This year, we accomplished so many things with the help of our community, including a much-anticipated return to events like Supper Sessions and Autumn on the Avenue. But that’s not all!
Thanks to you, we….
Housing Counseling
- Provided Housing Counseling services to over 1,200 people, offering education and a hand up the ladder to achieving the American dream of owning a home.
- Hosted over 40 first-time homebuyer workshops, attended by over 750 individuals.
- Directly assisted 36 homebuyers through the purchase of their first house.
- Saved 28 households from homelessness, keeping them in their homes through emergency foreclosure mitigation and eviction diversion programs.
- Offered 2,032 individualized, private housing counseling sessions, helping clients prepare themselves for homeownership.
- Focused on serving those most in need, with 73% of clients low-income.
- Affirming the value of diverse communities and rectifying the legacies of prejudice in mortgage lending, over 90% of clients served were people of color.
Small Business Services
- Revived the Mt. Airy Business Expo for the first time since 2019, bringing expert small business advisors and networking to local entrepreneurs.
- Restored our popular Supper Sessions festival for the first time since 2019, providing an economic boost for more than 50 businesses and an opportunity for thousands of residents to re-engage with their neighbors and rediscover their commercial corridor.
- Delivered marketing and business development services to more than 70 businesses through the Mt. Airy Business Association.
- Provided intensive entrepreneurship education to more than 40 business owners through our PhillyiHub program.
- Helped 3 local merchants to obtain $12,000 in competitive grant funding.
- Managed 28,000 sf of rental space, providing facilities for 23 small businesses and affordable, quality living quarters for two households.
Literacy Building Programs
- Hosted a summer reading camp at Holman Field for 20 children who were reading below grade level, measurably improving their literacy skills.
- Led 2 6-week after-school sessions of Literacy Art.
- Installed 5 Little Free Libraries.
- Launched our Literacy-Rich Neighborhood project, a groundbreaking initiative funded by the William Penn Foundation which will create permanent reading-themed installations and murals to engage youth on the streets where they live and play.
- Continued to lead the Mt. Airy Schools Coalition, helping to support and promote our area public schools.
- Participated in Reading Promise Week, bringing family literacy events to Mt. Airy.
- Partnered with Read By 4th, Penn Libraries, Mural Arts, the Free Library, and other organizations.
- Offered story times, workshops, and book giveaways at 14 events throughout the year.
Will you help us continue and extend these programs for 2023? Invest in the future of Mt. Airy!
