Fall 2018

From the Executive Director

Greetings Friends:

As we enter into the season of thanksgiving and generosity, I send my sincere thanks for all that you do to support the work of our organization. Welcome to the first ever issue of our enewsletter — Cluster Chronicles! We strive to serve our community in many different ways, and the enewsletter will be another means by which to partner with you.

In this edition, you will see some of the exciting things that have been happening, through your support, to offer hope and a greater sense of stability to the many households we serve each month. While we continue to focus our work mainly in Pottstown, PCRC has become a leader in improving systems across Montgomery County and has taken a stronger role in advocating for those we serve.

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. 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.

Sincerely,

Barbara Wilhelmy, LCSW
Executive Director

P.S. I encourage you to look through the enewsletter and let us know what you think in the Comments Section as well as share the newsletter with your friends and family and invite them to subscribe! (Social sharing options at the bottom)

Mike and Frank

The Pottstown Cluster of Religious Communities (PCRC) VOLUNTEER HEROES FRANK CEBULAR and MICHAEL BEHE have been working tirelessly and faithfully several days a week from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm for many many months, renovating PCRC’s newest property, known as “61,” so that programming can be expanded and PCRC’s staff can live into its mission to provide tangible services, support, and spiritual guidance to address the basic needs of persons within and beyond the Greater Pottstown area more fully and comprehensively.

“We are trying to return this house as close as it can be returned to its original glory, while at the same time providing much needed office and educational space for PCRC,” offered Frank Cebular, a familiar and friendly face at both the current PCRC building — which has been in use by PCRC over eight years — and the property next door, a historic Victorian-style home built in 1887. There were many challenges along the way, but with Frank’s leadership and dedication, the space is shaping up and should be ready for occupancy in the near future. When asked why he volunteers for PCRC, Frank responded, it’s “a way of giving back in service to people who need that service. A way to give my gifts back to the community.”

Michael Behe got involved with PCRC through his wife Anne’s congregation — Brownback’s United Church of Christ — which is also the congregation of PCRC’s Board President Mary Ann Glocker. Michael noted that Mary Ann often advocates for PCRC and informs fellow parishioners of the Cluster’s activities, and that inspired Michael to be interested in volunteering for the organization. He retired a little over a year ago, worked his whole life behind a desk, and likes doing physical work, so it was a perfect fit. “I get to come here and help a needy cause, and do something that I enjoy doing,” he said. Adding, “Frank definitely needed the help. Him trying to do this alone is just crazy!”

Michael wants to encourage others who are looking to volunteer, advising, “… they ought to do what I did — just come and take a tour and see if there is something here that they would like doing to help meet a need. Find something that interests you and is in pursuit of a worthy cause. That’s what this did for me.”

PCRC is in need of volunteers to help finish the renovations at “61,” especially laying floors and cleaning. All supplies are provided, as well as fun and fellowship! If you are interested in helping our volunteer heroes Frank and Michael, contact Frank at webedancing@yahoo.com.

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At work on “61”

This past June 25, U.S. Senator Bob Casey, Jr., and Dr. Val Arkoosh, Chair of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners, along with Renee Gorski, Patrick Druhan, and PCRC’s Executive Director Barbara Wilhelmy and staff member Danielle Gadsden, participated in a SNAP benefits Roundtable panel discussion held at PCRC. This was just ahead of the 2018 Farm Bill vote in the Senate, coming a week after the House passed its partisan measure.

SNAP stands for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and is still commonly called “Food Stamps.” The program helps feed nearly 140,000 people in Berks, Chester, and Montgomery counties.

From The Mercury:

Montgomery County Commissioners’ Chairwoman Val Arkoosh said about 10 percent of Montgomery County’s population — about 80,000 people — suffer from “food insecurity,” meaning they do not know where their next meal is coming from and 51,000 of them are children.

Many of them “make too much money to qualify for SNAP,” but even those who do receive an average of only $123.51 per month from the program, which covers, at best, two weeks of food bills.

“As a result, parents often sacrifice their own health and nutrition to feed their children,” said Arkoosh, who is also a medical doctor. “Cutting funding in the SNAP program will be devastating to these Montco families.”

A bill now coming out of committee in the Senate “with strong bipartisan support,” would restore the SNAP program to its current level, and even add a little more money to encourage the purchase of fresh fruits and vegetables, Casey said Monday.

Calling the cuts in the House bill “draconian,” Casey said “this is wrong. This is a program that works. If you want to talk about return on investment, for every dollar you spend on SNAP, the economy gets $1.80 in return.”

“But beyond that,” said Casey, “there is the moral gravity of this issue.”

Read The Mercury’s coverage of the event here. Watch the CBS3 Philly feature below.

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