NOVA, Bucks County’s comprehensive crime victim service agency, received over 100 holiday gifts and items for families in need, courtesy of the patrons and staff of Giuseppe’s Pizza of Warminster. Every year, Giuseppe’s has a Giving Tree in the restaurant, whereby patrons and staff take a gift tag from the tree, purchase an item and drop it off at the restaurant. For the 2023 holiday season, NOVA was one of two charitable organizations that the restaurant chose for this program.
“NOVA is an amazing organization, and we feel it’s important to give back, especially during the holidays,” said Olivia Giaimo, manager, Giuseppe’s Pizza of Warminster. “Each year that we do this, I am overwhelmed by the generosity and kindness of our customers as well as our staff. We are so fortunate and grateful to have them.”
“It’s never easy to be a victim of crime and the holidays can be especially difficult. Donations from Giuseppe’s patrons and staff helped to spread some happiness to the people we serve,” said Angela McGettigan, director, operations and community engagement, NOVA. “We are very grateful that Giuseppe’s Pizza coordinated a Giving Tree program on behalf of those in need in our community.”
In other news, NOVA received a $10,000 Bucks Innovation and Improvement Grant from Foundations Community Partnership. The BIIG grant will be used by NOVA to offer “Understanding Child Abuse and Trafficking Indicators in a Clinical Setting,” a pilot training program to help healthcare professionals recognize and identify indicators of potential abuse and trafficking situations within the pediatric population.
“There is a significant need to support young people who may be vulnerable to sexual exploitation,” said Jamie Pfister, training coordinator, NOVA. “Medical settings provide an opportunity to identify children who may be at-risk and offer support services. We are extremely thankful to Foundations Community Partnership for allowing us the opportunity to educate those in the medical community who interface with potential pediatric victims.”
Healthcare providers play an important role in preventing child abuse and trafficking, but it can be difficult to identify the indicators without proper training. This one-year grant will allow NOVA to train 50-100 healthcare professionals in Bucks County and will include research and development of the curriculum, as well as dissemination of the content to the healthcare providers. The plan is to expand this program to all Bucks County hospitals and to have this as a future offering under NOVA’s Training Institute.
“As NOVA proudly reflects on its 50-year history of providing comprehensive victim services in the county, we are proud to contribute to the organization’s efforts with this latest grant,” said Dr. Tobi Bruhn, CEO, Foundations Community Partnership. “Our board of directors appreciated the opportunity to support this crucial educational initiative for healthcare professionals in Bucks County.”
Visit NOVABucks.org for more information.
