West Reading

West Reading Best Performing Elm Street Program

“When they started showing the total state numbers, I thought, ‘We did three-quarters of that,'” said Dean L. Rohrbach, West Reading’s Elm Street manager. Rohrbach said he felt proud of his program’s accomplishments, but not particularly surprised when it won the top statewide honor in its category.

Now in its 11th year, “Elm Street” does not refer to a specific street in the borough. It is the residential component of the nonprofit Community Revitalization Foundation, which also targets the commercial strip on Penn Avenue through a Main Street program, Rohrbach explained.The community-based organization is committed to advancing the vitality of commercial areas and livability of residential areas in the borough through its programs, he said.When accepting the award, he thanked all involved in making the Elm Street program a success and noted the many volunteer hours essential to it. Rohrbach also spoke of vital partnerships with diverse organizations, such as local foundations, businesses and government.”We wouldn’t be able to reinvigorate West Reading’s neighborhoods if we wouldn’t be able to tap into government and private funding sources,” Rohrbach said.