Pottstown Community Action, a volunteer group created through the neighborhood revitalization efforts of Habitat for Humanity of Montgomery and Delaware Counties and other community partners will award Love Your Block Pottstown mini-grants with funding from the Pottstown Health and Wellness Foundation as well as partners Genesis Housing Corp. and Hobart’s Run, in addition to the regional chapter of Habitat.

Grant applicants must submit their request in groups of four or more volunteers and projects must affect multiple homes or properties or a shared community space. At least half of the applicants for each group must be Borough of Pottstown residents.

Modeled after Cities of Services’ long-running, national initiative, grants will range from $250 to $1,500 depending upon the scope of the projects which must be designed to remove blight, improve quality of life, and foster community engagement, with a goal of improving participating neighborhoods block by block.

Applications are due April 30, 2022.

Tamara Charles, vice president of Pottstown Community Action, says she hopes the Love Your Block impact will include “a sense of greater neighborhood connectivity throughout the Borough, pride from project completion, and a feeling of resident empowerment and ownership of their community.”

During this Love Your Block pilot year, applications from Borough Wards 1, 2, and 3 will receive priority status. Projects may include revitalizing buildings, improving vacant lots, and fostering cleanups.

Other examples may include porch lighting improvements, murals, landscaping, and repainting and repair a row of porches.

Detailed application information can be found here and help may be obtained by emailing pottstowncommunityaction@gmail.com.

 Interested parties in Love Your Block also may call Charles at 484-587-5819, or Saroj Chettri, Love Your Block administrator, at 484-744-9896.   The application process will require personal and property release waivers and an estimated itemized budget.

Pottstown Community Action began more than five years ago to find solutions to neighborhood issues. Through monthly meetings, the group conducts block cleanups, supports a block captain program, and holds an annual Teacher Appreciation Day.