Back in 1964, President Johnson declared an official War on Poverty and instituted the Economic Opportunity Act (EOA), which created fabulous programs such as Head Start. Although we can safely say that there is now a War on the Poor, not all of Johnson's (with loads of help from the Kennedy and Shriver clans, of course) programs bit the dust.
One of the key components of the EOA was the Community Action Partnership (CAP) network. There are currently more than 1,000 CAP agencies throughout the country and in US territories, and their sole purpose is to help low-income folks become more self-sufficient. They do so through financial education, utility assistance, programs for youth, matching savings programs (the glory of IDAs, which I have written about previously), and a slew of other national and locally-based program initiatives. It's a wonderful organization whose focus is to empower folks. (Consider it a miracle that they're still around, given our current war on the poor.)
I applied to work at my local CAP agency, but they didn't hire me. Cue tragic violins. However, let's not hold that against them if you're in need of help, mmkay? If you could use some help financially and fall into the required income ranges (I believe it varies according to state income levels vs. federal levels. Correct me if I'm wrong!), find a local CAP organization in your area and take advantage of the excellent help they offer. Embrace assistance when you need it, and if you're hankering for some volunteer or donor adventures, why not check out what your local CAP agency needs? It takes a village, after all, and we're all in this together.
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1 comment:
There is no doubt - it's an important and fantastic organization. I hope that you are familiar with its local branch
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