As Boca Helping Hands (BHH) pantry bag clients pick up their groceries, they will receive free books, compliments of the local library. The Boca Raton Public Library is donating approximately 125 books for both kids and adults, with representatives from the library handing out the books to families in the pick-up line on Thursday, July 15, from 9 am to 12:30 pm at 1500 NW 1st Court, Boca Raton, FL 33432.
This is the second book distribution that has occurred this summer. Prior to COVID-19, the Boca Raton Public Library would periodically host a “story time” reading program during BHH’s Thursday Night Family Dinners. With the BHH dining room not yet reopened for in-person dining, the library decided on the book donation as a way to continue their community involvement.
With the help of members of the Friends of the Boca Raton Public Library, a nonprofit volunteer organization that provides financial support to the library’s programming efforts, they are now able to donate books to BHH clients.
“Access to books, and especially books in the home, is so important to developing and maintaining strong reading skills,” said Shilo Perlman, Library Assistant (Events & Community Engagement) at the Boca Raton Public Library. “Some of our community members may not have the means to get to the library right now, so the Boca Raton Public Library and the Friends of the Library decided to bring the library to them!”
“We are so happy that our friends at the library have found a way to truly enrich the lives of families who are just trying to find a way to get by,” said Greg Hazle, Executive Director of Boca Helping Hands.
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. Through its various programs, BHH assists over 27,000 people annually.
BHH distributes more than 80,000 pantry bags each year at five Palm Beach County locations and serves over 90,000 hot meals annually, six days per week. The organization expands access to affordable medical, dental and behavioral care through its partnerships with Genesis Community Health (serving clients at clinics in Boca Raton and Boynton Beach) and Florida Atlantic University’s Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing Community Based Clinics (serving residents in West Palm Beach). In addition, BHH sends weekend meals home with food-insecure 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 awards scholarships for qualified candidates to attend accredited vocational training classes that prepare them for careers in the healthcare, information technology, construction, and transportation industries. BHH also offers free English as a Second Language (ESOL) classes, courses in nutrition, and other life skills. In addition, staff and volunteer mentors counsel the unemployed and underemployed in basic workplace skills and help them polish resumes and search for jobs.
Boca Helping Hands is a partner agency of The Town of Palm Beach United Way. Since 1945, the Town of Palm Beach United Way has been committed to improving lives and building strong communities throughout Palm Beach County by focusing on programs and priorities that promote education, health, and financial stability.
Charity Navigator named Boca Helping Hands a Four-Star Charity for the 15th consecutive year in June 2021. Boca Helping Hands is located at 1500 NW 1st Court, Boca Raton, FL 33432. For more information, please visit BocaHelpingHands.org.