Big News at Boca Helping Hands
Anna Campitelli Rubenstein Development Specialist
Welcome Anna Campitelli Rubenstein, the newly named Development Specialist at Boca Helping Hands.
Campitelli Rubenstein was previously a Development Associate at the Dallas Zoo and a grant writing consultant. She is a graduate of the University of Florida where she received her BA in English and Zoology and went on to DePaul University where she earned her Masters in Public Relations and Advertising.
Arthur J. Remillard, Jr.
Boca Helping Hands also announced a gift from the estate of Arthur J. Remillard, Jr. of just over $1 million to its endowment fund, intended to help ensure long-term financial viability of the organization.Gary Peters, Boca Helping Hands’ Board President, noted “Arthur Remillard’s first major gift to Boca Helping Hands in 2006 enabled us to purchase the building we are in today, allowing our organization to expand from its beginnings as a small soup kitchen. His estate gift will help ensure that we can keep growing and serving those in need for decades to come.”
Gary Peters, Boca Helping Hands’ Board President
The Remillard Family Resource Center opened in 2010 and today, Boca Helping Hands feeds 150-200 people a hot meal six days a week, serving 4,000 people monthly.
The organization distributes almost 6,000 pantry bags (groceries) to needy people each month. It also provides job training and job mentoring, underwrites medical and dental visits for the uninsured and contributes limited financial assistance to qualified Boca Raton residents in crisis. Boca Helping Hands has expanded pantry pickup and medical service to Boynton Beach and assists community members in need throughout Palm Beach County.
“Our father was passionate about wanting to help establish a comprehensive resource center for the less privileged citizens of this great town,” said Regan Remillard, Arthur’s son. “Boca Helping Hands is the culmination of that passion, and our father’s Legacy Gift will help Boca Helping Hands continue its critical, compassionate mission of providing food, access to medical care, financial assistance and job training to Boca’s neediest residents.”
The Remillard family continues its support of and involvement with Boca Helping Hands and Arthur’s grandchildren volunteer whenever they visit Boca Raton.
For more information, contact Karen Swedenborg at 561-417-0913, ext. 202.
About Boca Helping Hands
Boca Helping Hands (BHH) is a community-based nonprofit that provides food, medical and financial assistance to meet basic human needs as well as education, job training and guidance to create self-sufficiency.
BHH distributes more than 70,000 pantry bags each year at three Palm Beach County locations and serves over 55,000 hot meals annually, six days per week. The organization expands access to affordable medical, dental and behavioral care through its partnership with Genesis Community Health, serving uninsured clients at clinics in Boca Raton and Boynton Beach. BHH sends weekend meals home with local elementary school students via the BHH Backpacks Program and assists working families with the rising cost of childcare through the Children’s Assistance Program (CAP).
With an increased focus on client self-sufficiency, BHH offers free English as a Second Language (ESOL) classes and courses in nutrition and other life skills. Staff and volunteers also counsel the unemployed and underemployed in basic workplace skills, and BHH awards scholarships for qualified candidates to attend accredited vocational training classes for Hospitality, Home Health Aide, Commercial Truck Driving, Customer Service Representative, IT Help Desk Technician, Certified Nursing Assistant and Medical Billing and Coding.
In January, Charity Navigator named Boca Helping Hands a Four Star Charity for the 13th Consecutive Year.
Boca Helping Hands is located at 1500 NW 1st Ct Boca Raton, FL 33432. For more information, please visit bocahelpinghands.org.
