Rock the Block Returns to Pottstown on April 22

Volunteers head out for Rock the Block activities in Pottstown last year.

Blogger's Note: The following was provided by Habitat for Humanity of Montgomery County.

Twelve community organizations will join forces for a second year in a row with Habitat for Humanity of Montgomery County and Pottstown CARES to beautify the borough of Pottstown.

A Hill School student Anya Gupta mans the
Pottstown CARES  

table during last year's
Rock the Block event.

Rock the Block on April 22 will bring together more than 150 volunteers who will pitch in to clean, paint, repair and improve a neighborhood, in conjunction with Pottstown CARES community cleanup day, a partnership of The Hill School, the Borough, the Pottstown School District, Montgomery County Community College, Tri-County Chamber of Commerce and Lowes.

In addition to the Pottstown CARES organizations, Rock the Block enlists volunteers from Genesis Housing Corporation, Matt Green at Glocker and Company Realtors, Mosaic Community Land Trust, Phillies Fire Company, Pottstown Fire Department and Victory Christian Life Center.

From 9 a.m. to 2 p.m, volunteer teams will complete deck and stair repairs, landscaping, spruce up efforts and more on the 300, 400 and 500 blocks of Beech, Cherry and Walnut Streets. 

They will begin work on 629 Walnut St., a new Habitat house in Pottstown. All the while, they will be building community pride.

“Rock the Block shows the power of people coming together in just one day,” said Marianne Lynch, Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity of Montgomery County. 

Marianne Lynch, executive director of Habitat for Humanity of

Montgomery County at a Rock the Block house on Walnut Street

during last year's clean-up.

“Look deeper, and you see the incredible spirit in Pottstown, and the passion residents and officials have for making it the best it can be. We are in year two of a holistic neighborhood revitalization plan and the community couldn’t be more excited and supportive,” she said.

The revitalization plan is being created by a coalition of residents, borough officials and non-profit organizations and is looking at workforce development, resident leadership, housing and quality of life issues such as arts and culture. 

In addition, Habitat Montco is partnering with the Pottstown School District to give students in construction classes hands-on experience at 629 Walnut St., and is planning to recruit for its AmeriCorps jobs from Pottstown.

Pottstown High School student Raekwon Artley 

joins Hill students Lyndsey Williams, Bridget Mayza and 

Ryan Wallace in a demolition job at 430 Walnut St. 

during the Rock the Block clean-up event on Friday, April 15, 2016.

Pottstown High will have about 40 students who will be associated with the Pottstown CARES event on Earth Day.

About 20 students, most of whom are part of the soccer team, with be doing landscaping around the high school/middle school campus and another 20 Student Government students with Dave Woodley and Trojan Man will be doing clean up in the parks.

In addition to volunteering for Habitat Montco projects, Pottstown CARES participants will be working in the MOSAIC community gardens on Walnut Street and Chestnut Street. They will be cleaning up litter in various Pottstown “pocket parks” and along Armand Hammer Boulevard. as well as planting trees. 

In addition, the Pottstown Community Arts group is going to be out cleaning up the lot on the southeast corner of King and Manatawny streets where a new Welcome to Pottstown sign will be painted.

Revitalization Chief Has Presidential Imprimatur

Wayne Rucker is the new coordinator of Habitat for Humanity of Montgomery County's Neighborhood Revitalization Program for Pottstown and Norristown.

The man who will soon be running Habitat for Humanity's Neighborhood Revitalization efforts in Pottstown and Norristown has gone from troubled teen, to prison inmate, to being nationally recognized as a volunteer at The White House, to being hired to help Pottstown neighborhoods become vibrant again.

Wayne Rucker is 28 and was one of 62 leaders nationally honored with the President's Volunteer Service Award during a recent visit to the White House.

The award was presented as part of a White House briefing on My Brother's Keeper, which President Obama launched in 2015 to address persistent opportunity gaps faced by boys and young men of color.

He earned that award by volunteering more than 500 hours in Camden and Philadelphia.

Rucker comes to Pottstown through the AmeriCorps program. As part of the Pennsylvania affiliate’s Weatherization and Home Repair Program, he helps low-income homeowners with projects ranging from replacing roofs to insulating windows and painting porches.

AmeriCorps, in partnership with EducationWorks and the Philadelphia Youth Network, had just launched a new initiative in Philadelphia called PowerCorpsPHL, combining environmental stewardship with intensive job placement support for young adults in need of direction.

Wayne Rucker

Rucker was in the first PowerCorps class, which planted trees, revitalized green spaces and served on watershed preservation. He says he connected with nature in a way he never had before.

“It helps me get a greater perspective on life,” he said.

And now he comes here as the Neighborhood Revitalization coordinator for Habitat of Montgomery County, where he'll be collaborating with residents, government officials, community nonprofits and faith organizations to help improve families' safety and quality of life.

Rucker overcame many obstacles in his own life to get here. He was raised mostly by his grandmother, with some time spent in foster care and juvenile institutions. As a teenager, he ran away and began living on the streets.

“I always was a problem child,” he said. “I was suspended from school about 180 times.”

Between the ages of 18 and 21, Rucker was arrested several times on drug charges and other offenses. At 22, he was sentenced to five years in prison on weapons charges.

When he got out of prison in 2013, he vowed not to fall back into his old ways.

“I knew I wanted to be something better,” he says.

Photo by Evan Brandt

Marianne Lynch, director of Habitat for Humanity of
Montgomery County at a Rock the Block project on
Walnut Street in Pottstown this spring.

“When I came home from prison, I did a lot of reconstruction on myself, to get rid of the old me,” he said. “It takes a whole lot of energy and drive and determination to reconstruct yourself as a new person. But that’s what I did.” 

When Rucker finished his PowerCorps class, he went straight into the AmeriCorps program with Habitat for Humanity.

“He cares deeply about the community and he puts his whole heart into everything,” said Marianne Lynch Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity of Montgomery County. “We know that he’ll bring the same level of commitment to Norristown and Pottstown.”

Rucker was hired recently to run Habitat Montco’s neighborhood revitalization programs in these two communities, to ensure that families receive support to improve their safety and quality of life.

Neighborhood Revitalization responds to community aspirations by taking a holistic look at needs, and empowering residents and community partners to help neighborhoods grow and thrive. 

Mercury Photo by John Strickler

Volunteers paint a porch on Walnut Street during
this spring's Rock the Block event.

If you're unfamiliar with this Habitat program, I have three words for you "Rock the Block."

It was under the umbrella of the Neighborhood Revitalization Program that the one-day clean-up and fix-up effort in a four-block are of Pottstown took place this spring.

The new position was created after Habitat Montco received a $100,000 capacity building grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. It is one of only 33 Habitat affiliates from around the U.S. awarded this very competitive grant.

In addition to receiving the HUD capacity-building grant, Habitat Montco will add to its capacity in construction, family services and development through AmeriCorps workers. The non-profit was selected for four AmeriCorps positions which will support new construction and critical home repairs, the Almost Home financial literacy and life skills program and the creation of an initiative to expand relationships with faith-related organizations.