Community Service - Families in Need

PPC Community Service: Families in Need

Homestretch

This 17-year-old nonprofit, headquartered in Falls Church, is the largest provider of transitional housing for homeless families with children in Northern Virginia, serving an estimated 110 families with 300 children each year. As part of our company’s commitment to addressing the needs of the local community, we are proud to provide direct financial support for Homestretch’s operating funds.

We’re equally proud of the involvement of dozens of PPC employees who volunteer their time and effort to support the organization. In the past, some PPC employees have assisted in much-needed fundraising activities that help to pay the costs of temporary housing, while others have provided personalized tutoring services for formerly homeless children to help them succeed in school.

Bayside Park, Mississippi

When Hurricane Katrina devastated the city of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast in the fall of 2005, PPC employees, like tens of millions of other Americans, watched the news stories in disbelief. Desperate to help in some way, employee volunteers quickly mobilized to gather donations — and soon five PPC employees drove down with a truck loaded with 40,000 pounds of food and water.

Forced to stop 30 miles short of New Orleans due to impassable roads, the small crew encountered the residents of the devastated community of Bayside Park, Mississippi. Thus began a lasting relationship, in which additional crews of PPC employees have traveled south with more truckloads of food and water — as well as tents, propane stoves, and basic humanitarian supplies to help the people of the community remain on their properties. To facilitate each of these trips, PPC donates its employees’ time as well as funds for food, supplies, and equipment. Most recently, the company donated $3,500 to help Bayside Park residents hold a dance recital at which 60 local children performed.

Other Groups that PPC Supports:

· Our Daily Bread

· Rachael’s Women’s Center

· Shelter Alliance

· Shelter House

· Upcounty Interfaith Clothing Center