Boyertown PA
11-28-2022 4:46am

Boyertown Multi-Service Has Named Jocelyn Charles As New Executive Director

Jocelyn Charles, new Multi-Service Executive Director; photo courtesy of Multi-Service

When looking for a place to live, people seek environments that will provide a good quality of life for the members of their household. The Boyertown Area Multi-Service agency helps to do exactly that and to guide the good work they do, they recently appointed Ms. Jocelyn Charles as the agency’s new executive director.

Charles is not new to Multi-Service. In 2019 Pottstown Borough Council voted to authorize Boyertown Multi- Service to take over management of the Ricketts Center in Pottstown, and Charles was selected to serve as interim executive director of Ricketts as a result of her previous good work there.

The Ricketts Center thrived under her leadership, so in August 2022, when  Multi-Service was searching for a new executive director, moving her into that position of overseeing both Ricketts and Multi-Service seemed like a good fit. Multi-Service board member, Thomas Blocher explains, "She has great vision and knows what needs to be done before you ask. She is task-oriented and thinks things through before taking action."

Matthew Hovey, Multi-Service board president, believes  Charles “is someone who can bridge the Boyertown and Pottstown communities in terms of collaboration and outreach.” Charles agrees, noting that Boyertown and Pottstown are alike in many important ways and one of her goals is “to bridge a gap that shouldn’t be there, a gap that is the remnant of long-gone days that don’t exist anymore.”

A Penn State grad with a major in psychology, Charles grew up in Pottstown and her earliest work focused on getting involved with youth recreation programs like soccer to mentor children who came from challenging home and neighborhood situations. Charles explains that these children “often lacked good role models” and as a result, ended up turning towards drugs and crime. “The goal was to help them before they reached that point,” Charles describes.

In her new role, Charles says her priority is analyzing and evaluating the services offered by the Pottstown and Boyertown facilities to determine strengths and needs and how the two facilities can work cooperatively. As an example, she points out that the Ricketts Center focuses on children, while the Boyertown Center at Spring Street focuses on mature adults and senior citizens. She is planning “to explore bringing youth services to Boyertown.”

A second priority for Charles is finding the best way to alleviate a space shortage at Multi-Service’s Spring Street facility in Boyertown. As programs and services increased, space came at a premium, and now the abundance of food donations is overwhelming the space as well. Charles is referring to the very successful Preston’s Pantry, a food donation project that honors the life of a local child who tragically died in a flash flood several years ago. “There is food everywhere, including piled up in the hallways,” describes Charles. “It is wonderful that people are donating so generously, but we need to consider ways to resolve this,” she concludes.

The annual Turkey Trot 5k always attracts a spirited group of runners. (Photo courtesy Boyertown Area Multi-Service.)

Charles is looking forward to the continuation of traditional Multi-Service activities like the recent Turkey Trot and Veteran’s Day programs and the upcoming Festival of Trees, but she also anticipates some changes. “It is best to enact change from the inside. We need to make sure all staff members are able to do their jobs efficiently and are not being spread too thin,” she says, adding, “We need to narrow down and be proficient at the designated areas in which we decide to focus.” 

In closing, Charles emphasizes the important role the community plays in the success of  Multi-Service. It is "all about volunteerism," she says. "Donations, volunteers, food--" these things are essential," she summarizes.

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