POTTSTOWN CARES PRESS RELEASE – PART I

Borough, Pottstown School District, and The Hill School

Combine Resources and Volunteers for

Two Pottstown CARES Events

Residents invited to free community resource and activities fair on October 19; 700 volunteers to embark on Pottstown clean-up set for October 25

POTTSTOWN, PA –Volunteers from the Borough of Pottstown, The Hill School, and the Pottstown School District will combine forces to demonstrate their care for our hometown in several tangible ways in a two-part, two-day event, with separate components planned for Saturday, October 19 and Friday, October 25.

This joint CARES (Community, Awareness, Responsibility, Empowerment, and Sustainability) endeavor was conceived last spring during conversations between Borough Manager Mark Flanders, Pottstown School Superintendent Jeff Sparagana, and Hill School Headmaster Zachary Lehman.  The three leaders envisioned a collaborative project that would help to “spruce up” a designated area in the core of Pottstown while also boosting community pride and awareness about Pottstown resources.  A small committee of representatives from these three key Pottstown entities began meeting late last spring; they sought feedback at a community forum held at the Ricketts Center in late June; and they have been meeting regularly since that time to manage myriad details for the project.

The first part of the CARES project will be a community education and activities day on Saturday, October 19.  (Please read below about the second CARES event on Friday, October 25.)  This free information fair on October 19 will occur rain or shine from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at The Hill School, under the former outdoor hockey rink located off Beech Street near Hill’s Center For The Arts.  Attendees may park in the Center For The Arts parking lot. The GPS address for this location is 860 Beech Street.

This October 19 community day will allow nonprofits and other Pottstown-focused, helpful organizations — ranging from arts and recreational organizations to the Bloodmobile, Reduxtech e-waste recyclers, and other service providers — to share free materials about their programs and talk with Pottstown residents.

A variety of free children’s activities will be available through the YMCA and other organizations, and the Masons will be doing child identification fingerprinting.   

Numerous local food vendors will be on hand selling various refreshments, from French fries to vegetarian foods.  Free, gently used office supplies also will be available at a “Get Organized Pottstown” station.

The Pottstown Cluster of Religious Communities will be accepting donations of food, clothing, and other essentials near the Center For The Arts parking lot in Hill’s old rink. Greatly needed items include: Canned soups and stews; canned prepared pasta; canned fruit; oatmeal; personal hygiene items; small bottles of  laundry detergent; cleaning supplies; socks; underwear; and coats.

In addition, the Chester County Pet Food Pantry will be accepting donations of pet foods, and Forgotten Cats will be represented.

An e-waste collector will be on hand to accept any old items that had electricity running through them.  The e-waste collection truck will be located in the Center For The Arts parking lot.

 The Miller-Keystone Blood Center Bloodmobile will take walk-in blood donations.  Registration for walk-in donations will be located in the lobby of Hill’s Center For The Arts.  People who would like to sign up in advance to donate blood on October 19 at The Hill may contact Jason Coady, a Hill teacher who is coordinating this effort, by emailing him at jcoady@thehill.org.  Also, CVS will provide a flu shot clinic from 12 to 2 p.m.; people interested in getting a flu shot should bring their insurance card if they have one.

A voter registration table will be set up and individuals will be there to help people with this process.

As part of the day’s activities, The Hill will provide two free screenings of an inspirational, multiple award-winning film about “the power of one” demonstrated by nine individuals on six continents, all of whom are working to make their communities a better place.  The film “Opening Our Eyes” (PG-13, www.openingoureyes.net) will be shown in The Hill School Center For The Arts at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. in the Green Room, located off the CFTA lobby.

Also, The Hill invites individuals to take a free, self-guided “Art Walk” architectural tour of Hill’s historic campus.   Interested guests should look for the Art Walk registration table under the rink roof, where they will be provided with a brochure and map of the tour sites as well as an Art Walk visitor badge.  All tours must begin by 3 p.m.

Additional organizations that have registered so far (as of October 10) to participate in the CARES information-sharing event include: Community Connections; Community First Development Corp., Inc; Children and Youth Services; the Colebrookdale Railroad; Genesis Housing Corporation; the Greater Pottstown Tennis Association; Habitat for Humanity of Montgomery County; the Montgomery County Health Department;  the Pottstown Borough, including the Codes Department; Pottstown Carousel; the Pottstown Downtown Improvement District Authority; the Pottstown Fourth of July Committee; the Pottstown High School Key Club; Pottsgrove Manor; Pottstown Memorial Medical Center; Pottstown MOSAIC; the Pottstown Office of Family Services of Montgomery County; Richard J. Ricketts Community Center/Olivet Boys and Girls Club; Sunnybrook Foundation; the United Way; the World War II Dance Committee; and the YMCA and YWCA.

Participating organizations are asked to complete registration and set up between 10 and 11 a.m. on October 19.    They should enter the site from the Center For The Arts parking lot off Beech Street.