PCCEO Community Action Agency

05/23/2023

FREE BIKES: The Free Bikes for Kids event is Wednesday, May 31, 2023 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Gateway Building-Riverfront.
Free and Used bikes will be given away in a lottery fashion.
Ticket entries for the bikes will be distributed at approximately 5:30p.m. (So no need to show up early)
There are over 90 bikes to be given away.
We'll see you soon!

05/12/2023

Stamp out Hunger!

Please join the National Association of Letter Carriers on Saturday, May 13 for the 31st annual Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive.Learn more: nalc.org/food.

05/08/2023

Last week PCCEO attended the Illinois Association of Community Action Agencies (IACAA) Conference

05/05/2023

Happy Cinco De Mayo from PCCEO!

05/04/2023

On April 28th, three (3) additional OKPARA tenants, Benita Jones, Frederick Pounds & Family and TeLekia Lyes, became proud Southside homeowners. All buyers significantly reduced their monthly housing payment and all closed with equity (meaning the house was worth more than they paid for it). This brings total OKPARA homeowners to nineteen (19).



OKPARA is a single family, lease purchase, scatter site housing development. All houses are 3 bedroom 1.5 bath, full basement with a 2 car garage. In 1998, the first eighty (80) houses were built on Peoria’s Southside to address the need for safe and affordable family housing. Another sixty (60) single family houses were built in 2001 bringing the total to 140 houses. OKPARA provided an opportunity for wealth building for low to moderate income families through homeownership. Tenants are able to purchase their home after the fifteen year (15) compliance period. In addition, OKPARA provided neighborhood stabilization by building quality housing on the vast number of vacant lots on Peoria’s Southside. The development contributes approximately $126,000+ in annual real estate taxes.

05/04/2023

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Peoria Area Food Bank Receives $15,000 Compeer Financial

To Support Rural Mobile Pantries

The Peoria Area Food Bank and Compeer will partner to provide much needed food to our rural neighbors living in Mason, Tazewell and Peoria counties. Many people in rural communities’ face hunger:

· Food insecurity rates are higher in rural areas than in urban areas. According to the USDA, in 2021 11% of rural households were food insecure.

· Our Map the Meal Gap report found that 9 out of 10 counties with the highest food insecurity rates are rural. Rural communities make up 63% of all U.S counties, but 87% of counties with the highest food insecurity rates.

· Living in a rural community comes with unique challenges that make affording food more difficult, including lack of transportation, jobs that pay low wages, and underemployment.

Compeer Financial and the Peoria Area Food Bank are working to feed our neighbors in rural communities. The Peoria Area Food Bank is committed to reaching everyone who faces hunger regardless of where they live. The Peoria Area Food Bank and Compeer Financial will:

· Operate mobile pantries that bring food to communities so our neighbors do not need to travel to food pantries that can be hours away.

· Assist community members with enrolling in SNAP.

About the Fund for Rural America

The Compeer Financial Fund for Rural America is the corporate giving program of Compeer Financial, structured to support Compeer Financial’s mission to enrich agriculture and rural America. Compeer Financial’s Board of Directors has dedicated one percent of annual net earnings to support the Fund’s focus areas of agricultural advocacy and development, agriculture education, cooperative initiatives, rural development and community enrichment; and youth engagement. The Fund is managed by a Board of Trustees, made up of team members from Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin and members of the Compeer Financial Board of Directors. More information about opportunities available through the Fund can be found at Compeer.com/giving-back.

About Compeer Financial

Compeer Financial is a member-owned Farm Credit cooperative serving and supporting agriculture and rural communities. The $29.7 billion organization provides loans, leases, risk management and other financial services throughout 144 counties in Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Based in the Upper Midwest, Compeer Financial exists to champion the hopes and dreams of rural America, while providing personalized service and expertise to clients and the agriculture industry.

Compeer Financial is the third largest cooperative of the Farm Credit System, a nationwide network of lending institutions supporting agriculture and rural communities with reliable, consistent credit and financial services. Learn more about Compeer Financial’s scholarship program.