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EVENT UPDATE: The scheduled Pottstown Community Celebration of The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. program brought to you by Communities of Faith in Pottstown will be held as planned on Sunday, January 19 for anyone able to attend safely. It will also be live-streamed here beginning at 4 p.m.: https://events.locallive.tv/events/167017
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Please mark your calendar for January 19, 2025 at 4:00 PM for the 18th Annual Pottstown Community Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr Celebration. The Hill School will host the Celebration in the Center for The Arts located 766 Beech Street, Pottstown. Our guest speaker will be Dr. Matthew Washington, Author – The Jim Crow of the North: The Struggle for Civil Rights in Pottstown, Pennsylvania.
Proceeds to benefit the Pottstown Cluster.
This event is sponsored by the Pottstown Communities of Faith.
We have an exciting announcement! To help us finish the year without a deficit, we have received incredible support from a generous local donor who has committed to matching all donations up to $50,000 by year-end. This support comes at a time when rising demand for our services, coupled with a decrease in funding, has presented us with extraordinary challenges. We are facing significant hurdles to avoid a deficit by the end of 2024.
If you have already given, we truly appreciate it. If you’ve been contemplating making a contribution, NOW is a crucial time when your support will make a difference and our impact will be doubled.
Make your gift here!
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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!
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In celebration of GivingTuesday, we invite you to join our mission by making an end-of-year contribution to help ensure food security and housing stability in the Pottstown area. You can make an end-of-year gift here to help us fulfill our mission. We not only need your support but also your help in spreading the word. Please share with your friends and family why you believe in our work and encourage them to support us as well! |
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.
M
eet Mr. Smith, whose story highlights the risk of homelessness for older adults on fixed incomes during life crises or financial setbacks.
Mr. Smith, a 77-year-old veteran living alone in Pottstown, faced a challenging situation when his personal information was compromised, leading to the suspension of his monthly SSI benefits of less than $1,000. This financial strain made it difficult for him to keep up with his rent, prompting his landlord to initiate eviction proceedings in September. In desperation, Mr. Smith reached out to the Pottstown Cluster of Religious Communities for assistance. Thanks to funding secured for our older adult housing support program, we were able to intervene and prevent his eviction by covering his back rent, late fees, court costs, and his November rent. This assistance provided Mr. Smith with the breathing space he required to regain his financial footing and return to a state of stability, enabling him to pay his rent independently. Overwhelmed with gratitude, Mr. Smith expressed his heartfelt thanks, while we felt a deep sense of fulfillment in being able to provide a housing helping hand up to such a deserving person.
Mr. Smith’s story illustrates the vulnerability of older adults living on fixed incomes to homelessness, particularly when faced with a life crisis or financial setback. Mr. Smith is sadly just one among many. An alarming trend is the increasing number of older adults who are at-risk of becoming homeless. We’ve witnessed many individuals over the age of 80 experiencing rent hikes from $500 to more than $1,000. With the average monthly Social Security income sitting at $943, and the typical rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Montgomery County reaching $1,200. The situation is alarming. Additionally, the average wait time for senior housing is two years, which clearly indicates a looming crisis. To address this issue, the Pottstown Cluster has developed a program aimed at helping low-income older adults remain or transition into safe, affordable housing,
To make a contribution towards addressing our mission’s most pressing needs, visit pottstowncluster.org/donate
2024 Holiday Food Program
Information for our Families and Donors
We aim to offer hope and stability to individuals and families facing food insecurity, especially during the stressful holiday season. This season, we are distributing 400 food boxes to those in need, thanks to our supporters. The program is available exclusively for current clients and active food pantry friends, while supplies last. Visit us during the week of December 16 on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 9:30 a.m. – 12:15 p.m., and Wednesdays from 2:00 p.m. – 6:15 p.m.
CHRISTMAS:
- About our Christmas/Holiday food service:
- We will be providing 400 families holiday food boxes.
- Limited to current clients/active food pantry recipients and while supplies last
- Boxes will be available during the week of December 16 during open pantry hours: Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 9:30 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. and Wednesdays from 2:00 p.m. – 6:15 p.m.
- Families in need of toys can visit the Salvation Army’s website for their toy program at https://easternusa.salvationarmy.org/eastern-pennsylvania/pottstown-pa/brighten-the-holidays/
- The last day for pantry access before Christmas is Tuesday, 12/24, 9:30 AM – 11:00 AM. Regular pantry hours will resume on Friday, 1/3/25
QUESTIONS?
Please contact Patricia at 610-970-5995 ext. 114 or pshepherd@pottstowncluster.org.
Pottstown Cluster’s BIGGEST event of the year will be held on Thursday, September 26th. Join us for our Fall Happy Hour fundraiser! Attendees can have fun while giving back and making a difference in the local community. All are welcome to join staff, board members, supporters, and friends at the Rivet Canteen and Assembly on the 26th starting at 5:30 PM.
Here’s what to expect:
- Enjoy an all-you-can-eat fall food buffet
- Sample local seasonal beers and wines
- Experience an open bar stocked with beer, wine, a fall signature drink, and creative coffee concoctions
- Groove to music
- Bid on great auction items. Here’s a sampling of prizes – Eagles Executive Box Tickets with food and drinks, a Hot Air Balloon Adventure that includes champagne and dinner, a Private Winery Tour and Tasting for a group, a Personalized Group/Family Photography Session at Valley Forge Park, a deluxe Car Wash Membership, Tickets to Steel River Playhouse, Reading Phillies Tickets, and a variety of fun themed local and lifestyle baskets!
Space is limited and filling up fast! Get a $55 ticket while supplies last! Visit https://www.pottstowncluster.org/2024annualevent/ to save your space.
The event supports the Pottstown Cluster of Religious Communities in our mission to provide essential services like food security, stable housing, and support programs to boost the community’s well-being and enhance socio-economic stability in the local area.
Residing just outside the front entrance to Pottstown Cluster’s Outreach Center are two Little Free Libraries – one for children and one for adults. Stop by anytime to see what’s available for your reading pleasure. Book donations are also accepted to build the collection and to keep the inventory fresh. We are happy to provide a home to lots of good books! PCRC’s Little Free Libraries can be found at 57 N. Franklin Street. Come discover a relevant book to read that is not limited by time, space, or privilege. The hope is that this “little” program will help build community, inspire readers, and expand book access.
Little Free Library is a nonprofit organization based in St. Paul, Minnesota. For more information about their mission and to see maps of other locations, please visit https://littlefreelibrary.org/.