Lockheed Martin Departure Means Uncertainty For Bucks County Charity
By Brad Segall
NEWTOWN, Pa. (CBS) - A Bucks County youth mentoring program is expected to feel the fallout from Lockheed Martin's decision to close its facility in Newtown and cut several hundred jobs.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Bucks County relies heavily on Lockheed's employees to keep their program going. Currently, there are nearly a dozen employees involved in matchups with kids in the Pennsbury School District, and the non-profit had plans to open a few more in the coming weeks. The company's decision to leave Newtown and move its operations to Denver leaves uncertainty.
"Will they now be out looking for new positions with new employers, or are they going to be moving out of the area?" asks BBBS CEO Ursula Raczak. "What this could do is ultimately close all of these relationships."
A tough pill to swallow, she says, for an organization that has more kids waiting for matches than volunteers willing to take part.
Many of the relationships have been ongoing for several years, and she says her staff will be there to help make any transition as easy as possible.
