ADAMS AND FRANKLIN COUNTY, PA: At SCCAP there really are a Million Reasons to Give!
David, an elderly veteran had nowhere to go. He was sleeping in his car. SCCAP staff were able to secure a safe place for him to sleep and then began working on all the connections he would need to be secure and stable so he would never have to sleep in his car again.
Alice, in her 70s a retired nurse, lost her spouse to COVID and was now at risk of losing her housing. How much grief could one person handle? We paid her rent and helped her secure more affordable housing and supports to help her heal.
Olivia, a single mom with two children and a waitress was out of work for nearly six months – everything was behind. We were able to help her with utilities and rent and when her car was at risk for being repossessed, we were able to get that caught up as well – how could she get to work without a car. She is now back to work and stable.
Rob and Mandi had both always worked but COVID changed that. They had lived a safe middle-class life. With their kids out of school due to COVID, Mandi had to stay home. They filled the gap with credit cards but that only made it worse. We were able to help them with rent, utilities and child care that was safe for their children so Mandi could go back to work. They wrote saying “Things are great thanks to you and your staff – we don’t know what we would have done without you.”
Agnes’ house was cold and drafty, she didn’t know if she could make it through another winter. She was in her late 70s and the cold bothered her – but where could she go? First Energy referred her to our Weatherization program and we were able to seal up her home. She wrote to say she is warm and comfortable now and not worried about the winter.
Jenna and Jason were having a baby. They were young but they wanted to give the baby the best they could. Jenna met with our WIC staff who not only helped with food items that ensured she had the best nutrition but prepared her with knowledge and support for their baby’s arrival. A breast-feeding peer counselor and WIC staff helped her along the way. She shared that this support helped them give their baby a healthy and safe start to her little life.
Doris didn’t have a lot of money, but she knew how to make it go a long way. She grew up surrounded by farms and learned how to can and freeze for the winter. Now living on a fixed income those skills were even more important. SCCAP’s Gleaning project, which, with the assistance of hundreds of volunteers, harvests donated produce and makes it available to folks like Doris. She was able to come every week, commenting on the beautiful produce, taking what she needs and said she now feels healthier and secure for the winter.
Donald lives in New Oxford and frequently walked to Gettysburg. We met him on a cold day in Match on one of the early trips with the Gettysburg Hanover Connection, a new Rabbit Transit Bus Line that came about by the efforts of @Home in Adams County, a community engagement initiative funded by the Adams County Community Foundation and administered by SCCAP. He was going to rent a car because he had a specialist appointment in Philadelphia. He was so relieved to have “a way to get back and forth – a way to remain independent”.
Karen came to Circles living on the edge but wanting more. She had always worked. Having peers that understood what it was like to live in poverty, appropriate support and protected time and space to create and work on goals changed everything for her. Now in her own home, something she didn’t know was possible for her, she knows she has changed the future for her children.
SCCAP has launched a campaign to raise a million dollars for their endowment. “An Endowment allows us to have unrestricted dollars coming in every year – forever,” says Megan Shreve, CEO of SCCAP. “Many of the stories above happened because we had flexible funding that allowed us to meet individual or community needs. Having a pool of unrestricted funds coming in each year allows us to innovate more, to build a better infrastructure, to work more at the system level, all leading to an increased ability to change more local lives and to help build a stronger community.”
SCCAP serves 17,000 families each year in Franklin and Adams Counties. The Million Reasons to Give Campaign runs through December 31. SCCAP has formed Million Dollar Committees in both Franklin and Adams Counties to assist in raising the million dollars. Donors can give directly through SCCAP and they also have a unique opportunity to give during the Adams County Community Foundation’s annual Giving Spree – which runs through November 5. SCCAP is 1 of only 2 organizations in Franklin County currently participating in the Adams County Community Foundation’s Giving Spree. The second Franklin County nonprofit participating in the Giving Spree is Totem Pole Playhouse. Both organizations encourage gifts through the Giving Spree because they will receive a percentage of “stretch pool” dollars and that number will increase with increased donations. Donors can find out more about the Giving Spree by visiting www.accfgivingspree.org
To read about more of the Million Reason’s to Give and see the Many Faces of SCCAP or to find out how to support the Million Reason’s to Give campaign, please visit www.sccap.org or email our Resource Development Director, Cheryl Brown at cbrown@sccap.org.
SCCAP has been serving Franklin and Adams Counties since 1965 and is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. All donations are tax deductible.