Month: January 2025

DOYLESTOWN, Penn., January 16, 2025 /3BL/ – Bucks County Opportunity Council Inc. (BCOC) has received a $400,000 Community Impact Grant from KeyBank Foundation, the charitable foundation of KeyBank, aimed to increase food resources and improve health equity in Bucks County. The funding will be used to expand BCOC’s network of food distribution sites, advocate for more collaboration on community efforts to address food insecurity, implement nutrition educational programs to drive healthier eating habits, and increase BCOC’s retail rescue operations.

Erin Lukoss, Executive Director of BCOC said, “KeyBank has been a long-time supporter and partner to BCOC, helping to reduce poverty in our community. Increasing access to food resources and improving health equity are two strategic priorities for BCOC and this generous grant from the KeyBank Foundation will greatly affect our ability to meet the increased need as well as help us grow our programming for greater impact in Bucks County.”

Bucks County faces significant challenges related to food insecurity and health disparities. Many residents lack consistent access to nutritious food, which adversely affects their health and well-being. According to the “Map the Meal Gap” report produced by Feeding America, Bucks County’s food insecurity rate is approximately 6.6%, equating to more than 42,000 individuals, including an estimated 12,690 children living in food insecure homes. What’s more, nearly half of those individuals may not qualify for government assistance programs like SNAP due to income thresholds. BCOC plays a pivotal role in combating food insecurity in the region, serving as Bucks County’s lead food agency for families in need and operating a network of over 75 providers focused on meeting the food and nutritional needs of low-income households.

“KeyBank joins BCOC in the belief that all of our residents deserve access to healthy, nutritious and affordable food,” said KeyBank’s Eastern Pennsylvania Market President and Market Retail Leader, Youseff Tannous. “We are proud to provide BCOC with financial resources to help them address food insecurity and improve health equity for so many of our neighbors in Bucks County.”

KeyBank’s grant to Bucks County Opportunity Council is part of the bank’s $40 billion community investments plan focused on economic access and equity to communities across the country. The scope of the plan includes investments and lending in affordable housing, home lending, small business lending, green initiatives, and transformative philanthropy targeted toward workforce development, education, and safe, vital neighborhoods for underserved communities and populations.

About Bucks County Opportunity Council Inc. 

BCOC is the lead anti-poverty, non-profit organization in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, dedicated to ending poverty by connecting people with the resources they need to thrive.

BCOC has five major program areas: Housing, Food, Weatherization, Volunteer Income Tax Preparation (VITA) and the Economic Self-Sufficiency (ES) Program. Housing includes street outreach, rental and move in aid, and utility shut-off prevention. Food services supply food directly to families through a network of 75 food pantries and distribution sites. Weatherization services help families in reducing their energy costs. VITA provides free income tax preparation assistance. The ES Program assists individuals and families to leave poverty permanently through case management, education, and employment.

For 60 years, the Opportunity Council has served low-income families in Bucks County by helping them to stabilize when in crisis, garner resources to achieve a livable wage, gain additional education and training, and work towards economic self-sufficiency.

About KeyBank Foundation

KeyBank Foundation serves to fulfill KeyBank’s purpose to help clients and communities thrive, and its mission is to support organizations and programs that prepare people for thriving futures. The Foundation’s mission is advanced through three funding priorities – neighbors, education, and workforce – and through community service. To provide meaningful philanthropy that transforms lives, KeyBank Foundation listens carefully to understand the unique characteristics and needs of its communities and then backs solutions with targeted philanthropic investments. KeyBank Foundation is a nonprofit charitable foundation, funded by KeyCorp.

About KeyCorp/KeyBank 

KeyCorp’s roots trace back nearly 200 years to Albany, New York. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Key is one of the nation’s largest bank-based financial services companies, with assets of approximately $190 billion at September 30, 2024. Key provides deposit, lending, cash management, and investment services to individuals and businesses in 15 states under the name KeyBank National Association through a network of approximately 1,000 branches and approximately 1,200 ATMs. Key also provides a broad range of sophisticated corporate and investment banking products, such as merger and acquisition advice, public and private debt and equity, syndications and derivatives to middle market companies in selected industries throughout the United States under the KeyBanc Capital Markets trade name. For more information, visit https://www.key.com/. KeyBank is Member FDIC.

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Media contacts:

BCOC: Amy Griffiths, Communications and Development Manager | 215-345-8175 x230 | agriffiths@bcoc.org

KeyBank: Karen Crane, Regional Communications Manager | 203-789-2752 | karen_crane@keybank.com

Franklin Templeton employees show their generosity and compassion all year long. This year, the firm again participated in Involved HOLIDAYS, a special volunteer campaign building upon the momentum of June’s Impact Days to extend the spirit of giving beyond that month and make an impact during the holiday season. It is the perfect time to come together as a team and extend a hand to those in need.

Here are a few projects from company offices around the globe.

Baltimore kicked off the holiday season with a food drive & winter coat drive to support Living Classrooms Foundation, a nonprofit that implements community-driven, research-based, best practices that value the priorities and aspirations of the Baltimore Community.

Stamford employees participated in a food and gift drive benefiting the New Covenant Center. The team brought the holidays to 22 children who have been impacted by domestic violence this year by providing over 125 gifts.

Mumbai kicked off holidays season with the season’s giving spirit spending a heartwarming day with the amazing senior citizens at The Sanctuary – an adult day care center and a recreation facility for the elderly, within the King George V Memorial Charitable Trust Premises.

Hong Kong kicked off their Holidays season with HSBC x FT Volunteer Elderly Visit event in Sham Shui Po, one of the poorest districts in HK. Together, the team made a positive difference in the lives of the elderly.

Employees in New York joined Rise Against Hunger for its meal packaging program, a volunteer-based initiative that coordinates assembly-line packaging of highly nutritious dehydrated meals made up of rice, soy vegetables and essential vitamins and minerals. These packaged meals are used primarily to support school food programs in developing countries. 

Through December, Poznan volunteers crafted and donated handmade items to a charity shop for employees to purchase and held a special online game auction. All proceeds from the event went to fund Fundacja “Sloneczko” nonprofit supporting individuals with disabilities in obtaining the funds needed for treatment, rehabilitation and orthopedic equipment.

In November Poznan employees hosted a Share the Warmth holiday drive to support Sant’Egidio, Albertine Sisters, Zupa na Głównym and Caritas Charity Kitchen by donating the most-needed items for people experiencing homelessness. Employees contributed financially, volunteered to sort and pack donated items, helped transport the packages, cooked and served cakes and food to clients of the Caritas Kitchen.

On December 17, Toronto employees volunteered at the North York Harvest Food Bank, where they dedicated time making a meaningful difference in community. Volunteer activities included assembling packing boxes, sorting food and other essential items, conducting quality control by checking for defects and verifying expiry dates, and efficiently organizing and packing everything for distribution.

On December 9, Toronto employees came together to have some fun and support Holiday Helpers. Employees volunteered in a fun and fulfilling group shift at Santa’s Workshop, where they sorted, wrapped and packaged family gifts for registered charity. Holiday Helpers Canada’s mission is to bring joy, encouragement, and necessary poverty relief to low-income families with young children who are working hard to improve their situation. They provide a one-time Christmas package tailored to each family’s needs.

On December 12, Edinburgh employees volunteered at the Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity annual Christmas event. The “Sparkle & Shine Christmas Carol Concert” event started the season of holiday festivities featuring young performers, all of whom have participated in the activities that the Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity has provided in the hospital and health care settings in the community. The event helped ECHC raise over $7,500 USD to support children and families who will spend Christmas in hospital.

San Mateo volunteers attended the annual LifeMoves Vendome’s holiday party and helped decorate, serve food, engaged with clients, facilitated games and music and helped clean up after the event.

On December 10, The San Mateo office partnered with Resource Area for Teaching (“RAFT”) to put together STEAM Project Kits. RAFT’s mission is to provide students and their teachers with STEAM hands-on learning activities that help to develop skills such as problem solving, critical thinking, and communication.

Through December, Franklin Templeton and Family Giving Tree partnered again to fulfill holiday wishes of those in need. For 32 consecutive years, employees have donated gifts through the organization to help brighten the lives of those less fortunate.

The Short Hills team hosted a fundraising event for Soles4Souls, an international organization dedicated to responding to crises such as natural disasters and homelessness by providing clothing and shoes. This initiative helps those affected to allocate their finances to other essential priorities.

Soldiers’ Angels Stocking Stuffer Events

Employees in St. Petersburg, New York, Rancho Cordova and Stamford joined in person to help the Veterans business resource group and Involved sort items, fill holiday stockings and write cards to send to deployed troops and veterans currently staying at Veterans Affairs hospitals. Over 600 stockings were donated across the participating offices.

Wreaths Across America

Every December, Wreaths Across America coordinates wreath-laying ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery and more than 2,100 other locations across all 50 US states, at sea and abroad. On December 14, Franklin Templeton volunteers helped Arlington National Cemetery to remember and honor veterans by laying remembrance wreaths on the graves of the country’s fallen heroes. This year volunteers raised 461 wreaths in total with Franklin Templeton donating 200 wreaths.

About Franklin Templeton

Franklin Resources, Inc. [NYSE:BEN] is a global investment management organization with subsidiaries operating as Franklin Templeton and serving clients in over 150 countries. Franklin Templeton’s mission is to help clients achieve better outcomes through investment management expertise, wealth management and technology solutions. Through its specialist investment managers, the company offers specialization on a global scale, bringing extensive capabilities in fixed income, equity, alternatives and multi-asset solutions. With more than 1,500 investment professionals, and offices in major financial markets around the world, the California-based company has over 75 years of investment experience and approximately $1.6 trillion in assets under management as of December 31, 2024. For more information, please visit franklintempleton.com and follow us on LinkedIn, X and Facebook.