People living in poverty often need assistance with emergency situations and help with their own efforts to improve the circumstances under which they live. Citizens for Citizens, Inc. (CFC) is the Community Action Agency serving the cities of Fall River and Taunton. Additionally, CFC also serves the surrounding towns of Berkley, Dighton, Freetown, Lakeville, Rehoboth, Seekonk, Somerset, Swansea, and Westport.

Citizens for Citizens, Inc. is an antipoverty social services agency, assisting over 42,000  households  each year by providing short-term services that support families during financial crisis situations through its Fuel Assistance, Food Pantry, and Rental Assistance programs. In addition, CFC provides long-range solutions through diverse programs that seek to empower low-income individuals and families with the ability to overcome the burdens of poverty by giving them the tools necessary to achieve and maintain self-sufficiency by offering programs such as Weatherization Assistance, Heart Start, Early Head Start, After School Day Care, HEART WAP, Senior Aide, Foster Grandparent, RSVP’s, Family Planning, and Volunteer Income Tax Return Preparation.

In keeping with the standards established during more than forty years of service to the low-income community, the dedicated management and staff of Citizens for Citizens, Inc. are continuing to search for and develop innovative new programs to combat poverty and help families to lead healthier, happier, and more productive lives.

.

Here’s a brief overview of the income guidelines for most typical families:

For information on larger families, or for other Fuel Assistance related inquiries, please call our offices at (508) 676-7397 or (508) 676-7398

]]> http://cfcinc.org/2012/04/08/debbie-araujo-receives-2012-woman-of-achievement-award/feed/ 0 http://cfcinc.org/2012/04/01/cfc-food-pantry-receives-grant-from-bj%e2%80%99s-charitable-foundation/ http://cfcinc.org/2012/04/01/cfc-food-pantry-receives-grant-from-bj%e2%80%99s-charitable-foundation/#comments Sun, 01 Apr 2012 17:27:42 +0000 amello http://cfcinc.org/?p=1990 Thanks to the generosity of the BJ’s Charitable Foundation, the Citizens for Citizens, Inc. (CFC) Food Pantry will be able to purchase food supplies for distribution to local families that are experiencing difficulty in making ends meet during the lengthy economic recession.

On March 22, 2012, CFC received notification from BJ’s Wholesale Club, Inc. that their Board of Directors had approved a grant in the amount of $10,000 from the BJ’s Charitable Foundation to the CFC Food Pantry “to purchase additional food to meet the needs of clients of the Food Pantry Program.”

The BJ’s Charitable Foundation has been making grants since 1965 towards the goal of creating a positive, long-lasting impact of the communities being served by BJ’s Wholesale Club. The Foundation’s mission is “to enhance and enrich community programs that primarily benefit children and families.” The greater part of the BJ’s Charitable Foundation funding has gone to people in need, through contributions to shelter programs, food pantries, soup kitchens, and food banks.

Chrystal Arpa, CFC Food Pantry Coordinator, explained, “The Food Pantry has been receiving very little in donations since last year. The monies we are receiving from BJ’s will help us continue to feed the 1,000 individuals we currently service every month. It is because of the support of businesses such as BJ’s that we are able to continue to keep the Food Pantry open in these harsh economic times.”

The Citizens for Citizens, Inc. Food Pantry will be able to utilize the BJ’s funding to assist the day-to-day operation to obtain nutritious food for the growing number of clients seeking food assistance. People in the Greater Fall River area that would not otherwise be capable of acquiring sufficient food for their families will now continue to receive groceries from the CFC Food Pantry and be able to provide more healthy meals for family members.

The WIC (Women, Infants and Children) Program is facing a severe, 9.3 percent cut in the proposed GOP federal budget. If this budget is adopted, funding statewide could be reduced by as much as $9 million, resulting in a drastic cutback of services to vulnerable children and their families. Due to current budget restrictions, the CFC WIC Program has already had to reduce staff employee hours, despite an increase in the number of program clients.

WIC Program Director Karen Swass emphasized to the gathering that the WIC Program is not a “welfare program.” Ms. Swass noted that WIC is a nutrition and health-based program, serving 45 percent of all Massachusetts infants, with a caseload estimated at 136,000. The WIC Program provides nutritional education, breastfeeding instruction, vouchers redeemable by qualifying parents or guardians for healthy food, and medical/dental care referrals. The WIC Program makes for healthier children and families, thus reducing overall health care system costs. There are strict rules for WIC qualification, based on economic need, with regular evaluations conducted of participant income levels. Karen Swass hoped that the information provided to the elected officials in attendance would encourage them to urge the federal government to avoid cuts to the valuable and necessary WIC Program.

Margaret Areias also spoke to the group regarding her experience with the WIC Program. Ms. Areias was laid off from her job six years ago and was pregnant at the time. Initially reluctant to apply for WIC benefits, she found that the extra financial help and nutrition instruction made it possible for her baby and family members to eat healthy meals.

In attendance at the WIC breakfast meeting were Sam Johnson, a regional representative from Senator Scott Brown’s office; a representative from Congressman James McGovern’s office, Taunton Mayor Thomas Hoye Jr., a representative from State Senator Marc Pacheco, along with State Representatives Shaunna O’Connell, Keiko Orrall, Steven Howitt, and George Ross.

Funds for Operation Christmas are used to purchase toys for families in the greater Fall River and Taunton areas who may not have gifts for Christmas otherwise the Salvation army uses their portion of the funds for food and winter clothing.

Please read the story published in the Herald News March 9th.

Fallon Community Health Plan was founded in 1977 as a not-for-profit health care services organization. Starting in 2006, Fallon Community Health Plan has conducted an annual fundraising initiative to support hunger relief programs throughout Massachusetts. This year, over sixty companies contributed donations to the Fallon Community Health Plan hunger relief project, which resulted in net proceeds of more than $150,000 in grants being given to 77 regional food banks and food distribution agencies.

Crystal Arpa receiving certificates for help with Toys for Tots

The Toys for Tots Program was founded in 1947 and is run by the United States Marine Corps Reserve. The program collects new toys during the autumn of each year and then distributes the toys locally to less fortunate families as Christmas gifts for youngsters who might not otherwise receive presents during the holiday season.

In 2011, the Somerset Toys for Tots Program generously donated over 2000 toys to the CFC Operation Christmas Program. Citizens for Citizens, Inc. has reciprocated by presenting the Somerset Marine Corps League this past year with more than ten boxes of various toiletries, office supplies, and health care products that will be sent to troops serving in Afghanistan. Since both programs are dedicated to serving the local low-income community, working together assures that families in need will receive the best possible assistance during difficult times.

“These are very difficult economic times and this toy drive was our way of bringing some joy to families in need during this holiday season”, stated Mr. Enright.