The Boyertown Area Multi Service is commemorating 50 years of service

The Boyertown Area Multi Service is commemorating 50 years of service to the Boyertown Area. Its mission has been to provide a variety of resources and services to support the people of the community with their health and financial needs. There will be a Golden Anniversary Celebration this year on September 21 at the Three Dog Garage at 704 East Fourth Street in Boyertown to recognize their tremendous success in achieving that goal, and thank the people who have made it possible.
Organized on June 27, 1973 with a dream to fulfil a great need in the community to give people who have basic needs for food, clothing and shelter, a place to seek help. They started with two rented rooms in the Boyertown Community Center on West Philadelphia Avenue, a secondhand desk, a telephone, $13,000, and a totally dedicated staff of one, Jo Guerre-Chaley. Her welcoming smile and caring concern shaped Multi Service and directed its growth.

In the first decade, Multi Service increased its staff from one to five, its budget from $13,000 to $127,000, its volunteers from 49 to 400, and its volunteer hours from 2100 to 19,000. It created a Senior Center, Meals on Wheels, a lunch program, a food pantry, a children’s clinic, a clothing exchange, basic necessities for needy residents, and transportation.
Boyertown Area Multi Service was recognized for its vital work in 1985, receiving the Governor’s Keystone Award for Outstanding Volunteer Service and dedication to meeting the needs of the community. Jo Guerre-Chaley was selected as the Boyertown Citizen of the Year in 1986 for her leadership in developing Multi Service’s tremendous success in reaching its goals.
Its initial funding was local, including from the Boyertown United Way. Over the years, state and local grants enabled Multi Service to greatly expand its help to the community. Its multi-million-dollar 17,000 square foot Center at Spring Street was opened in 2005 to give partner agencies space to meet with local residents and expanded space for the Senior Center.
A 50th Anniversary Gala will be held at the Three Dog Garage Museum on September 21, 2024. Sponsors for the exciting celebration are Drug Plastics and Glass, Gateway Ticketing Systems, Sealstrip, Longacre Company, Dana Corporation, Martin Stone Quarry, Body Borneman Insurance, Diamond Credit Union, Lehigh Valley Hospital, Fred Beans Ford of Boyertown, Community Heath and Dental Care, Pottstown Hospital Tower Health, Jack and Linda Lignelli, Pottstown Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Associates, Ross and Beth Myers, and Catagnus Funeral Home.