Our Community Roots

malt MALT has always been a social engine for this community and has become an economic engine as well. With a small dedicated staff, MALT has maintained the intimate neighborhood feel for which it is known while undergoing tremendous growth. MALT has proudly kept quality high and fees low to achieve the greatest accessibility.

In 1980, Barbara Bloom shared her dream of an education program with East and West Mt. Airy Neighbors. Together, they envisioned and created a program where the diverse members of the community shared knowledge, interests and skills, where neighbors would teach neighbors in a community setting.

MALT has blossomed in the three decades since its founding. The first catalog in February 1981 was a folded-over sheet of paper with 17 classes, attracting 125 registrants. Now, MALT offers 250 classes each term, has three terms a year and distributes 90,000, professionaly designed 72-page catalogs each term.

While initially concentrated in Mt. Airy, MALT now draws more than 5,000 students each year from Mt. Airy, Chestnut Hill, Germantown, Roxborough and bordering suburban towns.

Since 1995, MALT has tripled its income. This past year we paid $25,000 in rental fees to local churches and community organizations, and our teachers and local entrepreneurs received over $110,000.




		Our Community Roots MALT has always been a social engine for this community and has become an economic engine as well. With a small dedicated staff, MALT has maintained the intimate neighborhood feel for which it is known while undergoing tremendous growth. MALT has proudly kept quality high and fees low to achieve the greatest accessibility. In 1980, Barbara Bloom shared her dream of an education program with East and West Mt. Airy Neighbors. Together, they envisioned and created a program where the diverse members of the community shared knowledge, interests and skills, where neighbors would teach neighbors in a community setting. MALT has blossomed in the three decades since its founding. The first catalog in February 1981 was a folded-over sheet of paper with 17 classes, attracting 125 registrants. Now, MALT offers 250 classes each term, has three terms a year and distributes 90,000, professionaly designed 72-page catalogs each term. While initially concentrated in Mt. Airy, MALT now draws more than 5,000 students each year from Mt. Airy, Chestnut Hill, Germantown, Roxborough and bordering suburban towns. Since 1995, MALT has tripled its income. This past year we paid $25,000 in rental fees to local churches and community organizations, and our teachers and local entrepreneurs received over $110,000.