Our organization is dedicated to providing food security and housing stability in the Pottstown area. We accomplish this through a food pantry, satellite pantry locations, Community Meals, food redistribution, and housing services to prevent eviction and homelessness among older adults. However, we cannot achieve this without your support!

Interested in learning more about our work and impact? Check out our annual video and a  recent housing success story.

Read the full story here.

This past year has been filled with service and challenges. We celebrate our ability to help many people, including a 77-year-old veteran whose eviction we prevented with your support. Our food pantry has seen a rise in demand, serving over 300 more individuals in October than in September, while grant funding has decreased. We faced significant cuts in housing funding, leading to reduced staff and increased financial strain on our food services. Despite these challenges, our dedicated volunteers and staff keep operations running. We ask for your end-of-year contributions to help us continue our mission. We welcome inquiries and visits, and we are here to support those facing food insecurity or housing instability.

READ MORE HERE

Giving and Gratitude Q & A: Highlighting Pottstown Cluster with Executive Director Jacqui Good

This November, our Giving and Gratitude segment shines a light on Pottstown Cluster, one of our partner organizations that truly embodies the spirit of giving. We sat down with Jacqui Good from Pottstown Cluster to learn more about their mission and the vital role of community support.

Q. What does “giving” mean to Pottstown Cluster, and how does it shape your mission and daily work?
A. Giving to Pottstown Cluster means partnering with donors and volunteers to serve our community. Our mission is to help meet basic needs like food security and housing stability. We serve as stewards of resources in order to help as many people as possible. In 2023, we served more than 17,000 people from the food pantry alone. We benefit from a wide variety of resources to meet those needs that includes funding and gifts-in-kind, from individuals, organizations, and funders.

Q. What roles does community support play in your organization’s ability to provide for those in need?
A. Community support is imperative to our work. We draw-on support from large nonprofits like Philabundance and Share, foundations, individual donors, other community groups, and volunteers. The absence of any of these sources could result in reduced services. It takes support from all of these sources to meet the needs of those depending on us.

Q. How do you express gratitude to the volunteers and donors who make your work possible?
A. We show our appreciation to donors through various forms of communication, including acknowledgment letters, handwritten notes, phone calls, and email messages. We also keep them informed and engaged through annual appeal letters with program updates, social media posts, participation in community groups, and speaking engagements.

Q. What are some ways people can give back to Pottstown Cluster during the holiday season, even if they aren’t able to make a financial decision?
A. Even if individuals and organizations are not able to make a financial donation, it helps our work to send people to our website and talk about our work.

Q. How has the generosity of the community helped shape your organization’s future plans or upcoming initiatives?
A. In nearly every case when we have reached-out on social media and the website and asked for donations, there has been a response, and we are grateful.

Thank you, Pottstown Cluster, for demonstrating the true spirit of giving and gratitude through this Q&A.

Download the full release here

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Pottstown Cluster of Religious Communities launches Pottstown Backpack Week, providing free backpacks and school supplies to students in preparation for the 2024 school year

POTTSTOWN, PA, July 31, 2024 – The Pottstown Cluster of Religious Communities has initiated Pottstown Backpack Week, providing 500 free backpacks and school supplies to students in preparation for the upcoming academic year. The event is set to start the week of August 5, 2024, with 500 backpacks filled with school supply essentials to be distributed to students at five different community locations around Pottstown.

“Families accessing our food and housing services, whether that be through our community food pantry, Community Meal program, or housing support services, come from a variety of crises. For almost everyone, purchasing school supplies every year is very challenging. The purpose of Pottstown Backpack Week is to unite the community to alleviate financial burdens for under-resourced families and collectively empower Pottstown area students to achieve academic success,” said Jacqui Good, Pottstown Cluster’s Executive Director. “We are thrilled to be able to collaborate with other nonprofits to serve more people in Pottstown and make these resources more accessible to our neighbors.”

Pottstown Backpack Week is being brought to the Pottstown community by the Pottstown Cluster of Religious Communities through a partnership with Cradles to Crayons. The distribution dates and locations are Monday, 8/5 at Bethel Community Church of Pottstown; Tuesday, 8/6 at The Ricketts Center; Wednesday, 8/7 at the Pottstown Cluster; Thursday, 8/8 at the YMCA/724 N. Adams; and Friday, 8/9 at Community Health and Dental/Coventry Mall. The current schedule can be found at Pottstowncluster.org/Pottstownbackpackweek and facebook.com/pcrcoutreach.

About the Pottstown Cluster of Religious Communities: The Pottstown Cluster of Religious Communities was founded in 1967 by a coalition of churches wanting to address hunger and now operates as an independent secular nonprofit. Today, the Pottstown Cluster provides food security, housing stability, and supportive services to address basic needs and improve the overall stability of persons within and beyond the greater Pottstown area. In 2023, the Pottstown Cluster served 7,045 households from their food pantry, provided food to Community Meal locations which served 12,258 individuals, and reviewed 4,010 requests for help to prevent eviction. The housing team has worked with over 400 landlords to establish stable tenants, making the Pottstown Cluster an important link in the long-term success of affordable housing property owners. The Pottstown Cluster is the only food redistribution organization (RDO) in Montgomery County, distributing more than 570,000 pounds of food to more than 2,800 households annually. For more information, visit pottstowncluster.org. For more information or to give now, call 610.970.5995, or visit pottstowncluster.org.

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Bookbags are available while supplies last. 

Monday, 8/5 at Bethel Community Church of Pottstown –  12:30 p.m. until supplies last.

Tuesday, 8/6 at The Ricketts Center from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Wednesday, 8/7 at the Pottstown Cluster’s Outreach Center at 57 N. Franklin Street from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Thursday, 8/8 at the YMCA/724 N. Adams Street location from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Friday, 8/9 at Community Health and Dental Office at the Coventry Mall at 351 W. Schuylkill Rd., Pottstown from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. (During the CHDC Community Health Fair)