Community Progress Council proudly celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program with its new WIC Mobile Clinic, which will increase access to WIC services throughout York County.
“Connecting families to the services and support they need to move from poverty to self-sufficiency is our mission at Community Progress Council, and we’re proud to be responsive to our community needs,” says Robin Rohrbaugh, President and CEO of Community Progress Council. “One year ago, we announced Community Progress Council was one of 36 organizations to receive a WIC Community Innovation and Outreach Project grant. With the funding, we have been able to hire WIC Community Outreach Navigators, translate marketing and program materials into Spanish and Haitian Creole, and connect with families to empower them in their journey to economic stability. The WIC Mobile Clinic is a great next step in these efforts to connect with families across York County.”
The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) provides healthy foods, nutrition education, and breastfeeding counseling to pregnant and post-partum people, and children from birth to 5 years old. Community Progress Council (CPC) is the largest provider of services in York County to low-income families with children under 5, serving 6,454 children living in poverty and their families through early childhood education and Women, Infants and Children (WIC) services in 2023.
The mobile clinic will expand access to WIC services, traveling around York County with a focus on rural areas. It will have the ability to host all WIC appointment types, obtain measurements needed for TeleWIC appointments, load benefits to eWIC cards, schedule and verify appointments, connect patients to CPC resources and programs, and make referrals to community organizations and external medical providers.
“For 50 years, WIC has empowered families to get a strong start by helping pregnant people, mothers, and caregivers of infants and young children connect with education and resources,” says Carly Hess, WIC Program Director for Community Progress Council. “WIC participants who utilize the mobile unit or visit a CPC hub have a single touchpoint to connect with coaching and all of CPC’s programs.”
“We know that no single program can lead to lasting stability, but comprehensive, integrated services can,” says Rohrbaugh. “Community Progress Council can help people make progress in their goals in education, income, employment, housing, or other areas to move out of poverty and toward self-sufficiency.”
The WIC Mobile Clinic was unveiled at an event Wednesday, May 22, 2024, at Community Progress Council. In attendance were multiple community partners and organizations including the York County Food Bank, York Fresh Food Farms, Penn State Extension, YCEA, Undefeated Courage, and Doceo. Attendees also included representatives from the Pennsylvania Department of Health, PA WIC and USDA, along with elected officials such as Ben Martin of Sen. Casey’s office, Rep. Carol Hill-Evans, York County Commissioner Doug Hoke, York City Mayor Michael Helfrich, York City Council President Edquina Washington, and York City Councilwoman Teresa Johnescu.
Special guest speakers from the Pennsylvania Department of Health, PA WIC and USDA were in attendance for the ribbon cutting of the new WIC Mobile Clinic.
For more information about the WIC program and the new mobile unit, please visit www.yorkcpc.org/myWIC.
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About Community Progress Council
Opening its doors in 1965 as York County’s community action agency, Community Progress Council is now one of approximately 1,000 community action agencies across the United States that were established in the 1960s when President Lyndon B. Johnson’s declared a war on poverty. Although each organization is different, community action agencies broadly empower individuals and families to rise above poverty and become self-sufficient. Through dedicated relationships, resources, and skill-building programs, Community Progress Council empowers individuals to become productive, involved citizens. Community Progress Council is proud to be a member of the Community Action Association of Pennsylvania and the Community Action Partnership and a United Way of York County Partner Agency.