Opportunity House is a 24/7/365 emergency shelter dedicated to helping the homeless population of Berks County, PA. As part of our services, we provide three meals and a snack daily; operate the Second Street Learning Center; offer supportive services and programs for transitional and permanent housing; and reuse/recycle goods through OppShop and our warehouse. We rely on donations to keep our shelter and other programs open and operating today, and every day, so we invite you to donate if you’re in Reading, PA, and looking for a worthy cause “near me.”
Support a Worthy Cause
The work of Opportunity House is worthy of your support. We welcome single men and women and families with children who need housing, and we provide those individuals with shelter, food, and self-care essentials. We don’t stop there, though. From securing identification to licensure, medical care, rehab, life skills, and child care, we help eliminate the roadblocks that stand in the way of securing and sustaining housing. Case management through Opportunity House helps meet the impediments to housing and overcome them.
In addition to emergency housing, we provide supportive services and permanent housing units to help clients as they progress toward long-term, self-sustained housing solutions.
The Second Street Learning Center, a Keystone 4 Star Learning Center, allows us to provide our clients and the community with child care services. We have a well-trained staff, serve 200 children/year, and offer Infant, Toddler, Pre-K Counts, Preschool, School-age, and Summer Camp Programs. The donations you make to the Opportunity House Food Pantry will also serve these children.
Opportunity House operates OppShop, a retail thrift store on 5th Street Highway, in collaboration with our warehouse, where we recycle the goods that don’t sell at the thrift store location. All of the proceeds go toward the work of Opportunity House.
Donate to the Worthy Cause
Donations to Opportunity House may take various forms. We welcome your gifts of time, money, food, and items.
Financial gifts may be made at the shelter, the thrift store, at one of our many fundraisers, via mail, and online. You can designate your gift as a tribute to a loved one or in recognition of a mentor, or a significant milestone.
Service is always appreciated at Opportunity House. Arrange for a day of service, prepare and serve a meal, serve on a planning committee for a fundraiser, or volunteer at OppShop.
Essentials like undergarments for men and women, cold weather clothing, toiletries, laundry care products, baby diapers, wipes, and bottles are some of the products we need. Sports bras, diapers, socks, and underwear are always pressing needs. Non-perishable food, especially canned foods, is also welcome.
To donate your gently used clothing, housewares, books, media, and other items to Opp Shop, you can drop them behind the thrift store at our donation center, in one of the many donation bins throughout the county, or arrange for collection from your home for larger pieces of furniture.
Help the homeless “near me” when you live near Berks County, PA, by donating to Opportunity House. Click here to contact us for assistance if you need help today.
