10-02-2024 4:19am

Boyertown Area Multi-Service: A Special Kind of Organization in a Special Kind of Place

Lesley Misko Editor

by Jane Stahl

Boyertown Area Multi-Service celebrated its golden anniversary of service recently at the elegant 3 Dogs Garage.

To acknowledge the non-profit’s anniversary and the many ways the organization has served the community, words of thanks were offered by the organization’s executive board members and political representatives. Celebrating were loyal donors and supporters--some of my favorite people!

A history of the non-profit’s history, its evolution from one woman’s dream to two physical locations, six departments, over 20 staff members, and hundreds of volunteer community members were featured on a video created by Muzo Media Productions.

Celebrating 50 years

Photographs and media articles told a story of the organization on a trifold poster created for the event.

In recalling the origin of the Boyertown Area Multi-Service, many think of Mary Jane Schneider and Jo Guerre-Chaley. “Mary Jane, then editor of the local paper The Boyertown Times, put together a Board of Directors, comprised of at least 15 members,” recalls Gail Koch, long-time Boyertown resident and Boyertown Elementary School's former administrative and library assistant and closed TV operator.

“I was one of the directors and served as recording secretary for about 16 years,” Gail continues. “When the Board was satisfied with everything we had done, including the rental of the first office--the Woman’s Club building [the Community Center on West Philadelphia Avenue]--we formed a sub-committee, of which I was chair, to handle hiring our first director. This ‘Personnel Committee’ interviewed the applicants for the position of Director and unanimously hired Jo for the position she held for many years.”

In Margaret Harner’s book One Day at a Time: A Social History of Boyertown, PA, Margaret wrote, “June 27, 1973: The Boyertown Area Multi-Service began today with two rented rooms, a second-hand desk, a telephone, $13,000, a totally dedicated staff of one, Jo Guerre-Chaley, and a vision of bringing a variety of agencies to Boyertown to serve the community."

“As the first director, Multi-Service became Jo's passion, her life. We could not have picked anyone more dedicated to Multi-Service than Jo was,” Gail continues. “When I found out that Jo had applied for the position, I knew that I wanted her to have the position. She was a personal friend, and I knew she was the person for the position. I was so proud to be her friend, and also very proud to have her as our Director.”

Margaret’s vignette continues, “The secret of its success has always been that [Multi-Service] responds to the needs of the community in so many ways, providing numerous services. It was recognized for its vital work in 1985 when it received the Governor’s Keystone Awards for Outstanding Volunteer Service and dedication to the needs of the community. Mrs. Guerre-Chaley was named the 1986 Boyertown Citizen of the Year for her leadership in developing the Boyertown Area Multi-Service into what it is today.”

Services Today:
Meals on Wheels is designed to meet the nutritional needs of those who are homebound and/or disabled and unable to shop or prepare meals for themselves. In 2023, an average of 126 clients were served each day along nine delivery routes for a total of over $31 thousand hot and cold meals. Volunteers delivered, cleaned coolers, and scheduled reminders totaling 7, 653 hours according to the non-profit’s annual report.

Kitchen: The Center at Spring Street boasts an executive chef and sous chef in a commercial kitchen serving a balanced lunch daily approved by a registered dietician for senior center members and Meals on Wheels clients. In 2023, over 51,000 meals were prepared.

Preston’s Pantry: Multi-Service has run a pantry from its beginning to help people get through tough patches by providing food to those who currently do not have the financial means to meet their nutritional needs. It was named after a young man who, in 2018, ran a food drive as his school project. After he, his mother and unborn baby sister were tragically killed in a flash flood, the pantry was named in his honor in 2019 in a drive that brought in over 55,000 pounds of food. Hundreds of individuals, over 200 business, and over 600 volunteers contributed that inaugural year. Each year the drive provides activities and fun for families who contribute in a day of remembrance and giving.

But food is not the only service provided by Boyertown Area Multi-Service. The Center at Spring Street offers a variety of programs to individuals over 55 years old including meals, information and assistance, health, fitness and wellness programs, bus transportation, volunteer opportunities, social and recreational activities, educational and arts and crafts programs to enhance quality of life of almost 900 members.

Case Management: Case managers work to assist community members facing many of life’s difficult circumstances cultivating relationships with different agencies, businesses, and churches to help those in need.

Ricketts Center provides food for families along with athletic, educational, recreational, and wellness activities in after-school programs for Pottstown’s youth.

Volunteer Programs offer individuals and local businesses who participate in the Corporate Social Responsibility (CRS) program a variety of opportunities to make real and lasting differences in the lives of community members and the community at large. Benefits to volunteers include positive impact, personal fulfillment, awareness of positive change, and tax benefits.

Wellness Council of Boyertown found a home with Multi-Service and sponsors the annual Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot and Wellness Fair and hosts other initiatives like BASH’s Impact Club’s Impact Walk, Running of the Bears competition, Senior Walking Bingo, and Kids Celebrity Chef.

Funding Challenges
There’s no question that Boyertown Area Multi-Service is a unique and valuable partner in the Boyertown community providing resources, connections, much-needed assistance, or just a safe space to gather with others. Donations received from churches, local municipalities, individuals and families, businesses and industries, sponsorships, grants, and special events keep the programs and services available. The non-profit proudly utilizes 85% of every dollar to fund its programming.

Jocelyn Davis, executive director, applauds and thanks the many individuals, businesses, volunteers, and groups that fund the organization but issues a concern that government support is flat, grant sources are decreasing, and food costs continue to increase. She urges the need for local support in a variety of forms as she looks forward to another 50 years of service.

A Personal Memory and Reflection
Anyone who has spent any time in Boyertown is sure to come across the statement, “Boyertown is a special kind of place.” Little do many know that the statement first surfaced 50 years ago as the opening line in a script written for a slide show produced for the National Bank of Boyertown that ran as a loop in the bank’s lobby to introduce and celebrate the beginnings of a very special kind of organization: the Boyertown Area Multi-Service.

Stahl Advertising Design was commissioned to turn the photographs provided into a “slide show” about the agency’s inaugural effort to help senior citizens become aware of and access services locally. I was assigned the job of creating the slides and a script to accompany them. The photos showed the earliest volunteers serving the people in the community in some of the same kinds of ways they continue to do so today.

I remember being deeply inspired by the mission set forth to help the community's senior citizens and the grand vision behind it to provide services from groups and agencies to those who needed it. I was eager for the community to know what I was learning.

Clearly, the Boyertown people responsible for such a mission were special people, creating a special organization. Clearly, Boyertown showed itself to be a special kind of place that produced those special people. And, without much thought, the statement that opened the script announced what I’d recognized: Boyertown clearly is a special kind of place.

What has amazed me all these years is that the declaration that all but wrote itself 50 years ago has stuck. And yet, that it remains and is oft-used is the proof of its truth: Boyertown IS a special kind of place, the kind of place that produces special people who create organizations that take care of those members of the community who need specialized services. And so, special celebrations like the recent 50th anniversary celebration are clearly in order! It was a very special celebration.

* Information about the services of Boyertown Area Multi-Service was taken from its 2023 Annual Report.