Joseph Cuozzo

Bucks County Opportunity Council

the lead anti-poverty 501(c)3 community action organization in Bucks County. Our mission is to reduce poverty and partner with our community to promote economic self-sufficiency. The Bucks County Opportunity Council is 501(c)3 charity located in Bucks County who carries out its mission to reduce poverty through five programs: economic self-sufficiency, food, emergency services, weatherization and tax preparation. The economic self-sufficiency program works with motivated families through coaching and education to earn a livable wage and become free of all government assistance. As the lead food agency in the county, our food program supplies donated food, both government and private, to over 80 food pantries and distribution sites. The emergency services program helps individuals and families in crisis providing short-term assistance in the form of rental assistance or overdue energy bills. The weatherization program provides heater repair and replacement for low-income families as well as services to make home more energy efficient. The tax preparation program is run entirely by volunteers who prepare over 1000 tax returns annually saving low-income families on expensive preparation fees and maximizing tax returns. Our Wheelz to Work program takes donated used cars, evaluates them, repairs them if needed and then provides them to our economic self-sufficiency clients to help them over the barrier of transportation in Bucks County.