Ricketts Center reopens, hires new director
Open house scheduled for Feb. 13
POTTSTOWN >> A new director has been hired for the Ricketts Community Center and an open house is scheduled for Feb. 13 to give the community a look inside.
Boyertown Multi-Service, which was awarded the lease to run the center for two years by borough council in October, had the building closed for several weeks to do some basic renovations and some painting.
The center reopened Jan. 21 with winter hours of 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Programming is offered daily and the weight room is open free of charge to teens and adults. Additional programming and weekend hours will begin in March.
The Pottstown Ministerium will host an open house/meet and greet on Thursday, Feb. 13, from 2 to 6 p.m. at the center and all are welcome.
Jocelyn Charles, a Pottstown native and Penn State graduate, has been hired as the center’s new director.
According to a press release
from Boyertown Multi-Service, she has experience leading youth groups, volunteering at church, experience helping those facing juvenile detention and residential treatment, providing child care and working at a Boys and Girls Club.
The center will focus on providing to youth, their families and the community and will strive to ensure it does not duplicate existing
services in the borough, according to the news release.
“Structured programming will be offered in sports, fitness, health and wellness, a youth meal program, academic support (tutoring, homework help, reading programs) offered free of charge to benefit the community,” according to the release.
“We are truly grateful to be offered the opportunity to realize the Ricketts Center’s potential and to honor its legacy and storied history,” Matthew Hovey, president of the Boyertown
Multi-Service Board of Directors, said in a prepared statement.
“We are an organization committed to compassionately helping those in need and building communities,” Hovey said. “Our board believes that this will be a transformative moment for both Multi-Service and the Ricketts Center.”
Hovey concluded, “we intend to be good stewards of the Ricketts Center and fully embrace a partnership with the individuals and families we are excited to serve in the coming years.”