May is Community Action Month!
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Above:
President Lyndon B. Johnson is applauded as he finished his speech in the White House in Washington on July 2, 1964, over a radio-TV network prior to signing the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
Community Action comes out of President Lyndon B. Johnson's War on Poverty and from the advocacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 created the Network of locally-focused Agencies serving low-income populations. True to our history, Community Action Partnership remains committed to addressing the root causes and conditions of poverty in the United States, as demonstrated by the diversity of programs provided by our Community Action Agencies, which offer services from Head Start and other child development programs to Weatherization Assistance, job training and education support and elder care programs, among many others. Our Community Action Agencies are diverse in their service and programs, since they tailor their approaches to meet the specific needs of the communities they serve, and they put a human face on poverty while advocating for those who do not have a voice and providing opportunities for self-sufficiency.
During Community Action Month, Community Action Agencies across the country will highlight the great works their programs do to make their communities a better place.
National Community Action Month in May was created by the Community Action Partnership to reinforce Community Action agencies' role in helping low-income families achieve economic stability.
During the month of May, be on the lookout for our social media posts celebrating our promise and mission by highlighting our programs, sharing statistics on how many we are able to serve, and posting inspirational quotes from big players in the fight against poverty.
Check out our posts here!
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Community Action Partnership of Orange County, in partnership with PIMCO, wins the Giving is Living Award at the 2018 Spirit of Volunteerism Awards!
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Gregory Scott, President and CEO, and Sarah Middleton, Senior Vice President, Global Corporate Citizenship, are shown above receiving the Giving is Living Award at the 2018 Spirit of Volunteerism Awards at the Disneyland Hotel on behalf of Community Action Partnership of Orange County and PIMCO, respectively. The event saw over 1,000 attendees consisting of fellow nominees, honorees, nonprofits, law enforcement, and so many more.
There were 25 other nominees considered for the Giving is Living Award, including other nonprofits and various partnerships. The winner of this award was selected by a judging panel of 8 community members from various Orange County companies and nonprofits. The judges very much resonated with the fact that this was a 10 year long partnership that continues to grow and become more impactful every year. Both organizations are so committed to learning and improving upon this project to make it better than the last. This event has also become such a part of the PIMCO culture and caused PIMCO to focus in on the hunger topic. For all these reasons, CAP OC and PIMCO were selected as the recipients of the 2018 Giving is Living Award.
The partnership began in 2008 when the CEO of PIMCO at the time, Bill Thompson, had an idea for PIMCO employees to pack food boxes for their hungry neighbors in need. After discussing logistics with Mark Lowry, Director of the OC Food Bank, PIMCO's Share the Harvest was born. The first annual Share the Harvest had 158 volunteers who packed 1,000 food boxes. The event has since grown exponentially and last year's Share the Harvest saw 838 volunteers pack 12,000 food boxes!
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CAP OC Open House and Resource Fair Recap
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On Saturday April 21st CAP OC hosted our Open House and Resource Fair! We invited the community and had over 150 community members in attendance to learn more about the various programs we have to offer such as our Family Resource Centers, Utility Assistance Programs, Weatherization, and more! The day was also accompanied by music from a live DJ, various games, tours of our
OC Food Bank
, and of course free tacos! We would like to thank everyone who attended and hope you will join us again next year!
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That time of year is approaching where CAP OC gathers sponsorships and monetary, backpack, and school supply donations for Backpack for Success! This program ensures a backpack filled with necessary school supplies for Orange County children who are in great financial need.
Did you know poverty affects rougly 100,000 children in Orange County every day?Did you know 78% of low-income students start the school year with no or inadequate school supplies? This puts the student and the teacher at a disadvantage from the very first day of school. Twenty dollars can give a student in need a new backpack filled with all the supplies they need to help them be a more successful student!
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