Current effort of groups supported by Be-COS Inc
Since January 14, 2012, Be-COS Inc and its volunteers have been conducting a Feeding Program for the Homeless at the Salvation Army Building in Tampa in the Trinity Cafe Location. On the second Saturday of each month the volunteers prepare meals in the Salvation Army Kitchen for 250 and then go about serving up to 200 during the dinner hour in the Salvation Army Dining Room with the remaining meals distributed to the homeless who are currently residents in the various Emergency and Transitional Housing Programs of the Salvation Army. Because of this effort, Be-COS Inc continues to collect clothes and hygiene materials and now distributes them through the Salvation Army's Homeless Programs.
Beginning in April 2010 and ending Dec 31, 2011, Be-Cos Inc, had sponsored the COS Closet serving approximately 150 homeless in Hillsborough County each month with clothes and hygiene kits. The COS Closet worked in partnership with the Christ of the Street Ministry from New Tampa which serves warm meals every Saturday to the homeless in the USF area and downtown Tampa. The COS Closet not only distributed men and women's clothes but also warm jackets, coats, blankets and shoes to the homeless. The COS Kits which are referred to by the recipients as "hygiene kits" contained a minimum of one pair of new sweat socks, one bar of dial soap and two razors. The COS Closet distributed clothes and the COS Kits on the third Saturday of each month at two sites in Tampa: one near USF and and the other near the Emergency Shelter of the Salvation Army on Florida Avenue. All of the clothes were donated by residents of New Tampa and the COS Kit materials were purchased by the Be-COS volunteers.
Prior to the establishment of the COS Closet, there was an effort begun several years earlier by two members of St. Mark's Parish in New Tampa which set out to serve warm meals to the homeless in Tampa on Saturdays to those who were served by Trinity Cafe which only served meals Monday through Friday. This effort was expanded in the spring of 2010 by it becoming a ministry of the parishioners of St. Mark's. This effort is served close to 150 individuals every Saturday at the site near USF and the Emergency Shelter of the Salvation Army on Florida Avenue. The goal of this effort was to reach the most underserved and most needy of the homeless in Tampa. This ministry operated out of the generosity of the team of cooks who prepared a different dish each week in the month. All volunteers cooked the meals in their own homes and then brought it to a central location to then be transported to the feeding sites in the city. Each meal was a hot entre salad, bread, and a bottle of water. The goal was to eventually have a permantent home on Saturdays for this feeding effort and on May 12, 2012 the feeding program which has been incorporated into Be-COS Inc is now located in the kitchen and dining room of the Hospitality House of the Salvation Army Homeless Program.
Beginning in July 2011 this ministry stopped the feeding Downtown near the Salvation Army because a church was preparing the meals and serving them in the Salvation Army Building. Beginning in January 2012, this ministry no longer serves food on the streets on the second Saturday either once Be-COS established its feeding program inside of the Salvation Army Building. The goal has been reached in May 2012 that every Saturday is covered by a group which is preparing and serving the hot meals to the homeless inside of the Salvation Army Building. Be-COS, Inc covers the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th Saturday of every month and the Church continues to serve on the 1st Saturday of the month.
Rationale for establishing of the Non-Profit 501(c)(3) Corporation of Be-COS Inc
Working with the homeless through the COS Closet led the Board of Direction of Be-COS to file for incorporation papers and 501(c)(3) status because there was recognized an absence of vocational training for homeless and unemployed individuals in a program which empowers them to take care of one another. It was recognized that there was a need for an organization to step up, promote and advocate for a "self-help" model" of providing for the needs of this target population. The goal was not only to empower them but to train them to be able to move on into employed positions for which they have been trained through this self-help program.
On May 23, 2011 IRS formally recognized Be-COS as a Charity under the Non-Profit 501(c)(3) statutes. It was retroactively dated to February 24, 2011 the date of incorporation of this non-profit corporation.