at www.capoc.org/tax
 
There is more than one way to give back this holiday season. Tell someone you know about CalEITC, volunteer your time, or forward this message!

New Permanent School Pantry: 
La Colonia Market
Community Action Partnership of Orange County (in partnership with Second Harvest Food Bank) is proud to announce the launch of their new Permanent School Pantry: La Colonia Market located in the Anaheim Independencia Family Resource Center.

The mission of the School Pantry Program is to help alleviate child hunger in America through the provision of food to children and their families. School Pantries are located on the grounds of a school or community-based organization, intended to provide a more readily accessible source of food assistance to low-income children and their families.

School Pantry is a Feeding America Program model, adopted and tailored by Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County (SHFBOC) to best reach the needs of the community. SHFBOC launched its first permanent School Pantry (the "Lion's Den") in September 2015 at Lincoln Elementary in Anaheim, and its second ("Mercado El Sol") in April 2017 at El Sol Science & Arts Academy in Santa Ana.

The launch will be on December 7, 2017 at 11:00 am located at 10841 Garza Ave, Anaheim, CA 92804. There will be street parking available. Please RSVP by December 1, 2017. Contact Ellie at
Ellie@FeedOC.org or 949-208-3149 to RSVP or for more information.

"Sharing your bounty with vulnerable families"
Mark Lowry, the Director of our OC Food Bank, had the opportunity to co-write an article in the OC Register discussing the need for those with plenty to give to those who are less fortunate. Click here to read the whole article. 

Energy and Environmental Services 
Staff/Client Testimonials
I had recently been released from the hospital to come home to outstanding bills, and currently my wife is on hospice and is terminally ill. Having the Weatherization staff come and assess my home really gave me a positive outlook. It was nice to know people cared enough to help me with my home and to simply listen to me. The staff was simply stellar, had great energy, and personalities. I wanted to give a big thank you to Kanielle and Thai for all their hard work.

Client: Ryan R.

Vicky is an elderly client with sever arthritis whose furnace was not operating properly. She received a new space heater and furnace right around the holidays so she could be warm and cozy during the cold winter months. Vicky was very grateful to have heat and sent a thank you Easter card to her outreacher, Walter.

Staff: Sally Andreatta

I am a married mother of four who are all under the age of 18. I am the only one who is currently able to work, because my husband cannot work due to a work related injury. Unfortunately, he is not receiving any worker's compensation. I applied for Weatherization services because my weater heater tank is improperly working, and we have a door with a large gap that needs to be replaced. In addition to having these issues resolve by fixing and replacing them, I will also be receiving a check to help me pay for my utility bills. Thank you, Community Action Partnership of Orange County!

Client: Isabelle E.

In order to find an affordable and appropriate apartment, my husband and I had spent 9 months on intensive search. Finally, we settled down at the current two-bedroom apartment on November 16, 2016. Since then, we barely had made ends meet with our meager income of Social Security benefits and Food Stamps.  Unfortunately, on February 14, 2017 my husband was diagnosed as suffering from terminal cancer. Loads of treatments turned out to be hopeless and futile with his death in three and half weeks away. His abrupt death has brought me an unbelievable severe depression that I have been undergoing psychiatric treatments currently. In addition, I have already been having treatments for the illnesses such as: back pain, diabetes, high blood pressure, and insomnia for years. As I am getting older and suffering from the chronic illnesses, my health conditions is getting increasingly frail, vulnerable, and financial hardship dilemma in predictions. Thus, a surge in my upcoming life hardship has stimulated me to make a phone to CAPOC for Utility Assistance program instantly.

The Utility Assistance program has provided me with one of the most important sources of assistance to rely on. The program lights up not only the place where I live but my life when I need a positive and affirming support from CAPOC.

Client: Gina A.


Client names are changed to protect their identity. 
Shopper Giving Programs: 
Another Way to Contribute

Did you know that while you are shopping online you could also be making a contribution to Community Action Partnership and our OC Food Bank?  Please search by our name and/or Tax ID (95-2452787) to find us on:

AmazonSmile: Amazon will donate 0.5% of the purchase price on eligible items.
 
eScrip: At stores such as Bristol Farms, Lazy Acres, etc., as well as its online mall.
 
Ralphs/Food 4 Less:

Ethona:
Ethona is a women's athletic wear company that strives to promote positive change in the world. 10% of their profits are donated to partners to actively fight Human Trafficking. They have generously offered to help support CAPOC through the rest of 2017.
 
More and more stores and credit cards are developing these giving programs benefiting non-profits, so when in doubt, please search for us!  These contributions are another valuable way you help Community Action Partnership of Orange County and our OC Food Bank help people and change lives.

To help sustain the great work we do for our communities in need, please consider donating to Community Action Partnership of Orange County.

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