Credit: Eric Parker/Bucks County Community College
Gene Epstein has made his legacy in Bucks County as a philanthropist who is focused on helping those in need.
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Through the Gene and Marlene Epstein Humanitarian Fund, he has continued the charity work he started decades ago when he was a young businessman and helped a nonprofit serving kids with autism in Trenton.
Epstein teamed up with nonprofit Bucks County Opportunity Council recently to support a pilot program to provide low-income families with emergency assistance to avoid eviction.
Generosity from the community helped the pilot receive more than $50,000 toward its goal of $150,000 to support the pilot project.
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“And then it slowed down,” Epstein told NewHopeFreePress.com of fundraising. “If we can get $50,000 more donated, I will match every dollar up to $50,000.”
Epstein has issued a challenge to raise the money to activate his match by the end of August.
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“Hopefully, we have enough from the public,” he said. “We can do it. We’re hoping we can get more people and businesses behind it to make a difference.”
The donor-funded pilot program will support emergency rental assistance, legal guidance, and personalized case management designed to help families increase their income and regain stability.
The goal is to help more than 20 families from all parts of the county, Epstein said.
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“Maybe they had something happen or a trauma,” Epstein said. “The families, they can’t get enough to out from behind it. These are people who are working and this will help them turn it around.”
“We want to get them back on their feet so they don’t need help from anybody,” he said.
Bucks County ranks sixth in Pennsylvania for eviction filing rates, with 14 renter households facing eviction filings each day, according to the Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania.
“Avoiding eviction means avoiding trauma, homelessness, missing work, changing schools,” said Erin Lukoss, CEO of the Bucks County Opportunity Council. “The well-being of everyone in a household is affected when facing eviction.”
Epstein, who is 87 years old, said he has committed his income, outside of paying his basic expenses, to helping the community.
Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
As a longtime car collector, he has no problem selling a vehicle to get funding to support a program in the community.
“I’d rather look at a classic car than buy a new one,” Epstein said.
Epstein previously sold cars used by Roy Orbison and Elvis Presley to bring in hundreds of thousands of dollars for area charities.
“I’m selfish,” he said. “I get a greater feeling from helping someone else than they get from being helped. I said once that it is an addiction, a good addiction.”
Donations can be made directly to the Bucks County Opportunity Council through its online DonorPerfect form.
More information is available by contacting Joe Cuozzo at 215-345-8175 ext. 204 or via email at jcuozzo@bcoc.org.
