Greetings Friends,

Summer is officially here and I hope you are doing well, staying safe, and in good spirits.

While the past few months have been challenging to navigate, I am proud to report that despite a decline in volunteers and on-site staff due to limiting the number of people in the Pottstown Cluster Outreach Center and following health and social distance guidelines, we have been able to keep our public community food pantry open and operating as safely as possible to meet growing demand. We have also been working to support and protect our most vulnerable by delivering food to older adults and high-risk individuals so they can remain safe in their homes as well as provide easy access Community Meals at several locations for anyone in need of a meal. Additionally, we have housed and maintained housing for the families we work with through our Pottstown Housing Resource Center (HRC).

While all of this has been going on, we have been blessed to have strong support from our community in many ways. We have had many, many offers of support, volunteers wanting to help, monetary donations, storage space – both dry and refrigerator, and transportation assistance to move food. All this speaks to how a community can come together in a difficult situation and do the best for everyone in need.

As you read this issue of Cluster Chronicles, I hope you will find ways to continue to be engaged with our work and be excited to hear about the difference your support is making for those we serve. In this issue you will read about the 2020 Signature Page Showcase of Support. I encourage you to join us in celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Signature Page. While the page is always a demonstration of your commitment to ending hunger in our community, this year’s page will offer an opportunity to thank our volunteers, employees, and local heroes who have been supporting the Pottstown Cluster’s response to COVID-19 and committed to providing food security and housing stability to those in need.

In this issue, you can also watch the Pottstown Cluster in the 2020 Toyota Hunger Relief On Demand X1 three-part video series that was created to raise awareness about food insecurity throughout the Greater Philadelphia area. I also hope you enjoy reading more about the many acts of kindness we have been receiving over the past few months from our #COVIDCaringPottstownCommunity.

Check out “Take Action”, paying special attention to opportunities including ways you can help neighbors in our community. From volunteering to donations, all help is greatly appreciated.

And remember, your support is a reflection of your deep commitment to our mission and local families and neighbors in need of food security, housing stability, and supportive services and education. Please keep our work in your prayers and share your interest in our organization with a friend. Together, we are helping to nourish lives and strengthen families in this community, and for that I am truly grateful.

Thank you for your faithful commitment to the work we do.

Sincerely,

Barbara Wilhelmy, LCSW
Executive Director
bwilhelmy@pottstowncluster.org

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MontCo Anti-Hunger Network is conducting large scale, weekly food distributions (between June 4, 2020 and July 2, 2020) in collaboration with the county’s Department of Public Safety and RSVP. At each event they are hoping to connect 1,500 households to USDA Farm to Families food boxes containing produce and mixed dairy products. Distributions will alternate between Willow Grove Park Mall and the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks for the next five Thursdays. Visit MontCoAntiHunger.org for more information.

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The Pottstown Cluster of Religious Communities Receives a $5,000 TD Charitable Foundation Grant Award
to provide direct rental assistance for households facing eviction in Montgomery County

POTTSTOWN, PA, May 2020– The Pottstown Cluster of Religious Communities is the recipient of a $5,000 TD Charitable Foundation grant award to provide direct rental assistance to households facing eviction in Montgomery County through the Eviction Prevention and Intervention Coalition (EPIC).

The EPIC program is designed to stabilize vulnerable families and individuals in Montgomery County who are facing eviction by providing them with free legal support and connection to the long-term financial and social supports needed to prevent future housing instability. “The Pottstown Cluster of Religious Communities is extremely honored to receive a grant from the TD Charitable Foundation to provide direct rental assistance for households facing eviction. Evictions are often the cause of poverty and job loss, not a result of them. With these funds, we will be able to address the significant and devastating impact that evictions have on vulnerable populations in Montgomery County,” said Barbara Wilhelmy, Executive Director of the Pottstown Cluster of Religious Communities.

Case management services carried out by the Pottstown Cluster prevents eviction in the short term and connects the household to community supports necessary to maintain long term housing stability. The Pottstown Cluster also supports the program with a Housing Stability Coach working in conjunction with legal representation on-site at the Magisterial District Court in Norristown, PA. A Housing Stability Plan and a budget is also created for each eligible participating household. In 2019, the Pottstown Cluster provided services to 163 households.

This grant contribution supports TD’s longstanding commitment to community enrichment through The Ready Commitment, a multi-year platform that actively promotes inclusivity, economic vitality, environmental well-being and health, enabling people of all backgrounds to succeed in a rapidly changing world. For information, visit tdbank.com/corporate-responsibility/the-ready-commitment

About Pottstown Cluster of Religious Communities

For over 50 years, through interfaith cooperation, the Pottstown Cluster of Religious Communities has provided Food Security, Housing Stability, and Supportive Services and Education to address the basic needs of persons within and beyond the Greater Pottstown area. PCRC coordinates its programs and referrals to help clients improve their overall stability. For more information, call 610.970.5995, or visit pottstowncluster.org.

About the TD Charitable Foundation

The TD Charitable Foundation is the charitable giving arm of TD Bank, America’s Most Convenient Bank®, one of the 10 largest commercial banking organizations in the United States. More information on the TD Charitable Foundation is available at TDBank.com.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Pottstown Cluster of Religious Communities Receives a $25,000 Connelly Foundation Grant Award
to Support Renovations at New Education and Administration Center to Bring Essential Services to Residents of the Greater Pottstown Area 

POTTSTOWN, PA, April 3, 2020 – The Pottstown Cluster of Religious Communities is the recipient of a $25,000 Connelly Foundation grant award in support of renovations needed to achieve occupancy of their new Education and Administration Center located at 61 North Franklin Street in Pottstown Pennsylvania.

While the renovation project is currently nearing completion, the award will sponsor the building’s kitchen and fund final projects needed to achieve occupancy and preserve the building’s exterior. “The most compelling reason to complete the work is that it will allow us to provide essential programs with several community partners, bringing supplemental education and support services to those we serve – services that have not been readily available to residents in our area, but which will be possible in this new space. This renovation work will have a multiplier effect in benefit in this community where the need is so great,” said Barbara Wilhelmy, Executive Director of the Pottstown Cluster of Religious Communities.

Essential services for residents of the Greater Pottstown area include a pilot program with Philabundance and Habitat for Humanity of Montgomery and Delaware County on financial literacy for working families who are receiving food through the pantry at the Pottstown Cluster’s Outreach Center. The goal for participants is to improve their overall financial and housing stability, thus eliminating their need to use the pantry. This end goal is to not just reduce hunger, but eliminate hunger for these working families. Additionally, a partnership with HopeWorx Inc., TIME, to support individuals who have had experience with the judicial system and are seeking to improve their future stability upon re-entering the community. These collaborations and services would not be possible without access to this new space.

About Pottstown Cluster of Religious Communities

For over 50 years, through interfaith cooperation, the Pottstown Cluster of Religious Communities has provided Food Security, Housing Stability, and Supportive Services and Education to address the basic needs of persons within and beyond the Greater Pottstown area. The Pottstown Cluster coordinates its programs and referrals to help clients improve their overall stability. For more information or to give now, call 610.970.5995, or visit pottstowncluster.org.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

COVID-19 Crisis: An Important Announcement Regarding Food Security in the Greater Pottstown Area

The Pottstown Cluster of Religious Communities meets the
growing needs of our local at-risk seniors, as well as, families who are experiencing lost wages and layoffs

POTTSTOWN, PA, March 24, 2020 – The Pottstown Cluster of Religious Communities, as an organization providing essential services for vulnerable populations, will continue to provide access to food and essential items, as well as, coordinate the food insecurity resources in the Greater Pottstown area to meet the growing needs of our local at-risk seniors and families who are experiencing lost wages and layoffs.

During the COVID-19 crisis, the Pottstown Cluster of Religious Communities is responding by providing food for those in need and helping to shelter those who are homeless. “Our employees and volunteers are working vigorously to ensure our neighbors struggling with hunger do not have to worry about how they will feed themselves or their families. The Pottstown Cluster Outreach Center will continue to operate as long as we can safely distribute food and then, after the crisis is over, we will continue to serve the Greater Pottstown area by providing those in need with food, housing, and support so they can improve their overall stability,” said Barbara Wilhelmy, PCRC Executive Director.

Before COVID 19, about 11 percent of the Montgomery County population was considered food insecure, meaning they didn’t have consistent access to sufficient food.  Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic will drastically and quickly increase this percentage. “Those we serve struggle with hunger and many do not even know where their next meal will come from, in usual circumstances. In these very unusual circumstances, we have prepared to have food available for those who need it and are open to serve them,” said Victoria Bumstead, PCRC Outreach Center Director.

The recent concerns around the COVID-19 pandemic have reminded the Pottstown Cluster and Greater Pottstown area residents that our community is stronger when we work together. To harness the power of collective community action and to stretch the food resources beyond the initial crisis, the Pottstown Cluster has agreed to coordinate the food insecurity resources in our area.  Having a single point of contact will lessen duplication of service and will allow resources to stretch further.  A single contact will also spread the services to be available over many days rather than all at once.

For up-to-date information from the Pottstown Cluster about how to help the vulnerable populations in our community during the COVID-19 crisis, please visit pottstowncluster.org/covid19foodsecurity. Anyone who is interested in donating to the Pottstown Cluster to provide food security for our local at-risk seniors, as well as families who are experiencing lost wages and lay offs can do so here: pottstowncluster.org/covid19requestforsupport or send their contribution to the Pottstown Cluster of Religious Communities, 57 North Franklin Street, Pottstown, PA 19464. Anyone who is interested in volunteering to support the Pottstown Cluster Outreach Center operations or Community Meals efforts can email volunteer@pottstowncluster.org. If you are a business, organization, or individual community member that is considering offering a community meal, food collection, or other food related efforts, please consider contacting communications@pottstowncluster.org for coordination and planning.

About Pottstown Cluster of Religious Communities

For over 50 years, through interfaith cooperation, the Pottstown Cluster of Religious Communities has provided Food Security, Housing Stability, and Supportive Services and Education to address the basic needs of persons within and beyond the Greater Pottstown area. PCRC coordinates its programs and referrals to help clients improve their overall stability. For more information or to give now, call 610.970.5995, or visit pottstowncluster.org.

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