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The right man for the job
Tom Benjamin knows how to get things done.
The new executive director of Fauquier Community Action Committee (FCAC) comes to his post with a wealth of knowledge and a world of experience. He plans to put them to good use helping the county's growing numbers of impoverished residents.
Benjamin, whose background includes fundraising, conservation, and anti-poverty initiatives, took the helm of the local organization in March. He has big plans for its future.
Initiated by President Johnson in the 1960s, community action programs were charged with reducing poverty and its impact on communities. FCAC operates the county's HeadStart and Bright Stars educational programs for children, as well as offering emergency assistance and a community food bank.
As Fauquier County residents struggle alongside millions of other Americans in a difficult economy, demand for utility and food assistance has climbed dramatically, Benjamin said.
With cold weather still a few months away, FCAC has already given out nearly all of the money it has available for utility assistance, Benjamin said. Demand for those funds, made available through a grant from Dominion Virginia Power, is typically low or non-existent during the summer months, he said, noting that he’ll appeal to the electric company for more money.
According to Benjamin, the food bank directly served 126 households in August. It also reached approximately 200 additional households by extending distribution to several senior housing facilities, a Warrenton homeless shelter, and two pantries in the county.
“This is the first time we have been able to deliver food to these other facilities,” he said. Those numbers, for one month, are up from the entire year of 2007, when the food bank served 314 families.
To meet growing needs, Benjamin brings innovation and initiative earned from a lifetime of turning a little into enough for a lot of people.
To read more about Benjamin's experiences and his plans for FCAC, pick up a copy of this Friday's Fauquier Weekend.
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