Q: Please tell us a bit about yourself and your family.
I grew up in Langhorne Manor, a neighborhood that is still really important to me to this day. My parents are originally from Westchester County, New York, They moved to Bucks County in 1969. I am the youngest of 4 children. I had a great family and feel incredibly blessed to have grown up the way that I did. The sense of community here is everything. I grew up in a neighborhood that was, and will always be, family. The greatest gift my parents gave me in life was getting to grow up on Hill Avenue. I went to Our Lady of Grace for church and school. I moved over to Notre Dame for High School and transferred to Egan when my father passed away. My family lived in Langhorne Manor until my mom passed away in 2021. I now live 5 minutes away from where I grew up in Levittown.
My wife Heather and I met on a blind date. Our friends set us up and we clicked right away. We have been together for 24 years now. I can honestly say that the spark we had on that first date still lives on today. We were both really lucky to have parents who instilled strong core values into us that we have both been able to hold onto and relate on. We are very different people than who we were when we first met, but those values have kept us strong and steady.
Shortly after my wife and I started dating, her family moved to Florida. My mom encouraged me to follow her, and I did. We were 20 and 21 at the time. We spent 2 years together in Florida before making our way back up to Bucks County in 2003. Our time in Florida was really important to our growth, but it was not Bucks County. Fast forward and now we have 2 kids. Alexis is 15 and Ryan is 12. Alexis is a sophomore at Neshaminy and she plays soccer. Ryan is in 7th grade and is trying out for the football team.
Q: Please tell us about your current, past, or future career.
I have been working in the nonprofit world since I was 13. I began at Easter Seals with my brother Bill. My brother has cerebral palsy and my sister died from multiple disabilities when she was young. Those experiences growing up really opened up my heart for helping people and is where it all started. My brother brought me to Easter Seals and I loved it right away.
After high school I began working with the Wood Services. They are an agency that helps adults and children with disabilities. I moved to Florida shortly after and got a job as a group home manager. I managed 2 group homes for the United Cerebral Palsy of Broward County. The gentleman that hired me took a shot because I didn’t have much managerial experience. The first few months were very challenging. It took about 3 months but I mastered my checklist. It was such a great feeling to finally get on top of that list and feel like I knew what I was doing.
When my wife and I moved back to Bucks County I started at The Arc of Philadelphia. I worked there for 12 years in a few different capacities. I started as a job developer getting jobs for adults with disabilities in the Philadelphia area. Gradually I worked into the fundraising aspect of things.
Now I am the Executive Director of the Barkann Family Healing Hearts Foundation with Michael and Ellen Barkann. I met Michael and Ellen Barkann while I was working with The Arc of Philadelphia. Ellen was helping professional athletes with their TV/ media careers. Michael was working for what is now NBC Sports, back then it was Comcast SportsNet. I met them through my friend Mark who ran McFadden’s at the Ballpark. I would have fundraiser events there and often asked Michael to emcee my events. We got to know each other through those events over the years. I had been at the Arc for 12 years and was ready to move on. Ellen and Michael told me they were going to open up their own foundation and they wanted me to run it. Well here we are 13 years later, although it feels like yesterday.
We started the Barkann Foundation with no seed money. That is different from most charities. This meant that every fundraiser we had, had to hit. This was a lot of pressure, but we have been able to do it through so many amazing people who have supported us throughout our entire journey. I am so proud of where we started from to where we are today. This journey has been such a beautiful fusion of people and family.
The goal is to heal hearts by filling needs for people in our local area. We work with great social workers and community members who refer us to people in need. They bring us the stories and we help as much as we can to support families in need as they are experiencing sudden loss or tragedy. We are blessed to help people financially, or help supply them with items they may be in desperate need of. We work with schools as well and as many aspects of the community as we can.
Truly the amount of requests we receive is heavy and we wish we could help even more families. The hardest part of the job is by far the heartbreak and loss that we see. A lot of the stories are very personal to us. This is not a job to me, this is every fiber of mine and my family’s lives.
I encourage everyone to analyze their lives, analyze their families and find the thing that has impacted them or find the place where they can make a difference. Find a charity or a way to volunteer your time to something that has meaning to you and connects you.
Q: What do you love most about what you do?
There are so many things. If I was going to pick 2 things though, I would say first, watching the kids, including my own, who have grown up working with the foundation. To watch them touch, see, and feel it become what it is today has been really cool. I know seeds have been planted in them that will grow far past what we are doing here. This is really the gift that keeps on giving.
My other favorite part is being able to give as a community. There is really nothing greater to me. When someone can present a need and we get to see the community come together to fill the need it is truly incredible. It is another reminder that we are all in this together. It is not about “I” , it is about “we”. When you are so consumed by the good and helping others the negativity of the world does not have a way to get through.
These 2 things will stick with me for my entire life. Truthfully what we have given, far more has been given to me. I am not a millionaire by any means, but I walk through life like it is the greatest gift because of the amazing people I have been given.
Q: What are some of your favorite local spots?
Delorenzo’s the burg, El Barrio, Bacco, and Pineville Tavern are a few of our favorite local restaurants. I really love music and sports. I go to a lot of Eagles games and a lot of concerts. I love going to different bars in New Hope to listen to live music. If there is a new restaurant open we are going there. We love to eat out. I also love the nature around here and the accessibility to everything.
Q: Where is your favorite place you have traveled and where do you want to go next?
My favorite trip has been to Maui and Cabo San Lucas. We’ve also been to 5 Superbowl’s, including a few with the Eagles. I also love New Orleans, Colorado, Maine and Arizona. Next, I would love to take our kids to St. Martin, Puerto Rico, or a trip out West.
Q: What is one of your favorite movies? TV shows?
I love 80’s movies and John Candy is my all time favorite actor. My favorite TV Show is Seinfeld. I honestly don’t watch much TV these days though.
Q: What advice would you give to people?
I think in this day and age we have lost the emphasis on volunteering, especially when it comes to our children. We have become so focused on their sports and activities I think we have stopped building a world that volunteers for others. We need to slow down time for our children and ourselves and encourage them to volunteer. I truly think that is how you find who you are. My advice would definitely be for families to find time and space to volunteer as individuals and together. That can be so impactful.
Q: What is your favorite band or music genre?
I love Dave Matthews Band. Truly, I love classic rock like the Allman brothers, Santana, Billy Joel, Led Zeppelin, and people in that genre. I also enjoy today’s music, especially Taylor Swift. It has been cool to watch her career progress.
Q: What is your favorite holiday and why?
Thanksgiving because the focus is on family. There is no pressure, just a time to come together as a family. It is also a special 4 day period where time seems to stop.
Q: What are one or two of your favorite smells?
Fall, like the smell of cinnamon, apple crisp, or the smell of a bonfire. Also, the smell of the Jersey shore
Q: What words or phrases come to mind when you think of the word HOME?
Family, love, community, Bucks County/Langhorne, and growing up in my family we used to say “winning is an attitude.”
Q: Where can people find you or your business?
If someone is interested in volunteering or supporting the Barkann Foundation please email me at mike@thebarkannfoundation.org or visit our website https://thebarkannfoundation.org/.
wonderful article great family and information.