Mosaic Community Land Trust promotes and provides permanently affordable housing and healthy living choices to people of modest means, and through education and participation, creates a vital community with a focus on arts and culture to stabilize neighborhoods and improve the quality of life in Pottstown.
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MOSAIC Community Land Trust
Mosaic Community Land Trust promotes and provides permanently affordable housing and healthy living choices to people of modest means, and through education and participation, creates a vital community with a focus on arts and culture to stabilize neighborhoods and improve the quality of life in Pottstown.$800.00 of $12,000.00 goal
More About Us
A Community Land Trust, or CLT, is a sustainable nonprofit model for:
- Increased homeownership through the Mosaic Home Buyers Program which assists low-income buyers attain their dream of owning a home
- Community involvement & partnerships which create opportunities for people to get involved in and improve the Pottstown community
- Neighborhood stabilization through property rehabilitation and transforming vacant land into productive community gardens and green spaces
- Promotion of healthy and sustainable living, locally produced food, and rebuilding our urban ecosystem through educational programming
- Support of the Arts & Culture through active partnerships and promotional events
Housing
September 2021 saw the completion of the first community land trust home in Montgomery
county at 417 Chestnut St. directly next to our flagship garden. With funding provided by a
PHARE grant, this home was built in conjunction with Habitat for Humanity and Genesis
Housing. The ribbon cutting ceremony took place on September 9 th and was attended by over
100 community members and local representatives. This complete tear down and rebuild of
a home is now owned by Debra Parkins, who in 2022 joined Mosaic’s board of directors.
Community Gardens
Over the course of 2022, our community gardens have grown and evolved through broader
and more consistent participation. This past year has seen the rebirth of our community
garden committee which has engaged members across all of our gardens. As our
membership has grown, so has participation from members across the Pottstown
community. As we wind down this garden season, we will be approaching harvesting 7,000
pounds of healthy organic produce for Pottstown residents.
In addition to our community garden, we have continued to expand our CSA program for the
fifth consecutive year in partnership with Tine & Toil farm in North Coventry. This program,
which is supported by the Leo & Peggy Pierce Foundation, has doubled in size to now include
feeding 20 families on a weekly basis from mid-May through mid-October.
Over the course of 2022, Mosaic has partnered with Pottstown mayor Stephanie Henrick on
the Mayors Pollinator Pledge through the National Wildlife Federation. This pledge has three
core objectives;
1. A proclamation to be made at Borough Council that Pottstown supports the addition
of more pollinator plants in the borough (To be made in 2022)
2. Community Education & Outreach on the benefit of pollinator plants. Including
residents signing their own pledge (Ongoing. To date, 50 residents have signed on)
3. Planting pollinator friendly plants at community gardens (Currently done at all
gardens)
Pottstown Community Arts
Pottstown Community Arts has spent the past year continuing its work through community
youth based outreach efforts with various partners including Library, ACCLAMO, Trellis and
others. These programs provide youth in our community an opportunity for creativity,
positive interaction and relationship building.
In 2021, Haunts on High was a great success, with many participating businesses and
engagement opportunities with families. As we approach the 2022 Haunts on High,
Pottstown Community Arts is excited to partner with other organizations and businesses in an
effort to grow this event which will be entering its seventh year.
On behalf of the Pennsylvania Council of Arts, Pottstown Community Arts was awarded a
$3,500 grant with the objective of providing community art in an urban setting. Over the past
six months Community Arts has worked with PAED on developing a public art plan for the 400
block of High Street. While still in the process of finalizing, this project plants to beautify high
street, while embracing the creativity of the businesses that are located on that block.
Testimonials
I want to thank Mosaic for letting me be a part of the community gardens. I grew up behind the 400 block garden that was originally a playground for younger kids. It was always filled with litter and dangerous debris. Words can’t describe how happy I was to see the transformation into a community garden when I moved home in 2012. This year I reserved a plot and joined a committee to help where I could.
My sister has diabetes and I’ve been trying to get her to eat healthier. She finally got the scare from the doctor and led to change. She loved the idea of growing our own food like our grandmother used to. She found that when we would meet at the garden, it was therapeutic and became a bit of a routine of ours in the spring. Additionally, family members of mine recently moved here from Philadelphia. They didn’t have a yard big enough to grow food and I don’t think it was a thought even if they would’ve had a yard. They loved seeing their dad excited to “go play in dirt”, their words. We collectively decided to combine our plots and share the harvest. This way we could save space and have a variety.
This year, all three houses got to try kohlrabi for the first time. We also enjoyed many stir fry’s, stuffed zucchini, salads and pretty soon, some watermelons and hopefully some roasted sunflower seeds. Thank you again for letting us be a part of this garden community, we’re all looking forward to more harvests & events. Anonymous Mosaic Member/Garden Plot Holder
