Everything you need to know happening at PCRC!
The Pottstown Cluster of Religious Communities community came together on Thursday, September 26th at The SunnyBrook Ballroom for the eighth year in a row — this year to “Celebrate Service with Heart” — for fellowship and fundraising, and to recognize its Caring Community Awardees. We are grateful to our 2019 major event sponsors: Scott and Susan Bentley Fund and Mr. and Mrs. Karl Glocker; along with all our other sponsors shown below.
Event guests enjoyed a social hour during which two students — Isabella Feldman and Matthew McCray, both from The Hill School, superbly performed songs from The Greatest Showman and Dreamgirls the Musical respectively; buffet dinner; awards; raffle items including a “Mystery Basket” auction; raising funds for our critical Wish List items; inspirational stories; and a video premiere. PA State Representative Joe Ciresi served as the evening’s emcee who opened the program with an energetic and inspiring rendition of the song “Heart” from the movie Damn Yankees, with Dr. Myra Forrest as his accompanist. The invocation was offered by PCRC’s Head Chaplain, Pastor Rick Knarr.
Special guests included Pottstown Mayor, Stephanie A. Henrick, who addressed the guests, and PA State Representative Tim Hennessey. The event theme, “Celebrate Service with Heart,” was a call to action that brought together stakeholders from the Greater Pottstown area and will directly impact 450 local families per month in need of Food Security, Housing Stability, and Supportive Services and Education.
The 2019 Caring Community Awards presented honored four individuals who have made significant contributions towards improving Food Security, Housing Stability, and Supportive Services and Education within and beyond the Greater Pottstown area. The 2019 Cluster Community Awards were presented to Valerie Arkoosh, MD, MPH, Chair of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners and Ken Lawrence, Jr., Vice Chair of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners.
(Acceptance speeches can be heard here).
Additionally, the Helping Hands with Heart Awards were presented to Barbara Cooper, PCRC Community Meals volunteer and Dr. Myra Forrest, volunteer and supporter: past PCRC Board Member; Community Meals; past fall fundraising event Chair and member. The awards were presented by PCRC Executive Director Barbara Wilhelmy and PCRC Board President Mary Ann Glocker.
Check out the You Gotta Have Heart slideshow below and order your print of individual shots taken in front of our event banner for $10. A great holiday gift idea! Purchase high-resolution images of the event here.
Greetings friends,
As we enter the most colorful time of the year, there is a chill in the air, and with that here at the Pottstown Cluster of Religious Communities (PCRC) comes a renewed commitment to caring for those we serve. Colder nights and less abundant fresh foods means we all are tasked with making sure our neighbors have a warm place in which to shelter and enough food to sustain through the long winter months.
In this issue of Cluster Chronicles you will read about our recent successful event, “You Gotta Have Heart”; upcoming events such as the Pottstown CROP Hunger Walk and The Amazing Raise, and how you can be part of the fun to help our PCRC neighbors; learn how we are reaching out to seniors in the community to better serve their needs with an online food-ordering option (part of our SmartChoice program); our educational programs’ graduates; learn of the progress of our new Pilot Programs, our four new collaborators, enhancement of partnerships — specifically our Community Volunteer Leadership Program (CVLP) with Leadership Tri-County and funded by The HealthSpark Foundation with new possibilities for those we serve; as well as other exciting upcoming events and opportunities including information about our annual Holiday Program (toy and food box distribution), and how you can help!
I’m also excited to report PCRC is very close to occupancy in our newest space, “61”, working on final ADA projects. Stay tuned!
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
Join TEAM “Pottstown Cluster of Religious Communities”
On October 15, 2019, hundreds of area residents are going to show their support for their favorite nonprofit during the Amazing Raise. On that day, every donation and donor we get will go further to help us claim our share thousands of dollars in matching funds. What we are really excited about is that this is going to be a big event, and everyone will be talking about who they’re supporting. Think “American Idol” and we’re in the try-outs but need your support to make it to the top.
You can help by doing these three things:
1. Mark October 15, 2019 on your calendar and add this link: amazingraisetricounty.org/PottstownCluster
2. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter and help build the buzz.
3. Spread the word! Tell your friends and family why you think they should help us with their donation. Please be our champion, and help us see it to the top!
We can’t wait to celebrate the difference your generosity will make on October 15, 2019!
The Pottstown Cluster of Religious Communities (PCRC) is partnering with Manna on Main Street and The Open Link, reaching out to low-income seniors living in Montgomery County to offer its SmartChoice Food Pantry online-ordering option. The pilot program is called “Extending the Food Security Safety Net”. Seniors face many challenges, physically as well as emotionally, and the hope is this option will make life a little easier for them, especially in the winter months.
Approximately 30 of PCRC’s current clients utilize the program, 10 of whom work so can not visit the Pantry during normal business hours to use the SmartChoice kiosk. Extending the option to low-income seniors was the natural progression of the program as it is a more flexible option accomodating people with different needs. Volunteers will fulfill the grocery orders, and the orders will be distributed once a month for now.
SmartChoice is Food Pantry software that works to make the most of limited resources while maximizing the amount of food delivered to clients, the flexibility in hours and ways to deliver that food, and the dignity afforded to clients by offering as much choice in food as possible at the Pantry. The software was custom made specifically for food pantries, with easy-to-use touchscreen ordering, kiosk, mobile device, and at-home shopping convenience and real time inventory management and reporting. PCRC started using the SmartChoice software November 2016 with a generous implementation grant from the HealthSpark Foundation to get the system up and running. Pottstown Area Health and Wellness Foundation has provided support for the past three years to underwrite our monthly costs of running the program.
An information session about the Extending the Food Security Safety Net pilot program was held October 9 at the Robert P. Smith Towers in Pottstown.
For more information about this program, contact Vicki Bumstead at vbumstead@pottstowncluster.org.
The Community Volunteer Leadership Program (CVLP), our new initiative in collaboration with Leadership Tri-County, was designed to provide individuals the education and foundational skills to serve as volunteer leaders with a nonprofit community. Ideal candidates were identified as people with lived experience utilizing nonprofit communities and/or health and human services.
Six individuals are participating in the initial program that started on July 23, meeting biweekly on Tuesdays from 9:30 am to 2:30 pm. Graduation will be December 10.
To date, session agendas have included: Team Building at Green Allies/Althouse Arboretum; Leadership Development including “Goal Setting” with Adrean Turner (Career Fulfillment Expert), “The Foundation of Leadership” with Jenna Armato, and “Creating Powerful Connections”, also with Jenna Armato; Presentations and Workshops such as “Hidden Rules” with Ryli Myer (PCRC Community Engagement Specialist), “Volunteering and Workshop on Understanding Bias” with Ashley Faison (YWCA), and “I Pick Pottstown campaign of PAID, Inc.” to hear the latest on economic development in Pottstown with Peggy Lee-Clark (Executive Director of PAID, Inc.); Site Tours to Steel River Playhouse, Schuylkill River Greenways, and Pottstown Borough Hall; Discussion and Handouts on nonprofit board organization structure and committees; and Projects including “Steel River Marketing Project” (Ethics of Living Jim Crow) and a “Lifestyle Photo Project” that will be combined with sharing their life journey to make a positive impact and inspire others.
Along with our other recent partnerships — Manna on Main Street and The Open Link on “Extending the Food Security Safety Net”; and Philabundance and Habitat For Humanity Montgomery and Delaware Counties on “Ending Hunger. For Good.” — CVLP is enhancing our presence in the community with new positive impactful possibilities for those we serve.
For more information about this initiative, please contact communications@pottstowncluster.org.
We are excited to present the first two groups of community members who successfully completed our new UP3 Community Cohort Workshop! Participants spent the past six weeks developing a better understanding of poverty, bridging gaps, and building social connections.
We invite you to join us at our next UP3 Community Cohort Workshop to develop a better understanding of poverty, bridge gaps between people of different socioeconomic environments, and build relationships with one another in the community.
For more information, please contact Ryli Meyer at 610.970.5995 or RMeyer@pottstowncluster.org.
Members of First Baptist Church in Pottstown held worship Sunday, September 29 at PCRC. They were welcomed by Executive Director Barbara Wilhelmy, who shared information about PCRC’s services and the positive impact those services have on the lives of people in Pottstown and the wider community. Blessings were offered by members at each stop in the building and members offered gifts to PCRC to help support its clients. Thank you First Baptist! We were honored to have you.
