Share your hopes and fears about Reading at community forum today

Reading is a city in “transformation,” a city at “a decision point,” a place filled with “hidden treasures.”

Reading is a city in “transformation,” a city at “a decision point,” a place filled with “hidden treasures,” and a place with “a lot of potential opportunities and also a lot of challenges.” At least, that is how a handful of community leaders describe the Berks County city of about 88,000 people. 

We’ll be asking residents of Reading to share their impressions, their hopes and fears about the city at an upcoming community forum, Monday, February 2, at Reading Intermediate High School (the Citadel). The program is from 4:30 – 6:30 p.m. with dinner by Mi Casa Su Casa starting at 4:00 p.m. 

In collaboration with the Penn Project for Civic Engagement, community members will have small-group dialogues about some of the flaws and challenges facing the city of Reading. And we’ll ask: who’s making a difference?

We’ll also ask residents about how Reading is shown and represented in the media — if news coverage is fair and focuses on the issues that people care about.

“My concern is that most of the time the media only focuses on the challenges, the risks, the problems that the city has,” said Waldo Alvarado, Director of Equity and Diversity for the  Reading School District. “But there are some stories that the people need to hear about the good things going on in the city of Reading.”

Join us Monday, February 2, to share your concerns and the stories that need to be heard.

Reading Intermediate High School, The Citadel215 N. 12th Street, Reading, Pa. 196044 p.m. dinner 4:30 – 6:30 p.m. programInterpreters available