United Way of Bucks County Makes Major Announcement

Bucks County's United Way got some good news recently to share with the community.

Bucks County's United Way got some good news, which it shared at a social media conference recently. All 27 food pantries in Bucks County were emptied after Hurricane Sandy, said Jamie Haddon, director of the Bucks County United Way. Haddon and the United Way staff got to work and recently received some good news that will help keep that from happening again. Click on the (short) video to learn more.

• Videos (1)

Bucks for Beaches Event to Benefit NJ Shore Restoration

Tickets for the Feb.10 event are $25 and include a lunch buffet, glass of wine or beer and live entertainment. All proceeds go to rebuild the beaches of New Jersey.

New Jersey Hometown Heroes is organizing an event in Newtown to raise money for Hurricane Sandy relief. The event, “Bucks for Beaches,” will be held Feb. 10 from noon to 4 p.m. at La Salla. Tickets for the event are $25 and include a lunch buffet, glass of wine or beer and live entertainment. Performers include Turner Adams, Lisabeth Weber, Burning Bridget Cleary, Will Rhodin and members of the Council Rock High School North music program. All of the proceeds from the event will go to rebuild the beaches of New Jersey. Tickets can be purchased at LaStalla; cash or checks made payable to New Jersey Hometown Heroes (Sandy Relief in memo line). Click here for details on the New Jersey Hometown Heroes organization.

• Photos (1)

Hurricane Sandy

After Hurricane Sandy: Hiring a Public Adjuster

The Bucks County Office of Consumer Protection advises homeowners who sustained damage after Hurricane Sandy to be wary when hiring a public adjuster.

Q.      My brother and sister-in-law own a home in the Lower Bucks County area.  Their home was one of the many homes that sustained severe damage in the recent Hurricane Sandy. They have been telling my husband and me about the numerous problems that they are facing since that time.  They also mentioned that they have hired a Public Adjuster.  Where would someone go to get information about public insurance adjusters?     MFB, Plumsteadville A.       Public insurance adjusters are independent individuals who, for a fee, legally represent a person who has experienced a property, fire or casualty loss by aiding them in recovering money from their own insurance company. They are not a representative or employee of your insurance company. For…

•  2 Comments
• Photos (1)

Heidi Klum to Aid Hurricane Sandy Victims on Sunday, Dec. 2

The supermodel mom will help distribute supplies in partnership with the American Red Cross and Patch on Sunday, Dec. 2.

Supermodel Heidi Klum is lending her efforts to affected victims and families of Superstorm Sandy by distributing supplies, food, and water in the afternoon on Sunday, Dec. 2 at the American Red Cross Nassau Chapter in Mineola, NY, in partnership with the American Red Cross, AOL, and Patch. After, Klum will go to Lindenhurst, NY, for the tree lighting with Mayor Thomas Brennan. Klum's efforts are a reminder that these communities still need help rebuilding. Here's how you can help: Donate to the American Red Cross, Long Island Cares, or Island Harvest. And, you can help rebuild communities that were hit by Hurricane Sandy by simply sending a tweet: Patch’s effort to help support devastated communities after the storm, Patch Rebuilds, will …

•  2 Comments
• Photos (1)

Tips for Disaster Recovery for Small Business Owners

Hurricane Sandy has caused severe damage to many local businesses. if you're a small business owner, here's some helpful advice for how to recover.

1) File insurance claims as soon as possible, if you haven't already done so. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners offers important advice and tips for filing your claim. The National Flood Insurance Program also provides information on filing a flood insurance claim. 2) The SBA offers several low-interest, long-term disaster loans to small businesses in declared disaster areas, including business physical disaster loans and economic injury disaster loans. You can apply for loans up to $2 million for both uninsured and underinsured damages. You can apply directly online. Once submitted, the SBA will send an inspector to estimate the cost of damage. 3) Apply for tax relief if needed, which will allow for expedited returns or …

•  2 Comments
• Photos (1)

More Residents Use Technology When Sandy Hit

More residents in Bucks and Montgomery turn to their smartphones in emergencies, like Hurricane Sandy.

News Releases from Bucks County. For more information, please go to www.buckscounty.org. On an increasing basis, residents are relying on technology to receive comprehensive information about weather and other emergencies. That trend was born out during the recent effects of Hurricane Sandy as it passed through southeastern Pennsylvania. Within the five-day period October 26-30, almost 18,000 residents of Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties signed up to receive emergency alerts through the public safety notification system, www.ReadyNotifyPA.org. The signup numbers for each county that were triggered by Hurricane Sandy: Bucks County 3,770 Montgomery County 3,469 "On behalf of the Bucks County emergency management…

•  3 Comments
• Photos (1)

Tweet #PatchRebuilds to Help Hurricane Sandy Survivors

Patch will make a $1 donation to AmeriCares for every tweet with the hashtag #PatchRebuilds.

You can help rebuild communities that were hit by Hurricane Sandy by donating cans of food, volunteering for cleanup efforts—or simply sending a tweet. Patch is excited to announce our new effort to help support devestated communities after the storm. For every tweet sent with the hashtag #PatchRebuilds, we will donate $1 to the AmeriCares Hurricane Sandy Disaster Relief Fund, up to $125,000. Your contribution will go toward medical and humanitarian aid, grants and programs to help Sandy survivors. You can simply tweet the hashtag #PatchRebuilds or go to our Patch Rebuilds website, rebuilds.patch.com, and tweet directly from the site. A customized tweet that starts “My heart belongs to…” is created from the Patch Rebuilds website, and …

• Photos (1)

Fire Association Seeks Items for N.J. Storm Cleanup Effort

In a Facebook post Tuesday, the Fire Association announced it would be collecting items for fellow firefighters in Ship Bottom, N.J. who were hit by Hurricane Sandy.

The Newtown Fire Association is seeking items to be donated to firefighters in Ship Bottom, N.J. In a Facebook post Tuesday, the Fire Association announced it would be sending spare firefighting gear to fellow firefighters in Ship Bottom who were hit hard by Hurricane Sandy. "In addition to the gear, we would like to send other items to assist their community," the post said. The Fire Association is seeking the following items: All items can be dropped off to the Newtown Borough Station on Liberty Street between 6:30 and 9:00 p.m. Wednesday. Ship Bottom is a borough on Long Beach Island, N.J.

• Photos (1)

Local Boy Scouts Collecting Turkeys for Sandy Victims

Three local scout troops will also collect non-perishable food and hygiene items at an event on Nov. 18.

Local Boy Scouts are organizing an effort to help Hurricane Sandy victims. Newtown’s Troop 99, Troop 29 and Troop 380 will collect turkeys as well as non-perishable food and hygiene items at Council Rock High School North on Sunday, Nov. 18 from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. Goods collected will be delivered later that afternoon to Monmouth County for distribution. “When I saw the devastation in the wake of Hurricane Sandy along beach communities of New Jersey, I was inspired to find a way for our boys to help,” said Troop 99 Scoutmaster Mike Perkins. “It’s what scouts do. This hits close to home, our boys have a connection to this area. They’ve camped at Sandy Hook and many of them earned their Small-Boat Merit Badge in Belmar.”  The Monmouth County …

•  3 Comments
• Photos (1)

Hurricane Sandy

Patch & AOL Send Hurricane Sandy Relief Trucks to Long Island, New Jersey

Employees help out, and you can, too.

  It's been said it's far better to have a neighbor who's near, than a brother who's far away, but in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, Americans across the nation have proven to be the best neighbors and the strongest of families.   This past weekend, AOL and Patch employees took an opportunity to pitch in, packing two tractor trailers worth of food, water and supplies in Dulles, VA, and Baltimore. The donations are headed to Hurricane Sandy ravaged areas in New Jersey and Long Island. Want to join the relief efforts? Click here to donate: https://donate.networkforgood.org/aol "When a catastrophe of this size hits, we all feel it, both the hundreds of us who live in the impacted towns, and our colleagues who are watching and wishing they could…

•  5 Comments
• Photos (4)