PHC has partnered with Philadelphia poet laureate Trapeta B. Mayson on a mission to help spread kindness throughout the state.

Five new members were elected to the Pennsylvania Humanities Council’s (PHC’s) Board of Directors in November:  Daniel Egusquiza (Reading), Maureen McGuigan (Scranton), Erin Molchany (Pittsburgh), Safronia Perry (Carlisle), and Abbi Peters (Ridgway). Each began their term on November 1 and are eligible to serve up to two consecutive three-year terms. Also new is the election of Dr. Cheryl Matherly, Vice President and Vice Provost for International Affairs at Lehigh University, as Chair. She joined the board in 2017 and succeeds Mary Persico, President of Marywood University. Additionally, Gwendolyn White, Underwriting Manager for the Erie Insurance Group, was elected as Vice-Chair and Allen Dieterich-Ward, professor of history at Shippensburg University, as Treasurer. "Our new members bring a breadth of experience with civic engagement and community building,” Matherly said. “We are excited at the leadership they will provide for PA Humanities as we seek new ways to engage Pennsylvania residents with using the humanities to lead change.” PHC is governed by a 24-seat board of directors, which is made up of both elected individuals and governor appointees. All seats on the board are currently filled, with members having backgrounds in business, law, education, philanthropy, government, arts, and culture. “This impressive new slate of board members adds to our diverse and talented team of professionals from across the state -- people committed to the humanities and enthusiastic about our mission to create positive change in their local communities,” said Laurie Zierer, executive director of PHC. “This year we successfully expanded our search for new members to include people on the ground in the communities we partner with and those who have seen our work in action.” Short biographies of the newest members are below. Complete profiles for all board members can be found here. Daniel Egusquiza is the Outreach Coordinator at Reading Public Library and the founder of Barrio Alegría, a volunteer‐run community arts organization serving the Hispanic and Latinx community that uses art as a tool for transformative, multicultural community engagement and development.     Maureen McGuigan is the Deputy Director of Arts and Culture for Lackawanna County, located in northeastern Pennsylvania, where she oversees the $1.3 million local tax generated fund for arts and culture programming as well as the operations of the Electric City Trolley Station and Museum.   Erin Molchany serves as a Senior Advisor of Government Relations at Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney in Pittsburgh. She previously served as Legislative Director at the Pennsylvania Department of Health and as the director of Governor Wolf’s Southwest Regional Office representing 16 counties.   Safronia Perry is the Executive Director of Hope Station, a non‐profit that serves low‐income families in Carlisle. She is part of the leadership team and a long-time champion for Greater Carlisle Heart & Soul, engaging local youth in storytelling and action against racial bullying in the schools.   Abbi Peters is Executive Vice President of Operations for the PA Wilds Center for Entrepreneurship in Potter County. She brings 20 years of experience within the creative economy to the Center’s leadership team and played a crucial role in establishing the programs that drive the PA Wilds Center’s place-based entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Pennsylvania Humanities Council (PHC) is pleased to announce its partnership with Dr. Brittany Levingston, one of the 41 newest Leading Edge Fellows, who will develop a series of statewide programs centered on the renowned works of Pennsylvania playwright August Wilson.  The Leading Edge Fellowship is an initiative of the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) that aims to demonstrate the potential of people with advanced degrees in the humanities and humanistic social sciences to solve problems outside the academy. It recently underwent a major expansion with the support of a $3.6 million grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The fellowship program features outstanding PhDs in the humanities that have been placed with nonprofits to support initiatives advancing social justice and equity in communities across the United States. Fellows receive an annual stipend, as well as health insurance and professional development support. "As we look forward with hope to our emergence from the pandemic, we also feel a sense of urgency in helping humanistic scholars work with others to create a better, more inclusive future,” said ACLS President Joy Connolly. “This impressive group reflects our commitment to supporting early career scholars and recognizing the power humanistic knowledge and inquiry have to help shape the world beyond campus." Levingston’s work will focus on the ten plays of August Wilson’s Century Cycle, which chronicles the collective memory, history, and dreams of African American families across the twentieth century. She will collaborate with PHC on a slate of community engagement programs exploring themes from the plays in conjunction with the rich history of African American communities across the state. “I am overjoyed to be working with PHC on this exciting project that will celebrate the work of August Wilson and the stories of African American communities in Pennsylvania,” said Levingston. “I look forward to collaborating with partners across the state to bring inspiring and engaging programming to local communities.” Levingston recently received a PhD in English and African American Studies from Yale University. She began her work with the Pennsylvania Humanities Council as a Leading Edge Fellow in September, 2021. Public programs are expected to be announced in Summer 2022.

Whew -- we’re hot off a whirlwind of summer visits with federal legislators! Conducted virtually this year, we stressed the importance of the humanities to Pennsylvanians everywhere. During the pandemic our programs and grants provided opportunities for people to connect and discuss important issues, have meaningful cultural and learning experiences, and engage in equitable community-building PHC, along with our board, partners, and grantees, organized Zoom calls with congressional representatives and their staff in 11 of the 18 districts across both the state and political spectrum, such as Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05) and Glenn Thompson (PA-15). We discussed PHC’s work in their district, the crucial importance of the humanities to the state’s economy, the on-going impact of COVID-19, and the available recovery and growth opportunities.  “I always feel a little nervous before advocacy meetings with representatives and legislators,” said John Orr, PHC board member and executive director of Art-Reach. “Then I get into the meetings and remember they’re just people who want to do good things in their districts, and PHC has opportunities that will directly impact their residents. It’s really fun watching opportunity turn into action.” Our research shows that the pandemic took a hefty toll on the cultural sector: a 37% decline in overall budgets, 34% decline in revenues, and a 22% reduction of full-time employees. Last year, we rapidly responded to this crisis by reallocating our resources to provide emergency support through our Pop-Up Grants for Cultural Producers program and then later distributed $780,500 through PHC CARES, as part of the CARES Act of 2020.  We continue to focus on meeting the emerging and on-going needs of the humanities by developing statewide webinars, grant opportunities, educational programs, and learning networks. Fortunately, Pennsylvania’s cultural sector is strong, creative, and resilient and has been adapting despite the challenges. "It’s wonderful to share with legislators about the positive impact that PHC's programming is having here in Upper Chichester,” said Barbara Kelley, coordinator for Upper Chichester Heart & Soul. “Through Community Heart & Soul we have found a new way to better engage with and inspire our residents using the tools of the humanities." The big news for the legislators on this round of summer visits was PA SHARP, our new $1.2 million dollar growth and recovery grant program supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities through the American Rescue Plan of 2021. PHC is offering up to $20,000 in flexible funding to support the growth and recovery of the humanities in Pennsylvania. PA SHARP goes beyond relief and is an opportunity to reimagine, reinvent, and re-envision humanities work through planning, capacity building, and creative programming.  “It was a breath of fresh air to connect with representatives across the state and assure them that the humanities are doing important work in their districts,” said Taylor Tolton-Kain, PHC’s Program and Communications Associate. Although PHC advocates year round for the humanities, we now have a little time to catch our breath before getting prepped for our next big push at Humanities on the Hill 2022.   Related Content PA SHARP: Recovery and Growth Grants (Application period closed)

PA SHARP is a $1.2 million humanities recovery and growth program by the Pennsylvania Humanities Council (PHC). Through PA SHARP, PHC will provide up to $20,000 in flexible funding to support the growth and recovery of the humanities in Pennsylvania. Apply now!

October 1st is the deadline for the Pennsylvania Humanities Council’s (PHC’s) $1.2 million statewide recovery and growth program. Called PA SHARP (Sustaining the Humanities through the American Rescue Plan), the initiative provides up to $20,000 in flexible funding to strengthen and grow the humanities. Pennsylvania organizations with a humanities-based mission and organizations conducting humanities programming are eligible to apply. “Throughout the on-going pandemic, the humanities took the lead in inspiring learning and keeping us connected, resilient, and healing in communities large and small across the state,”  said Laurie Zierer, executive director of the Pennsylvania Humanities Council. “Through PA SHARP we have the opportunity to build on this essential recovery work by reimagining the possibilities of the humanities through core support of our historic sites, public libraries, and museums and creative programming by cultural producers at the local level.” Funding for PA SHARP comes from PHC’s federal partner, the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), as part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. Recognizing the financial realities of the pandemic and the vital importance of the humanities to economic and civic life, this legislation allocated to the NEH funds to “prevent, prepare for, respond to, and recover from the coronavirus.”  “With so many of our nation’s cultural and educational institutions reeling from the economic fallout of the pandemic, NEH’s state and jurisdictional humanities partners are on the front lines of the crisis, adapting and responding to urgent needs within their states and communities to shore up the humanities organizations and resources that enrich the lives of so many citizens,” said NEH Acting Chairman Adam Wolfson. “NEH is grateful to our state and jurisdictional partners for joining us in this effort to quickly distribute American Rescue Plan relief funding to where it is most needed.”  In addition to providing recovery funds, PHC will partner with grantees on the development of a statewide support network that fosters resource sharing, professional development, and mutual support. The PA SHARP Learning Network will address the urgent need for the humanities by bringing together people passionate about creating inclusive, engaged communities and ready to lead the statewide recovery alongside PHC. PA SHARP is an expansion of PHC’s previous recovery work, beginning when the coronavirus pandemic first affected business operations. In 2020, PHC rapidly responded by reallocating its program funding for emergency support through Pop-Up Grants for Cultural Producers and then later distributed an additional $780,500 through PHC CARES, part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act of 2020. In finding the most effective ways to meet the emerging and continuing needs of the humanities in Pennsylvania, PHC developed relevant and accessible webinars, educational programs, and learning networks.  The PA SHARP grant portal is open and applications are due by midnight on October 1, 2021. PHC is committed to equitable grantmaking and will be considering geographic diversity and the importance of reaching underrepresented communities in its funding decisions. For more information, including grant guidelines, frequently asked questions, and a preview application, visit PAHumanities.org/PASHARP.

Poet Laureate Trapeta B. Mayson and PA Humanities Council invite you to “share your kindness” for a citizen-inspired poem to be released on World Kindness Day.

Upper Chichester Heart & Soul supercharged their outreach and civic engagement this summer with two successful community summits. People from all corners of the township gathered to vote on action ideas centered on each of their seven value statements: sense of community, location and accessibility, education, safety, economic opportunity, community resources, and recreation and open spaces.  These values were developed through volunteer-led conversations and story-gathering work with residents, nonprofits, government agencies, educational institutions, and business leaders. The effort is centered in the PA Community Heart & Soul model which creatively engages residents in planning and decision-making processes as a way to strengthen a town’s social, cultural and economic vibrancy. "We needed to have Heart & Soul at this time in the history of our township,” said Diane Simon, part of the Upper Chichester Heart & Soul leadership team. “We, as residents, are being able to give our input as to what we'd like to see." The action items voted most important during this third phase of the program will soon be incorporated into a community action plan, a practical roadmap to making meaningful change in the future. "I think there's a lot of opportunity here for change,” said Joe Neary, 4th Ward Commissioner for Upper Chichester Township. In addition to the summits, the leadership team implemented a final “7-day blitz” of outreach activities through mass mail, email,  and social media campaigns in their effort to give as many people a seat at the table as possible. Once all the feedback is received they will begin the process of data analysis to determine what actions residents find most important. Fortunately, interest in attending events is picking up steam again after having to move operations online during the height of the pandemic, said Barbara Kelley, Assistant Township Manager. “We’re excited by the energy and momentum we’re now seeing. Community Heart & Soul is helping us chart a course for a bright and prosperous future that involves everyone.”   Related Content Pennsylvania Heart & Soul Communities Community Heart & Soul (Orton Family Foundation) Upper Chichester Heart & Soul volunteers gather for intensive storytelling training 

Nearly 20 young people from Upper Darby Free Library Municipal Branch's Teen Reading Lounge and the Upper Darby mayor's youth advisory committee gathered safely outdoors for a special virtual meeting with Representative Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05). With phones and tablets in hand, the teens engaged Scanlon in an hour-long conversation about issues they were concerned about: education, gun violence, the environment, and mental health issues.  Scanlon gave thoughtful answers and offered some of her personal political journey, including her early concern for environmental issues based on experiences growing up as a teenager in Watertown, New York near the Canadian border. Teen Reading Lounge (TRL) is PHC’s award-winning, nontraditional book club for youth with sites across the state. Participants work together to co-create the reading list and, with support from trained facilitators, design creative projects and organize events, like the Scanlon meeting, that connect themes in their books to tangible action in their communities. "Through TRL, our teens have been participating in local governance by having six teens serve on three different Upper Darby township committees." said Jean Kosha, Teen Reading Lounge coordinator and library assistant at Upper Darby Free Library Municipal Branch.  "Meeting with Representative Scanlon gave them a chance to ask her about national and world issues important to them." Scanlon concluded her virtual visit by inviting the young people to join her Congressional Youth Cabinet (CYC), a nonpartisan initiative to provide high school students in Pennsylvania’s 5th Congressional District with an opportunity to learn more about Congress and the policymaking process. Members of the CYC get to share their ideas about solving pressing issues facing young Americans and have the opportunity to connect with other elected officials, peers, and community leaders. "Through reading and discussing different perspectives and social issues, Teen Reading Lounge ultimately aims to nurture empathic young leaders and engaged citizens," said Julia Terry, PHC's education officer. "These young peoples' concern for their community, humanity at large, and the environment was clear in the depth and maturity of their questions and the agency and commitment they bring to their work."   Related Content Humanities help Upper Darby youth navigate COVID-19 and stay connected Teen Reading Lounge

Lights, camera, action! Young people at B.F. Jones Memorial Library in Aliquippa got a chance to sit in the director's seat and help produce a video about their recent environmental civic engagement work. The project was inspired by their talks with Eliza Griswold, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for the New Yorker. It was led by participants in the library’s Teen Reading Lounge program in partnership with Ya Momz House, with support from PHC and a Democracy and the Informed Citizen grant. Through discussions and community conversations, the group determined that litter was a major problem so they teamed up with The Big Beaver Litter Gitters to help clean up their neighborhood.  “That’s one of the key things with TRL ... showing them how to use their talents to actually make a difference."   - Kristen Janci, Youth & Outreach Coordinator at BF Jones Memorial Library Using what they learned about environmental journalism from Griswold, they created an inspiring video that shows the power of young people to make meaningful change through dialogue about issues important to them.  Watch their final video below and read more about this powerful story in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

We are seeking energized volunteers who are passionate about our mission and can work collaboratively with other Board members, the Executive Director, and PHC staff. We value a diverse group who represent the professions, cultures, religions, ages, skills, and experiences found throughout the state.

With the support of PHC CARES, Abington Community Library in Lackawanna County is providing anti-racism/mental health kits to their patrons. The story was recently profiledby News Watch 16 (WNEP) and features PHC's senior program officer Jen Danifo. "That's a huge service that the library can bring and the coolest thing about their project is that the patrons themselves were helping to create these kits which can be therapeutic as well," said Danifo. "This is just such a cool project." PHC CARES was an emergency relief fund for humanities organizations facing financial hardship due to the COVID-19 crisis. $780,500 in emergency relief grants were given to 140 Pennsylvania nonprofits in August of 2020. Watch the full video below:  Funding for these grants has been provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act economic stabilization plan.

The PA Kindness Poem Project kicked off in February of 2021 and Pennsylvanians everywhere have answered the call to spread kindness online through social media. From heartfelt quotes to original poetry, PHC's staff have been inspired and encouraged by all the messages promoting generosity, healing, reconciliation, and peace. Soon Philadelphia poet laureate Trapeta B. Mayson will be using these submissions as inspiration for an original poem to be released on World Kindness Day -- but there's is still plenty of time to participate before the August 31st deadline! Learn how you can be part of this project and help spread kindness across the state. Download our social media toolkit for tips on how to amplify your message and graphics that you can share. Here are some #PAKindnessPoem submissions for inspiration:

People have a lot to say about Pennsylvania Community Heart & Soul! This resident-driven, humanities-based process engages the entire of a town in identifying what they love most about their community, what future they want for it, and how to achieve it. Participants often become Heart & Soul champions -- and impactful local leaders -- fueling the program's steady growth across the state. Already in 2021, four  new towns emerged along the historic Route 6 corridor. The "Community Heart & Soul Minutes" videos below feature three incredible PA women leaders -- two from Williamsport (Star Poole and Alice Trowbridge) and one from Meadville (Autumn Vogel). They share their insights and experiences on community engagement, personal growth, planning, volunteering, and reimagining local decision-making.    "I started as a Community Heart & Soul volunteer and I got offered an opportunity to tell my story and everything pretty much blossomed from there. I feel like I know most of the city now just from not being afraid to engage in my community." Star Poole, Community Heart & Soul Volunteer and School Board member in Williamsport   "One of the biggest impacts that Heart & Soul had in our community was involving new people -- people who weren't typically involved, weren't typically at the table, weren't typically heard -- and involving them in a really meaningful way in shaping our town and envisioning new possibilities..." Autumn Vogel, current Meadville City Councilor and 2017-2018 Project Coordinator for My Meadville   "As a planner having done community engagement for years, this turns everything on its head. It starts with the people and what the people want and what matters most to them and the projects follow from that." Alice Trowbridge, former Community Heart & Soul Project Coordinator for Heart of Williamsport, Williamsport, Pennsylvania and a Community Heart & Soul Coach   

This event has concluded. You can watch a recording here.   A politically divided Pennsylvania was thrust into the national spotlight during the contentious 2020 national election, testing the foundations of our democracy at all levels of government. The aftermath left the state with evenly split congressional representation and increasingly inflexible partisanship from all sides. “What's Next?” - National Politics at the Local Level explores how tensions and fractures on national issues are playing out in local Pennsylvania politics. No matter where you stand on national debates about gun control, immigration, and abortion, urgent community issues like safety in schools, infrastructure repairs, and clean water are often decided at the local level and solutions can transcend the national rhetoric.   Join WHYY and the Pennsylvania Humanities Council as we host a lively virtual discussion, moderated by journalist Solomon Jones, about how national politics impact local decision-making - and what’s next for Pennsylvania in this new era of hyperpolarization.  Moderator:  Solomon Jones: WHYY/Inquirer Columist and Radio Host Panelists: Susan Spicka: Executive Director of Education Voters of PA David Thornburgh, President and CEO of the Committee of Seventy Katie Meyer: WHYY Political Reporter   Funding is provided by the "Why It Matters: Civic and Electoral Participation" initiative, administered by the Federation of State Humanities Councils and funded by Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

The shift to virtual schooling left many young people feeling isolated from their peers and lacking opportunities to engage in meaningful dialogue, or just relax and have casual conversations with friends. Across the state, Teen Reading Lounge staff have worked to address this challenge by providing creative and fun ways to keep kids connected virtually.  Teen Reading Lounge is an award-winning, nontraditional book club created by the Pennsylvania Humanities Council where teens, along with adult facilitators, create their own reading lists and design creative and civic engagement projects that connect to themes in their books. Youth at the Parkway Central Library in Philadelphia are finding the weekly virtual meetings to be “best place in the universe.”  So far, activities have involved making art, creating funny memes, connecting through social media, and “just playing games, and laughing… and the deep conversations about exploring and excavating the things that come out of the books,” said Aurora Sanchez, facilitator of the group.  “When the first session was ending, we were like ‘it’s ending?’ Folks were like ‘no we want to keep going.’ Now here we are nine months later and we’ve been doing this pretty much every week,” said Kris Langlais, Teen Reading Lounge coordinator. Below are the Parkway Central Library teens in their own words speaking out about how virtual humanities programming through Teen Reading Lounge is making a positive impact in their lives during the pandemic.   “It is the best place in the universe.”  ~ “I don't often see myself represented in books and we read a lot of books with Latino characters so that was very nice, and also learning more about Puerto Rico. I’m Puerto Rican so that was very cool, I liked that a lot.” ~ “I like reading all the books, we read a lot of different books in this club… and they made me think a lot, and I love books that really make you think.” ~ “It's so cool having these virtual spaces.” ~ “I’m an only child, so I don’t have anyone to talk to or anyone around me, and it's also fun because none of my friends love books or musical theater. So, it’s a space with people who have common interests.” ~ “I’ve been homeschooled for way longer than this pandemic has lasted so I didn't know anyone who I could talk to about books (or Lin Manuel Miranda being a god). It's been nice to talk with people about books and also cry over fictional characters.” ~  “It keeps me reading and I like that.” ~ “I keep coming back because it’s the most beautifully chaotic book club ever and I love you all so much.” ~ “The thing that is really valuable to me is that I get to come here every week, and just talk about books, and books, and lots of books (I really love books if that wasn’t clear already). I also get to talk about all of my theories, and get to make such cool stuff.”     Teen Reading Lounge is  made possible by Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) funds from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services administered by the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, Department of Education, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Wolf, Governor.  The views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this website do not necessarily represent those of the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services or the Department of Education, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Additional support is provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities, generous individuals, foundations, and corporations.

PHILADELPHIA, Pa./SHELBURNE, Vt. (April 15, 2021)—The Pennsylvania Humanities Council (PHC) and Community Heart & Soul, a Vermont-based nonprofit organization, today announced the Community Heart & Soul Seed Grant Program to help PA small cities, townships and boroughs implement the Community Heart & Soul model. The Seed Grant Program provides $10,000 matching grants to resident-led groups in communities with populations of 2,500 to 30,000 to implement the Community Heart & Soul model. Community Heart & Soul engages the entire population of a town to identify what they love most about their community, what future they want for it, and how to achieve it. Current PA-based Heart & Soul communities include Ambridge, Beaver Falls, Greater Carlisle, Cameron County, Dillsburg, Meadville, Mount Holly Springs, Rochester, Upper Chichester, and Williamsport. Four communities along the historic Route 6, Carbondale, Tidioute, Wyoming County, and Youngsville, were recently announced as the newest members of PHC’s growing network of PA-based Heart & Soul communities. “Small cities and towns now have access to additional funding to join the growing network of PA-based communities that utilize this inclusive revitalization model to engage everyone and build trust and belonging. Community Heart & Soul uses a humanities-based approach of story gathering and interviews to help residents identify what matters most in their communities and to apply this knowledge in determining their town’s priorities and future.” said Laurie Zierer, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Humanities Council.  “With the Community Heart & Soul Seed Grant Program, we are working to accelerate the growth and adoption of Community Heart & Soul so that even more communities can make use of this transformative model,” said Mark Sherman, Community Heart & Soul Executive Director. “Seed Grants provide communities with startup funding to help them initiate the Heart & Soul process.” A highly inclusive process, Community Heart & Soul reaches deep into communities to ensure all voices, including those that are often hidden or missing, are represented in determining a town’s future. Grant recipients will have the potential to transform their community through Community Heart & Soul, leading to increased local pride, more viable economic development projects, and stronger community connections. The Community Heart & Soul Seed Grant Program is accepting applications on a rolling basis until grant funds are exhausted. Interested communities are encouraged to visit communityheartandsoul.org/seed-grants for more information about the program. Questions about this opportunity can be directed to info@communityheartandsoul.org.   About Pennsylvania Humanities Council The Pennsylvania Humanities Council believes the humanities inspire people to grow their potential and shape an equitable society. We put the humanities in action to create positive change in our lives and communities. Our work is grounded in people and champions their creativity and big ideas. We bring Pennsylvanians together to shape the future through the power of stories, reflection, and relationships. Our programs and grants generate avenues for civic involvement and community development, and for youth and adult learners to strengthen skills for school, work, and personal improvement. We amplify the voices of talented partners and individuals, and we lead a movement to champion and redefine the role the humanities play in our lives. Website: pahumanities.org   About Community Heart & Soul Founded by Lyman Orton, proprietor of The Vermont Country Store, Community Heart & Soul is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to establish and promote a community practice that engages all residents within a community in determining what matters most to the people who live there and uses their ideas and aspirations as the blueprint for a better future. The Community Heart & Soul model has been field-tested in over 90 communities across the U.S. Orton established Community Heart & Soul after serving on his town’s planning commission and growing frustrated that decisions being made that would shape the town’s future were without guidance from the majority of the residents. Website: communityheartandsoul.org

Community Heart & Soul continues to grow in Pennsylvania, with new sites just announced along the Route 6 corridor. Overseeing this active and diverse network is Jen Danifo, PHC’s dynamic Senior Program Officer, who is helping communities prioritize equity in community planning. The program uses the tools of the humanities – storytelling, community discussions, and analyses of a community’s history, culture, and trends – to build an equitable action plan for the future.  Danifo was recently certified as the first Community Heart & Soul® coach in the state but has been involved with the program since 2015. She leads in-person and virtual training sessions on understanding community demographics, identifying and connecting with historically marginalized voices, and using storytelling to engage all residents in planning and development.  The official Community Heart & Soul organization, based in Vermont, celebrated Danifo’s certification virtually, and included video submissions from some of the community members she worked with. "We are so grateful for the connections that you've allowed us to make with other communities and for the love and support you've given us in these difficult times," said Autumn Vogel, past coordinator of My Meadville, in one of the celebration videos. As a new coach, she is now responsible for guiding three Heart & Soul communities step-by-step through the program: Dillsburg, Upper Chichester, and Cameron County. During the pandemic, this has meant lots of one-on-one time in Zoom video calls but that hasn’t slowed things down. “Jen is the best coach, mentor, superstar, and friend to all,” said Barbara Kelley, Upper Chichester Heart & Soul Coordinator. “She has resources in abundance, advice anytime of the day, and is a great asset to us.” Danifo says she just appreciates helping people put the humanities into action to make meaningful changes in their communities. “It’s been a real joy to see communities tap into their own assets to build sustainable, unique plans for their future,” said Danifo. “ PHC and the Community Heart & Soul program teaches residents to use humanities techniques to build a better understanding of communities, their history and to name and identify barriers to inclusive, equitable and sustainable resident participation in community planning and development."   See some of Jen Danifo’s most memorable Community Heart & Soul moments below in her own words. Upper Chichester Heart & Soul Gathers to Discuss their Stories “A major milestone in the process is the community coming together to review resident stories exploring lived experience in their town. Not only does this build understanding and empathy among neighbors, it allows residents to identify and discuss what a community collectively values. This becomes the basis for a community’s action plan.  Over 100 residents came together in February 2020 – right before the pandemic hit."   Cameron County Residents Work Together to Include Everyone in the Planning Process “Community Heart & Soul is unique in that it puts power in the hands of the residents and, in many ways, provides a crash-course on how decision-making power is shared (or not) in communities, and how residents can work together and with local government to forge a path forward. This is not easy! You need a dedicated and resilient team like the one pictured here in Cameron County."   Greater Carlisle Celebrates Hidden Voices "The process of story-gathering – asking residents to share their history in a community and what they value about where they live, can be transformative for some communities. The group in Greater Carlisle discovered the story of the Gumby family, their connection to the Mt. Tabor AME church – literally hidden in a field for years – and a history of ignoring African-American experiences and contributions to the community.  Openly discussing this hasn’t solved everything, but it’s led to some great efforts to celebrate the lives of Black residents. Recently, the borough issued a resolution apologizing for the historic marginalization of this community.  The church was also added to the National Register of Historic Places."   Williamsport’s Lady of Light Project & Celebration "Williamsport, one of our pilot communities in 2015, has continued to find ways to embed story-gathering into planning processes happening in the community. Local creative nonprofit, FactoryWorks, used the process to create a community mosaic in an old, repurposed factory. The team consulted with the Heart of Williamsport group to learn the process of interviewing and collecting stories and artifacts from local residents. This became the inspiration for the piece and the artifacts were incorporated into the physical design."   Ambridge Prioritizes Connection During the Pandemic "Three communities in Beaver County launched Heart & Soul just as the pandemic shut down towns across the state. Despite this, the team in Ambridge found creative ways to engage residents at a time when so many people needed it. Building on a history of Ambridge “connection,” the team visited four parks with a huge chalkboard in early fall and asked community members to share what they loved and hoped for in their communities. "  

Equitable community projects ensure that everyone has a seat at the table -- especially those voices that are often missing.  On Wednesday, March 31, 2021, the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (PCA) and the Pennsylvania Humanities Council (PHC) gathered a panel of seasoned activists and artists for a conversation on achieving greater inclusivity in community engagement practices using storytelling and art. Below you can watch the full video of Who’s missing? Cultivating inclusive community engagement through storytelling and art: Four communities from across the commonwealth were represented, sharing strategies, lessons from the field, practical tools, and answering inclusivity questions: Lancaster (Salina Almanzar, educator, writer, and social justice advocate) Artists are using inclusive engagement skills to create community informed public works of art in Lancaster’s Latinx community. Almanzar will highlight the Seed Project, a new, five-year initiative, focused on BIPOC area artists, aiming to foster relationships among artists and creatives in Southeast Lancaster City. Greater Carlisle (Cara Holtry Curtis, Archives and Library Director, Cumberland County Historical Society; Carmen James, Board President, Mt. Tabor Preservation Project) Black residents were reluctant to share their stories about an abandoned church built by a former enslaved person. But a story-gatherer from the Greater Carlisle Heart & Soul project persuaded the Gumby family to bravely share their story, which led to church preservation efforts leading to its eventual designation as a National Historic Landmark. Erie (Kelly Armor, Folklorist, Storyteller, Musician, Teaching Artist; Nibal Abd El Karim, Palestinian singer and educator) Armor will highlight an outreach program she developed with the Erie Children's Museum's staff, volunteers, and New American artists to share stories through public art projects. This program built on the work of the Old Songs New Opportunities program, which empowers newcomers to share their indigenous knowledge to benefit the wider community. Williamsport (Alice Trowbridge, Williamsport Heart & Soul Project Coordinator) The Heart & Soul team used resident driven principles to unearth missing voices and engage all residents to determine shared values for community planning. The results included surprising outcomes including the emergence of new leaders.   The event was moderated by Ulysses Slaughter, PHC's Senior Project Director.  Sarah Merritt, Director of PA Creative Communities at the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, delivered the introduction.

In February 2021, PHC announced its partnership with the PA DCED, the PA Route 6 Alliance, and PA DCNR to bring Community Heart & Soul® to four sites along the Route 6 Corridor: Carbondale, Tidioute, Wyoming County, and Youngsville.

In 2019, the Pennsylvania Humanities Council partnered with the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts to provide funding to communities in the Commonwealth designated as Community Heart & Soul towns. The goal of the grant opportunity was to sustain resident involvement in community planning and development and center storytelling in the process of celebrating the art and culture of each community. Four communities received a $2,000 grant to co-develop projects: Greater Carlisle (Cumberland County), Upper Chichester (Delaware County), Meadville (Crawford County) and Williamsport (Lycoming County). Each community used the process of collaborative storytelling to tap into the history, memories, and hopes of residents. Undeterred by a global pandemic, these communities designed projects that provided a space for healing injustices, celebrating human connection, centering inclusivity, and harnessing the creativity of residents.   Carlisle To raise awareness about the historic Lincoln Cemetery, the Cumberland County Historical Society (CCHS) worked with the Greater Carlisle community, descendants of individuals buried in the cemetery, and local artists to recognize the over 600 people buried at Lincoln dating back to the 1900s. For years, the cemetery, which was a final resting place for many African-American residents, was neglected and ignored. There was no official recognition of this sacred land and headstones were removed or vandalized. Funding from PHC and PCA supported an effort to tell the story of the cemetery and restore honor to the individuals buried there. CCHS worked with community members and family descendents to design public projects.  Residents wrote the names of the 676 individuals buried in the cemetery on colorful ribbons and tied them to the fence surrounding the land. The project culminated in the development of a permanent mural, led by local artist Jim Griffith, to honor those forgotten individuals.  “This project led to renewed discussion about the history of the Lincoln cemetery. The borough recently issued an official resolution of apology for the treatment of this cemetery and the African-American community.  There are still wounds that need to heal and stories that need to be shared but these projects are one step in the right direction.” ~ Cara Holtry Curtis, archives and library director at CCHS   Upper Chichester Upper Chichester Heart & Soul worked with a local artist, Veronica Batter, to design a series of family-friendly art activities celebrating the diversity of individuals and public spaces in the community. A partnership between the library, the township, and the business association, families were invited to pick up rock painting kits and participate in three painting workshops to design projects that represented themselves, their families and their communities. Families were encouraged to visit their local park with their rock creation and take a picture - a safe, socially distanced activity in the time of the pandemic. Not only did this provide an opportunity for intergenerational programming for the residents of Upper Chi, it also raised awareness of the many recreational spaces in the community - a hope residents expressed in stories collected in 2019 as part of the Heart & Soul process. The activities were so successful, the community is planning more for 2021. “We asked families to consider what matters most to them and their lives and to create something in response to that...During the pandemic, this was a meaningful activity that celebrated our community, the spaces we gather and the people who live in it.”  ~ Barbara Kelley, assistant township manager    Meadville Inspired by community ideas and drawings, the Art & Environment Initiative brought together a team of community artists to design a vibrant relief mural on the ARC of Crawford County’s Snodgrass Building, which provides housing for residents with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Part of a much larger redevelopment of the entire space - this mural and the collaboration among artists, residents and local nonprofits - builds on Meadville’s Heart & Soul process by highlighting the inclusivity and the connectedness that makes the community so special.  The cheerful addition to the side of the building features flowers, a butterfly and a bee, and was created from pieces of laser cut aluminum and installed by former Allegheny College art professor Amara Geffen and other Meadville volunteers. Now, it stands as a shining example of community-led design and placemaking that will hopefully bring community members together for years to come. The title of the mural will be voted on by community members in 2021. “The Snodgrass mural project is part of an ongoing and more comprehensive project in downtown Meadville... The Arc’s primary goal is to create a community venue where Arc clients, and others with intellectual disabilities, can join the community-at-large in safe, inclusive, local arts and culture events.”   ~ Amara Geffen,  project coordinator   Williamsport With the support of PCA and PHC’s funding, a union between personal storytelling and intricate mosaic brought to life two stunning pillars that now permanently tower in Williamsport, PA. Heart of Williamsport, one of PHC’s first Heart & Soul communities, worked with FactoryWorks, a local creative nonprofit, to gather and share stories and memories of the Pajama Factory, a historic factory compound on the edge of Williamsport. Local residents participated in the design process and also contributed memorabilia incorporated into the finished piece. Local artist Dai En and a group of community volunteers used these stories and memories as inspiration to create the mosaic at the entrance to Pajama Factory. In summer 2020, the mosaic named “The Lady of Light'' was unveiled at an outdoor community celebration on the Pajama Factory’s grounds, serving as an opportunity to bring together the community during the isolating time of the pandemic.  “Story-sharing is a powerful tool for bringing people together and strengthening the ties within a community,” says Jeannette Carter, project coordinator.  “The six themes that grew out of our storygathering process - creativity, community, supportive environment, inclusion, growth, and gratitude - are widely shared in the creative community of Factory Works and the Pajama Factory. All of these were evident in the project and the final piece created by Dai En.” “Seeing something this beautiful coming from a collection of personal stories and experiences connects people, evokes pride, and instills a sense of belonging.”  ~ Alice Trowbridge, Heart of Williamsport Coordinator    In the News... Art Project Honoring the Dead Buried in Carlisle's Lincoln Cemetery Nears Completion - The Sentinel - 10/27/2020 Lincoln Cemetery Ribbons - The Carlisle Sentinel - 06/20/2020 Installation of Snodgrass Mural - Meadville, PA Lady of Light - PA Humanities Council - 09/16/2020 Share Your Heart Stories - Gallery Factory Works - 02/2020

Lehigh University Art Galleries (LUAG) in Bethlehem was one of 47 statewide grantees for Pop-Up Grants for Cultural Producers. Pennsylvania Humanities Council (PHC) created the program to provide rapid relief to cultural organizations impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. The funds supported arts organizations, museums, historical societies, and libraries as they began to shift their events and activities to online platforms. LUAG was founded in 1926 as the centralized fine art collection of Lehigh University, overseeing over 16,000 works of art from diverse time periods and cultures, seven galleries on three campuses, two art study centers, and an outdoor sculpture collection of over 50 works. In the spring of 2020, LUAG migrated its many exhibitions and programs online and launched LUAG@Home, a new program that expanded community access during the pandemic. As part of this initiative, they developed lectures, hands-on workshops and family days to reach audiences of all ages and provide opportunities to connect with others during times of isolation. “The PHC Pop-up Grant provided support to help LUAG launch LUAG@Home,” said Stacie Brennan, Curator of Education. “We were proud to collaborate with community partners to develop resources that helped to engage audiences of all backgrounds in relevant and timely topics and provide opportunities to hear from diverse voices in the community.” With PHC funding, LUAG worked with the SouthSide Arts District to mount an outdoor version of their exhibition Doing Democracy along a 1.9 mile stretch of the South Bethlehem Greenway. The event was a community celebration of democracy, exploring an array of photographs from the George Stephanopoulos Collection that shine a light on significant events of the 20th century and the present—featuring world leaders, the media,  politicians, civil rights movements, and everyday Americans. It included 22 reproductions of photographs from the main exhibition, accompanied by a free digital guide of 20 videos produced by Lehigh students about the artwork.  This event allowed LUAG to bring its exhibitions out into the community, reach new audiences, and connect its physical and virtual spaces in an accessible and innovative way.  At a time of social distancing, dynamic and engaging programming and events by cultural organizations like Lehigh University Art Galleries bring Pennsylvanians together to celebrate heritage and identity, build community and joy, create new virtual platforms, leverage assets like nature and place, and document our human stories. Learn more about LUAG at: https://luag.lehigh.edu/   The Pop-Up Grants for Cultural Producers program is made possible by support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, individual donors to PHC, and an anonymous donor who offered additional funds for Philadelphia-based projects serving artists and small arts organizations.

PHC And Partners Bringing Up To $600,000 In Funding, Training And Technical Support To Carbondale, Youngsville, Wyoming County, and Tidioute   The Pennsylvania Humanities Council (PHC) has partnered with the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) and the PA Route 6 Alliance to support Carbondale, Youngsville, Wyoming County, and Tidioute along their paths to becoming stronger, more vibrant communities using Community Heart & Soul®, a humanities-based approach to community and economic development. Additional support is provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR). Through this unique partnership among government agencies and state and regional nonprofits, PHC is providing training and technical support valued at an estimated $50,000 per year to each town in partnership with the Community Heart & Soul national staff. In addition, the communities may receive up to $25,000 per year in combined funding over the course of two years from PHC, DCED, PA Route 6 Alliance, and DCNR for a total investment valued at up to $150,000 per community. Since 2015, PHC has worked to bring Community Heart & Soul®, a model originally pioneered by Orton Family Foundation, to communities across Pennsylvania. Carbondale, Youngsville, Wyoming County, and Tidioute join the towns of Ambridge, Beaver Falls, Rochester, Dillsburg, Upper Chichester, Cameron County, Greater Carlisle, Mount Holly Springs, Meadville, and Williamsport. “The humanities have proven a powerful tool for community and economic development in Pennsylvania,” said Laurie Zierer, PHC’s executive director. “Despite the present challenges, our resilient Community Heart & Soul towns are finding innovative and safe ways to engage residents, build relationships, honor homegrown talents and assets, and reclaim and reshape their communities.”  “Our mission at DCED is to provide resources to help our communities flourish,” said Rick Vilello, DCED’s Deputy Secretary of Community Affairs and Development. “This partnership with the Pennsylvania Humanities Council and the Heart and Soul project will serve to strengthen efforts already underway in these communities, making them better places to live, work, and play.” PHC will provide overall training to the Route 6 cohort on using the humanities as a tool for community planning. Communities will learn how to gather residents’ stories, develop unique town values, and create an action plan for the future. In addition, each town is matched with an official Community Heart & Soul® coach, a trained professional tasked with mentoring the community through the planning process. As a result, communities work together to become more connected, resourceful, and resilient.  "With its vast natural, cultural, scenic, recreational, and historical resources, the Pennsylvania Route 6 Heritage Corridor is primed for growth," said Candace Hillyard, executive director of the PA Route 6 Alliance. "I am thrilled to see Community Heart & Soul® come to the region, which will put residents first in planning for their future.” Called “one of America’s most scenic drives” by National Geographic, the Route 6 Heritage Corridor traverses the northern tier of Pennsylvania from Ohio to New York. At over 400 miles, it is the longest highway segment in the Commonwealth. Community Heart & Soul® will start in all four locations in March of 2021.

Centerville Clinics’ Partial Hospitalization program for young adults experiencing mental health issues includes medication management, therapy sessions, and humanities activities and discussions through Teen Reading Lounge at Greensburg Hempfield Area Library. This new library-clinic partnership was developed by Jessica Kiefer, head children's librarian, who saw an opportunity to provide additional resources and support from the Pennsylvania Humanities Council (PHC) to youth in the treatment program during the pandemic. “Libraries are so poorly underfunded, and schools are so poorly funded, but these guys really had nothing,” said Kiefer. “Very, very limited resources.” Teen Reading Lounge (TRL) is PHC’s award-winning, nontraditional book club for youth that has been implemented at libraries and schools across Pennsylvania. Participants work together to co-create the reading list for their program sites and, with support from trained facilitators, design creative and civic engagement projects together.  In response to COVID-19, Teen Reading Lounge activities moved online but facilitators statewide have managed to keep youth involved with the program through virtual book discussions, projects, and events. At Greensburg Hempfield Area Library, activities have included creating necklaces inspired by the Lockwood & Co. book series, a self-reflective collage project where teens shared stories and a Zoom meeting with author A. S. King, winner of the American Library Association’s Printz Award for her young adult novel Dig.  “She really listened to the kids and made them feel seen and heard,” said Kiefer.  With funding from PHC, the library purchased $500 in new books for the hospitalization program’s small library. The teens also received individual boxes with books and other gifts along with a personalized letter from library staff.  On-going research from the Allegheny Intermediate Unit shows Teen Reading Lounge to be a beneficial program for young people in a variety of community settings, supporting healthy social-emotional development and other key life skills, but this is the first time it has integrated with mental health services. In adjusting the program, Greensburg Hempfield Area Library made thoughtful book selections that are sensitive to youth who experienced trauma and HIPPA regulations prevented taking photos of the teens. Overall, participants engaged in the same deep humanities discussions, sharing of feelings, and creative projects as other sites -- important personal interactions that are especially crucial for young people during the extended periods of isolation created by the pandemic.   “In our program evaluation last year, we saw across all of our TRL sites that the most reported outcome was that students were better able to express their thoughts and feelings to others,” said Julia Terry, PHC’s education program officer. “Books are a powerful jumping off point for students to reflect on and share their own beliefs, concerns, and dreams in a safe and supportive environment.” One of the more popular activities at the Teen Reading Lounge group was painting a tea set at the Pottery Playhouse followed by a tea party, which was inspired by conversations about the book The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud.  “We had so much fun with the kids and they were so responsive,” said Rosemary Sovyak, a retired teacher and guidance counselor who helps facilitate the program. Some of the young people were hesitant about participating at first but soon became hooked on the stories and discussions. “A student told me that before going to [Centerville Clinics’ Partial Hospitalization program] she never wanted to join or participate in any activities, but she has enjoyed TRL so much that she wanted to come to the library,” said Kiefer. “They were excited about future programs and thanked me a lot.” ***   Teen Reading Lounge is  made possible by Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) funds from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services administered by the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, Department of Education, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Wolf, Governor.  Additional support is provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities, generous individuals, foundations, and corporations.

This event is now over. You can watch the recording here.   All eyes were on Pennsylvania as it captured the national spotlight during the 2020 Presidential election. From the surge of mail-in voting amid a pandemic to accusations of fraud to a deadly insurrection in the Capitol, it has been a contentious electoral season that challenges the foundations of our democracy. How has it changed voters' faith in our government and media? What have we learned and how can we heal and move forward?  Join host Solomon Jones and a diverse panel of political experts for “What Now?”, a statewide, interactive discussion about the election and aftermath, including ways Pennsylvanians can promote decency, dialogue, and informed civic engagement. The conversation will be driven by WHYY’s interviews with voters from across the state, who shared stories and their perspective, and feature an opportunity for audience questions. Panelists include: Solomon Jones, WURD Radio Host/WHYY News Columnist  Charlie Dent, former Pennsylvania Republican US Congressman Camille Burge, Villanova University Political Science Professor Katie Meyer, WHYY Political Reporter Jamari Davis, Voter and Businessman from Lebanon, PA "What Now?" livestreamed on Thursday, January 14th from 4-5:30PM.   Funding is provided by the "Why It Matters: Civic and Electoral Participation" initiative, administered by the Federation of State Humanities Councils and funded by Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Highland Community Library in Johnstown was one of 47 statewide grantees for Pop-Up Grants for Cultural Producers. Pennsylvania Humanities Council (PHC) created the program to provide rapid relief to cultural organizations impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. The funds supported arts organizations, museums, historical societies, and libraries as they began to shift their events and activities to online platforms. Every year Highland Community Library’s Summer Learning Program draws local families from a wide range of socioeconomic backgrounds into the library to participate in engaging events and activities. Unfortunately, with COVID-19 safety concerns, this was not possible in 2020. But with grant funding from PHC, they built a new online platform for their patrons using Beanstack, a service that connects libraries to their communities for large-scale literacy and learning programs.  With Beanstack, the library created a virtual summer program for youth that was fun, interactive, and educational. Designed around the humanities theme Imagine Your Story, it included challenges where patrons earned points by completing activities like reading a book or sharing about their community’s story. Accumulated points could be redeemed to receive a free t-shirt and enter a raffle for a new Kindle Fire. The program focused on finding ways for residents to connect with each other during the pandemic through storytelling. “Participants told us they were excited that the programs encouraged whole-family participation, and parents were especially happy to have interactive activities to do with their children over the summer,” said Ashlee Kiel, Library Director. “The feedback was overwhelmingly positive, and moving forward we intend to incorporate an independent online component in our summer program every year.” At a time of social distancing, dynamic and engaging virtual programming and events by cultural organizations like Highland Community Library bring Pennsylvanians together to celebrate heritage and identity, build community and joy, create new virtual platforms, leverage assets like nature and place, and document our human stories. Learn more about Highland Community Library at: cclsys.org/highland/   The Pop-Up Grants for Cultural Producers program is made possible by support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, individual donors to PHC, and an anonymous donor who offered additional funds for Philadelphia-based projects serving artists and small arts organizations.

Office of Public Art (OPA) in Pittsburgh was one of 47 statewide grantees for Pop-Up Grants for Cultural Producers. PHC created the program to provide rapid relief to cultural organizations impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. The funds supported arts organizations, museums, historical societies, and libraries as they began to shift their events and activities to online platforms. OPA engages with Pittsburgh-area artists in shaping the public realm and encouraging community-led change. Prior to the pandemic, all of their programming was in-person, which included walking tours, artist workshops, artist talks, and collaborating with other organizations. To foster connections and fill the void created by social distancing measures, OPA looked to social media for inspiration. After Dinner Conversations, supported by PHC’s Pop-Up Grants for Cultural Producers, connected residents from the Pittsburgh region to local and national dialogues about the role of cultural producers during the time of COVID-19 and beyond.  The program involved a series of Instagram Live streams presented between July and October. Each session invited a cultural producer from Pittsburgh to engage in a half-hour long conversation with a peer of their choosing. Participants included: Sheila Cuellar-Shaffer and Madeline Gent Kilolo Luckett and Jessica Lynne D.S. Kinsel and Vatic Kuumba   Njaimeh Njie and Hourglass Bekezela Mguni and Mi'Jan Celie Tho-Biaz The result was meaningful, relevant dialogue touching upon creative inspiration, working during the pandemic, and the impact that their relationship to one another has had on their work and lives.  "This project increased OPA’s Instagram audience engagement, not only during the live sessions, but also in the post-session viewership,” said Rachel Klipa, Program Manager at OPA. “The Pop-Up grant assisted OPA with experimenting and developing a new online program during the pandemic and we are now considering incorporating After Dinner Conversations into our regular public programming.” At a time of social distancing, dynamic and engaging virtual programming and events by cultural organizations like OPA bring Pennsylvanians together to celebrate heritage and identity, build community and joy, create new virtual platforms, leverage assets like nature and place, and document our human stories. Learn more about OPA and how you can support their work at: opapgh.org.   The Pop-Up Grants for Cultural Producers program is made possible by support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, individual donors to PHC, and an anonymous donor who offered additional funds for Philadelphia-based projects serving artists and small arts organizations.

Digital stories created by, for, and about Chester residents are the centerpiece of Chester Made’s new website now live at www.chestermade.org. Designed in partnership with the Pennsylvania Humanities Council, the Chester Made website is an expansive online resource featuring photos, video, audio, and article archives about the ever-evolving arts and culture community-based venture. The first five digital stories are introduced on the website’s homepage and represent another way that Chester Made is making Chester.  Chester Made is a humanities-based initiative to celebrate and promote arts and culture in Chester, PA and harness their power as a force for community revitalization. Chester Made is a project of MJ Freed Theater and Pennsylvania Humanities Council, with funding from Spring Point Partners. According to Chester Made Project Manager Ulysses Slaughter, the introduction of digital stories is an innovative way to expand the project’s mission in the current social environment.   Twyla "Ms. T" Simpkins is the founder and director of The Yes We Can Achievement & Cultural Center, and has led numerous Chester Made history programs, including the 2018 humanities summer Camp LegaCy: Making My Museum. In this story, Ms. T reminisces about what has always made Chester home to her.  “We’ve been working on this project for nearly a year,” said Slaughter. “Twelve months ago we had no idea we’d be at a moment in history when online visibility would be crucial. But here we are and ready with some great digital stories about Chester by Chester, for Chester. We look forward to collecting more stories each month.” The first series of the Chester Digital Stories focuses on why storytellers stay in Chester. Residents, including journalists and teachers, share their fondest memories and observations about living in Chester.  Each story is accompanied by personal photographs, with an average length of three minutes. Upcoming stories will focus on a variety of topics including social life, travel, food and education. The Chester Made website also includes a section for anyone to submit their idea for a Chester Digital story.  https://chestermade.org/tell-us-your-story-idea/ About Chester Made Chester Made is a humanities-based initiative to celebrate and promote arts and culture in Chester and harness their power as a force for community revitalization. The Chester Made Institute and pop-up makerspace at 511 Avenue of the States is now a creative, cultural hub in the heart of the historic arts and culture district. It gives community members the chance to engage with one another, learn more about the city’s cultural assets and history, rebuild their downtown, and change perceptions about Chester. Chester Made is a community project of MJ Freed Theater and Pennsylvania Humanities Council, with funding from Spring Point Partners and support from people who live, work, and play in Chester.

The African American Museum in Philadelphia (AAMP) was one of 47 statewide grantees for Pop-Up Grants for Cultural Producers. PHC created the program to provide rapid relief to cultural organizations impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. The funds supported arts organizations, museums, historical societies, and libraries as they began to shift  their events and activities to online platforms.  AAMP is the first institution built by a major United States city to house and interpret the life and work of African Americans. PHC’s Pop-Up Grants for Cultural Producers supported their collaboration with The Escape Artist Initiative to create Parable of Coronas, a zine inspired by Parable of the Sower, the prophetic novel by Octavia E. Butler.   Escape Artist Mixtape zines explore the art of survival through myth, media and music, D.I.Y and pop culture, afrofuturism and speculative fiction. Parable of Coronas included micro-interviews and an interactive playlist with contributions from local and national escape artists and radical visionaries of change.  The free live zine release event was held on August 7th, hosted by lead artist and founder of the Escape Artist Initiative, Li Sumpter.  At a time of social distancing, dynamic and engaging virtual programming and events by cultural organizations like AAMP bring Pennsylvanians together to celebrate heritage and identity, build community and joy, create new virtual platforms, leverage assets like nature and place, and document our human stories. Learn more about The African American Museum in Philadelphia and how you can support their work at: aampmuseum.org.     The Pop-Up Grants for Cultural Producers program is made possible by support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, individual donors to PHC, and an anonymous donor who offered additional funds for Philadelphia-based projects serving artists and small arts organizations.

As the national spotlight shined on Pennsylvania during the presidential election, young people at Sayre Public Library’s new Teen Reading Lounge used their virtual meetings as a space to make sense of the divisiveness they were seeing on the news and in social media.  Teen Reading Lounge is an award-winning, nontraditional book club created by the Pennsylvania Humanities Council. With the support of trained facilitators, participants co-create a reading list and participate in conversations and civic engagement projects that connect to themes in their books.  The teens at Sayre centered their dialogues on books related to the election process, including The Voting Booth by Brandy Colbert and The State of Us by Shaun David Hutchinson. During this polarized time, it can sometimes be difficult for young people to speak up and be heard, but Teen Reading Lounge cultivates an environment where they feel safe to share their ideas and opinions. “We all really enjoyed discussing The State of Us,” said Linda Zhang, a teen participant in the group. “It illustrates how a lot of us are feeling... We don’t have much longer until we vote ourselves.”  Emma White, a ninth grader, appreciated learning more about the election process. “It's really important to discuss why your vote matters, and how you should educate yourself on each of the candidates,” she said. The program is co-facilitated by Heather Manchester, director of Sayre Public Library, and Kayla Eberth, a local healthcare worker. They emphasized that they get as much out of the program as the teens do -- and their conversations and fun creative projects make them more optimistic about the future. "It's great to talk to the generation that's coming up,” said Manchester. “They might be the ones to actually do something to take action to change things. That makes me feel good about the world." “It gives me hope,” agreed Eberth. At a time of social distancing, Teen Reading Lounge has been a lifeline for young people eager for more social interaction and provides a unique opportunity for engaging conversations about issues that are important to them. “I’ve gotten to meet new people,” said Zhang. “I don't really get to have these discussions with my friends or family, so it's really nice to have a chance to do it.”   *** Teen Reading Lounge at Sayre Public Library meets biweekly on Mondays at 5PM. Contact TRLSayre@Gmail.com for more information. Teen Reading Lounge is made possible by Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) funds from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services administered by the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, Department of Education, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Wolf, Governor. Additional support is provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities, generous individuals, foundations, and corporations.

On Oct. 14th, 2020, the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (PCA) and Pennsylvania Humanities Council (PHC) gathered a panel of seasoned professionals for a conversation about the logistics and legal issues around creating and presenting virtual content. Together they discussed producing, promoting, and presenting relevant content, intellectual property and copyright, and cybersecurity.  The 185 webinar attendees heard about technical requirements for livestream programming, marketing tips for virtual offerings, the impact of relatable content, how to secure themselves against cyber attacks, and the importance of copyright laws. Attendees from all across the arts and humanities sector tuned in from every corner of the state to heighten their skills in creating valuable virtual content. Please enjoy the full recording of the webinar below.  Webinar attendees heard from: Emmai Alaquiva, Emmy Award-winning film director, photographer, and composer, and Council Member, PCA, about creating and producing relevant virtual content, and artivism and digital allyship. Adam Riggar, Director of Production, Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, about how to pivot your programming and the technical aspects and considerations of virtual content. LaNeshe Miller-White, Executive Director, Theatre Philadelphia, about marketing and monetizing your virtual content. Sandy Garfinkel, Member, Eckert Seamans Attorneys at Law & Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts, about cybersecurity for digital and virtual content. Shane Valenzi, Associate, Eckert Seamans Attorneys at Law & Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts, about intellectual property and copyright issues for digital and virtual content. The speakers showed how arts and cultural organizations across the commonwealth have opportunities to pivot and to reimagine themselves in a virtual environment. They explained how to seek out and adapt to new technologies and demands through new approaches and practice. The session closed with an engaging round of panelists answering questions from the audience. Related Content Reopening The Arts And Humanities Safely

Williamsport artists and residents recently gathered on a bright Saturday morning for Factory Works’ official unveiling of the Lady of Light mosaic pillars at the Pajama Factory, an historic building renovated to provide space for artists and local organizations. The pillars were designed by local artist Dai En and created in collaboration with fellow Pajama Factory artists and the broader Williamsport community, guided by the storytelling work of Heart of Williamsport. Orchestrating the project was Factory Works, a nonprofit organization within the Pajama Factory complex that strives to ensure a collaborative and educational environment for artists, woodworkers, and the bicycling community. “For Factory Works, this project represents our community – a community that embraces the values highlighted through the storytelling process,” said Jeannette Carter, president of Factory Works’ board of directors. “These core values express gratitude for our community’s culture and its supportive environment for creativity, inclusion, and growth.” The two pillars are a striking 11 feet tall and 18 inches in diameter with kaleidoscopic patterns of dazzling glass and stone tiles that, upon closer examination, reveal curiosities like dice, bottle caps, and toy cars. The objects were donated as part of the Share Your Heart Project, which brought people together to share their experiences of the Pajama Factory and Factory Works. This deep engagement with the community’s stories provided the inspiration for Dai En’s beautiful mosaic work. “I can’t say it belongs to me any longer. It has a life of its own,” said Dai En. “Bringing the ‘treasures’ into it… allowed more community interaction and building of the story and meaning.” Heart of Williamsport lent its extensive story-gathering experience to the process, having dedicated the last few years to the citywide implementation of Community Heart & Soul®, a Pennsylvania Humanities Council supported approach to community development that uses the tools of the humanities to creatively engage residents in planning and decision-making processes as a way to strengthen a town’s social, cultural, and economic vibrancy. “The process of storytelling was robust and Heart of Williamsport supported us all the way,” said Carter. “Their guidance and assistance impacted the project’s strength and the representation of community values in the mosaic design and creation.” Alice Trowbridge, coordinator for Heart of Williamsport, said that the collaborative approach to creating the Lady of Light mosaic has been especially important during the pandemic, when people yearn for greater human connection and to tell their story. “Everyone needs a chance to speak their truth and feel heard,” said Trowbridge. “Seeing something this beautiful coming from a collection of personal stories and experiences connects people, evokes pride, and instills a sense of belonging.” After a series of speakers, the Lady of Light celebration concluded with courtyard music by the Susquehanna Jamcrackers and tours of an exhibit by Chad Andrews in the Factory Works gallery. Support for the Lady of Light mosaic pillars was provided by the Pennsylvania Humanities Council and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts.

by Felicia Mycyk, Ambridge Heart & Soul We did it -- four events in one weekend! It was a challenge but we organized four Community Heart & Soul picnics in local parks throughout Ambridge.  We followed CDC recommended guidelines which allowed residents to have a low-pressure experience meeting our leadership team and learning about how Ambridge Heart & Soul will become the basis for building our community's shared values and unique action plan. I can honestly say, I love where we are at in this journey. Community Heart & Soul is about storytelling and how it can help communities build brighter futures together. The goal is to involve as many residents as possible, including those who are underrepresented and have not typically had a voice in their community's planning processes. During our picnics, residents were welcomed and encouraged to visit five stations to help set the stage for meaningful and transformative action plans. Each station had a different experience: Station one: Learn more about Ambridge Heart & Soul's upcoming events and put a pin on where you live on the large map. Station two: Traveling Chalkboard of Public Wishing.  Also, take-home bags of chalk with a note to go home and share you wishes on the sidewalks to post. Station three:  We all need to eat—free hotdogs, chips, and drinks. Station four: Create your custom banner by finishing the sentence, "I want Ambridge to be ..." Station five:  Let's help Ambridge Heat & Soul go viral with a resident-led video project.   It will be an uphill battle to earn people's trust in a town where it wasn't always easy to be heard. Fortunately, there is training and support from the Pennsylvania Humanities Council and the folks at Community Heart & Soul that will help everyone join together and collectively make a lasting impact. This is not new terrain for me as a longtime advocate for civic engagement in Ambridge. The Community Heart & Soul program builds on my own work of making meaningful change through conversations and storytelling. We are on our way to greater inclusivity and shared decision-making with these recent picnics, which engaged those missing voices and helped us learn more about what is important to our community. The next step is identifying shared values, called Heart & Soul Statements.  We are setting the stage for meaningful and transformative plans for action! I can already envision us doing the strategic group events -- that we have yet to plan but will be coming in the future -- because we laid the foundation and started the conversation. I see our Community Heart & Soul events allowing safe discussions where residents want to connect, converse, and answer real questions about their community in places like the library, parks, and more. Resident-driven starts with residents seeing themselves in positions to be heard!  Kudos to our team for being exactly what this community needs to make Ambridge what we all know it can be!   Relish the process because we will see results in each event moving forward. I'm pumped! Related Content Pennsylvania Heart & Soul Communities Community Heart & Soul (Orton Family Foundation) Pennsylvania Humanities Council And Partners Bring $450,000 In Funding, Training And Technical Support To Three Beaver County Towns Building Community While Social Distancing

The Pennsylvania Humanities Council (PHC) invites communities in the Erie Arts & Culture and PA Route 6 Alliance service areas to apply to become a PA Heart & Soul Community.  Selected communities will receive up to $25,000 over a two year period from PHC. Selected communities may also be eligible for a $25,000 matching grant from our funding partners at the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED). (Note: requesting funding from DCED requires a separate application process which must be submitted by the local municipality.) In addition, selected communities will be matched with a Heart & Soul Coach who will deliver training and provide technical assistance valued at over $50,000 per year.    Community Heart & Soul® Community Heart & Soul® is a humanities-based, resident-driven community planning process that cultivates a shared sense of belonging among residents, engages them in thinking critically and creatively about community life and involves them in decision-making and development - all as a way to strengthen a town’s social, cultural and economic vibrancy.  PHC believes people can shape the future of their communities through the power of stories and strong relationships. Key to the process is learning what matters most by gathering hopes and ideas from residents. Story gathering can take many forms, from notes on a chalkboard to in-depth interviews. It all comes together to paint a picture of what matters most to residents. This becomes the basis for building a community’s shared desires, which informs a community’s unique action plan. As a result, communities become more connected, resourceful and resilient.    Eligibility Requirements This opportunity is only open to counties in the Erie Arts & Culture and PA Route 6 Alliance network. Eligible counties include: Crawford, Erie, Warren, McKean, Potter, Tioga, Bradford, Wyoming,  Lackawanna, Wayne, Pike, Venango, Mercer, and Lawrence. This opportunity is for small towns with populations of 50,000 or under.  We are inviting proposals from communities that want to enhance planning and development efforts using the humanities-based Community Heart & Soul® process. Attending or watching at least one of the following Community Heart & Soul® informational webinars is required: October 6th (Meadville partners) and October 8th (Williamsport partners). PHC will support projects at municipal scale, meaning that applicants must demonstrate commitment from a municipality (city, township or borough) and at least two local partners. PHC can only accept one application per municipality. Either a municipality or non-profit partner must be prepared to act as the fiscal sponsor of grant funds.  Local partners will vary widely depending on the community and could include (but are not limited to): local nonprofits, economic development or planning agencies, grassroots community groups, arts and culture organizations, and school districts. Partners must be committed to providing robust resources (human, financial) to the process over a two-year period and demonstrate the capacity to work collaboratively. Important Dates:  Applications due: November 18, 2020  Shortlisted communities selected for virtual community conversations with selection committee: December 4, 2020 Virtual community conversations take place: early January 2021 Selected communities notified: by January 22, 2021 PA Community Heart & Soul® communities launch work: February 2021    How To Apply Communities must apply using PHC’s online system. To learn more about how to prepare your application, watch our recent webinar. Communities should first download the below PDF of the guidelines and application questions and prepare their answers in advance of submitting through the online system. Applications are due by 11:59 p.m. on November 18, 2020. Applicants must submit letters of support from the local municipality and any additional partners to demonstrate commitment to the process. Letters of support cannot be submitted using the online system and must be emailed to PHC by the deadline at program@pahumanities.org with the subject line “Heart & Soul [Community Name].” For inquiries about the Community Heart & Soul® program and completing your application, please contact Jen Danifo at jdanifo@pahumanities.org.  For assistance with technical challenges regarding the online application submission process, contact Brandon Woods at bwoods@pahumanities.org.

Whether your organization has already opened, or you are in the midst of planning and preparation for reopening, ensuring the health and safety of staff, patrons, vendors, and contractors is a priority. On Wednesday, July 15th, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts and the Pennsylvania Humanities Council hosted Reopening the Arts and Humanities Safely, a discussion about reopening safely.  Prompted by facilitator Sarah Merritt, Director of PA Creative Communities at PCA, panelists Linda Hollinshead, Dana Payne and Cecile Shellman discussed the challenges and opportunities organizations face in this era of COVID-19.   Panelists were joined by partners from PHC, PCA, OCL and PHMC to answer questions from the over 250 leaders, employees and volunteers tuning in to the webinar. The process of  planning and implementing a reopening agenda is complex. Practicing open communication,  considering flexible support for constituents, and recognizing what is possible during this time helps everyone to feel physically, psychologically and emotionally safe.  Please feel free to pass this recording on to your colleagues. PCA and PHC hope to provide updates on reopening guidelines through another webinar in the fall. As a reminder, the guide, Reopening Safely: Tips and Resources to Prepare, is updated regularly.

by Tammy Blount Teen Services Librarian, Erie County Public Library   The Teen Reading Lounge (TRL) of the Erie County Public Library hosted a chalk art competition this summer.  The teens were given the opportunity to “imagine their own story” through chalk art. They transformed the concrete around the library into vibrant colors and works of art that demonstrate the power of youth and their connection to the community. TRL, an award-winning program created by the Pennsylvania Humanities Council, is in its 7th year at the Blasco Library. Participants have an opportunity to engage with literature and art with other teens in a safe learning space. They pick the books, the activities, and have deep discussions about serious issues that matter the most to them.  Each year, the group also develops a social impact project to connect with the community. The recent project was inspired through their reading and the ongoing racial unrest in the nation.  The group was meeting weekly at the start of 2020. The meetings and a trip to attend a Young Adult book conference in Pittsburgh were cancelled abruptly at the start of the COVID-19 stay-at-home order. In June, the teens were finally able to pick up their books when the library was open for curbside pick-up. Each teen said how much they missed the library, the Teen Space and their friends! The TRL program resumed in July and began meeting virtually via Zoom.  This summer, the club read Color Outside the Lines, edited by Sangu Mandanna.  It is a collection of short stories about diverse teens (multiracial, intercultural, LGBTQ+) and how they love despite their differences. They wanted to encourage teens to promote awareness of teen issues while also building on the library’s summer reading challenge theme of "Imagine Your Own Story." The chalk art was an opportunity to tell their story about what it means to be a teen today in a positive way.  The event was also the first time they were able to meet in person since March. They were given everything they needed to create their chalk art design.  The chalk spaces were socially distant and the teens were required to wear masks. A dozen teens spent most of a very hot day sharing their art and their stories.  They even tried frozen pickle juice pops! Many of the book discussions this session centered around how we can help people without a voice feel seen and heard.  Clara Tupitza, age 16, created her chalk design with this thought in mind. She used a favorite quote: “Every time someone steps up and says who they are, the world becomes a better, more interesting place." She chose to make the people with the colors of the different LGBTQ+ flags. The teens had a great day full of fun and with a positive message.  It was a very successful program and they would like to do it again soon. They hope that the people who take the chalk walk will see the beauty in diversity and the power of love in Erie. Teen Reading Lounge is made possible by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Wolf, Governor. Additional support is provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

PHILADELPHIA, PA (August, 4, 2020) -- Pennsylvania Humanities Council (PHC) today announced $780,500 in emergency relief grants to 140 Pennsylvania cultural nonprofits impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Called PHC CARES, the goal of this fund is to assist in sustaining the state’s cultural infrastructure by advancing humanities programs, helping organizations adapt to site closures and the cancellation of in-person events that bring people together and support local economies. PHC assembled a diverse team of 44 cultural professionals who reviewed a total of 313 applications. Award amounts ranged from $3,000 to $10,000, scaled to each organization’s average annual operating budget. The recipients represent museums, historical societies, libraries, and other vital cultural institutions in 57 counties across Pennsylvania. They were carefully selected with an emphasis on equity and geographic diversity. The applicants to PHC CARES reported losses totaling $44.6 million, highlighting the deep and persistent impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. “Despite facing unprecedented hardship, Pennsylvania’s resilient and creative cultural organizations continue to provide important services and programs to our communities,” said Laurie Zierer, PHC’s executive director. “PHC CARES will help sustain this vital cultural infrastructure at a time when it is needed most.” PHC CARES is funded by the national Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), which became law on March 27, 2020. The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) received funding allocated to the 56 humanities councils in the United States, including PHC, to distribute to humanities-based nonprofits financially impacted by the coronavirus. PHC CARES complements the $2.4 million in CARES Act funding previously provided to Pennsylvania by the NEH. The 140 PHC CARES awards will help organizations continue to serve their communities by retaining staff, shifting to online formats, and making resources available to those who depend on them for education, connection, and inspiration. “The collective impact of the hundreds of small cultural and heritage organizations across Pennsylvania is often overlooked. But the work we do is vital to the economic and social well-being of the communities we serve, and so we are honored to be among the recipients of this CARES Act funding,” said Michael L. Norris, executive director of The Carpenters’ Company. “This grant will help to keep Carpenters’ Hall financially sound and flexible as we continue to adapt to the systemic changes COVID-19 has wrought and find new, creative ways to fulfill our mission.”   Related Content PHC CARES: Emergency Relief Grants NEH Offers Emergency Relief Funding to Cultural Institutions Affected by Coronavirus

Professionals from across Pennsylvania, representing non-profits, government, arts, culture, humanities, and library services, attended Reimagining Community Engagement, a virtual event presented by PHC in partnership with the Office of Commonwealth Libraries during the summer of 2020. The event involved a three-part series to create a statewide network to learn and build humanities-based and equitable practices for the future of community engagement in our changing world. PART 1: From Inclusion to Belonging The first webinar in the series was kicked off by Philadelphia Poet Laureate Trapeta B. Mayson, who highlighted the danger of single story and inspired the group to explore experiences of belonging and disbelonging through storytelling. After Mayson’s talk and poetry performance, participants joined story circles in breakout groups and shared their own personal stories. Returning to the main discussion, they debriefed about what our stories tell us about belonging, inclusion, and community engagement. The event closed with Mayson leading a sensory poem, prompting the group to imagine what belonging looks, feels, tastes and sounds like. A word cloud was created from participants' responses. PART 2: Lessons From the Field The Reimagining Community Engagement series continued with a cross-sector panel conversation moderated by Michael O’Bryan from the Village of Arts and Humanities:  Salina Almanzar, Lancaster-based Artist, Organizer, Scholar Mary Foltz, Director, Lehigh University South Side Initiative  Lindsay Varner, Community Outreach Director, Cumberland County Historical Society Marcus P. Yuille, Outreach Manager, Erie County Public Library This second session discussed the power of cross-sector collaborations with artists and approaching work with community through inquiry and as lifelong learners. Panelists talked about trusting communities to know what they need, and centering community desires in institutional efforts and budgets. Finally, the group delved into what "belonging" means for staff within organizations and how to address institutional racism. PART 3: Connecting the Dots: Collective Action for a New Era The third and final Reimagining Community Engagement webinar featured an engaging panel moderated by Chester Made project manager Ulysses Slaughter and featured national leaders Carlton Turner from the Mississippi Center for Cultural Production, Tracie D. Hall from the American Library Association, and Ben Fink from Appalshop. Participants moved into deeper discussions about connection, taking action, and making meaningful change. To cap off the event, particpants submitted songs that they felt represented the current moment. Listen on Spotify.

by Edna Creelman, Haverford College My first year at Haverford offered me many new opportunities, and when it came to finding something to do over the summer, their resources didn't fall short. The arts and humanities have always been an area of interest and enjoyment for me, so I looked for a way to pursue that passion while gaining some practical work experience. Through Haverford’s Hurford Center I applied to work as an intern for a variety of humanities organizations in the area. PA Humanities Council seemed to be the best fit for me, and after a zoom interview, I was offered a position there for the summer. Around this time is when I had been sent home due to the COVID-19 outbreak, but despite the situation, I was still hopeful of returning to campus and beginning my internship in the city. A few weeks of headlines went by, and that hope was replaced with a more disappointing reality. Many internships and summer programs were being cancelled, and I dreaded checking my email with fear of receiving similar news about mine. Much to my relief, I was promptly contacted that the PHC internship was proceeding remotely. My initial apprehension was quickly replaced with excitement- an internship during a pandemic? Not only did I feel lucky that my internship was even happening, but what better way to stay busy during quarantine? (Besides baking too much bread, obviously…) It was only a few weeks after many organizations began leaving their buildings that my internship started, and to be honest, after only having one course that went “full Zoom”, I was nervous to see how an in-person based office was going to function virtually. Within the first week of working with PHC those nerves had completely subsided. The fluidity of meetings and easy to use scheduling made me confident in the organization's ability to adapt to the unique circumstances. Communication was emphasized and encouraged at all times, so I never felt awkward reaching out to confirm project specifics or asking questions about something that was talked about in a meeting.  Watercooler moments, Philly lunches, becoming a regular on SEPTA- my internship didn't provide me with any of these, but learning how to adapt and communicate virtually has been an indispensable part of my experience with PHC. Throughout the past weeks, I’ve worked with the communications, development, and programming departments and took on a variety of projects to help support larger department initiatives. I’ve been closely involved with the Pop-Up Grants for Cultural Producers program and keeping the PHC team updated with upcoming events and have learned a lot about Pennsylvania’s geography in making visual maps for internal use. PHC created the Pop-Up grants to support humanities organizations launching projects and virtual events during the COVID shutdown. ~ "The fluidity of meetings and easy to use scheduling made me confident in the organization's ability to adapt to the unique circumstances. " ~ I have also contributed research on grantmaking by utilizing my background in Excel, and taught myself how to use an infographic program to create a visual for the PHC CARES grants, which was undoubtedly my favorite project. The CARES grants are NEH funded opportunities for humanities organizations in PA that have been financially impacted due to the ongoing pandemic. PHC has greatly improved my independent working skills and showed me how such work relates back to larger group oriented goals/projects. Developing effective time management, self-motivation, and multitasking was a tough part of this remote internship, but after 11 weeks I am much more confident in these abilities and know they will continue to help me as we proceed working and learning virtually.  Another unique takeaway from this internship is seeing how a strong sense of community and the humanities help connect and support people during isolating times like a pandemic. In light of other recent and distressing events, it's proving to be even more important. The unjust deaths of Black citizens across the nation has emphasized the issues of a country that has been built on centuries of racial prejudice. The humanities look at our communities, government, educational systems, history, and culture. By examining each with a critical lens and listening to different perspectives, we can begin to address these issues and go forward in a meaningful and equitable way. It was unique to watch both my school and PHC acknowledge some of these structural inequities, and to listen to people of different ages talk about their experiences in a wide range of contexts. Being a part of these conversations have been really important to me as I continue to learn about my privilege as a white college student and the ways I can contribute to an just and inclusive environment. ~ "Another unique takeaway from this internship is seeing how a strong sense of community and the humanities help connect and support people during isolating times like a pandemic." ~ Business has not been “as usual,” but in some ways, I think a lot of the things I’ve learned have been more valuable because of that. Once it's safe, I'm eager to visit the Pennsylvania Humanities Council’s Philly office and reintroduce myself in person to the awesome staff I’ve gotten to know over my laptop. This fall I'm also excited to continue at Haverford College and will most likely declare a major in Psychology and minor in Philosophy next spring. Overall, summer 2020 has been one for the books. Working a 9-5 from my childhood desk during a pandemic was definitely not what I had in mind, but I'm grateful that's what it looked like.

Congratulations to the recipients of the 2020 Pennsylvania Heart & Soul Hero Awards! To acknowledge some of the many people who supported their communities during the COVID-19 shutdown, the Pennsylvania Humanities Council (PHC) created the Pennsylvania Heart & Soul Hero Award. The award honors local heroes in communities that PHC has partnered with through Community Heart & Soul, a humanities-based initiative that uses resident stories and community conversations to spark collective decision-making and action.    “The recipients of these awards displayed resilience, compassion, and action in time when their communities needed it most,” said Jen Danifo, PHC’s Senior Program Officer. “This is what Community Heart & Soul is all about and PHC is honored to have the opportunity to uplift their work.” Follow the links below to learn about our 2020 Pennsylvania Heart & Soul Hero Awardees and how they served their communities during a time of crisis, including a virtual award ceremony and interview with each recipient.   Citizen's Fire Company #1 (Mount Holly Springs) Citizen's Fire Company #1 (Mount Holly Springs) has long played a vital role in the community, not just in its job of keeping residents safe but also helping with fundraisers and education programs. The team responded to the COVID-19 shutdown by working to keep the town’s spirits up in spite of the restrictions, including drive by-birthday celebrations for those unable to leave their house. Learn more.   Frank Sill (Upper Chichester) Frank Sill (Upper Chichester) draws from a deep well of local knowledge and civic engagement experience. When the pandemic  hit, Sill took action and tapped his robust network of community connections to help collect and distribute masks to first responders. He also worked closely with senior citizens countywide to make sure they were getting the support and assistance they needed. Learn more.   Gary and Tina Solak (Cameron County) Gary and Tina Solak (Cameron County) are radio hosts at WQKY (98.9 FM) based in Emporium and used their platform, including social media, to keep their listeners informed about the latest crisis information. The Solaks supported local businesses and created an online forum for sharing information, providing a space for much needed conversations. Learn more.   Lee Scandinaro (Meadville) Lee Scandinaro (Meadville) assessed the needs of his community and determined that food accessibility was a major issue. He then worked to establish a vital school lunch program which will provide food to area children through the summer. Scandinaro is deeply rooted in his community and works collaboratively with residents and local organizations to assist those in need. Learn more.   John Hartnett (Meadville) John Hartnett (Meadville) is president of the Meadville chapter of Not One More, an organization dedicated to providing resources and support to people in recovery. John quickly transitioned Not One More's group meetings to an online platform at the start of the COVID-19 statewide shutdown, ensuring life-saving access to a virtual support network. Learn more.   Carlisle Community Action Network (Greater Carlisle) Carlisle Community Action Network (Greater Carlisle) is a group of 70+ community members that meet weekly to discuss actions and responses to COVID-19. They jumped into action to meet the needs of Carlisle and reached across cultural divides to ensure everyone had a voice in the process. CAN hosted discussions and provided much need resources. Learn more.     Related Content Orton Family Foundation's Community Heart & Soul site (Orton is a statewide partner of PHC) Pennsylvania Community Heart & Soul

Congratulations to Citizen's Fire Company #1 (Mount Holly Springs) for receiving one of the Pennsylvania Humanities Council's first ever Pennsylvania Heart & Soul Hero Awards! The COVID-19 crisis and subsequent shutdown brought many challenges to cities and towns across the world as they adapted to social distancing and other health and safety requirements. Despite the difficulties, Pennsylvania’s residents showed their resilience and strength by working together to meet the needs of their neighbors.  To acknowledge some of the many people who supported their communities during this time, the Pennsylvania Humanities Council (PHC) created the Pennsylvania Heart & Soul Hero Award. The award honors local heroes in communities that PHC has partnered with through Community Heart & Soul, a humanities-based initiative that uses resident stories and community conversations to spark collective decision-making and action.    Citizen's Fire Company #1, nominated by members of the Mount Holly Springs Heart & Soul Leadership Team, was among six recipients recognized as Heart & Soul Heroes for their outstanding community service. Each awardee receives a certificate, virtual award ceremony, and a spotlight article.  “The recipients of these awards displayed resilience, compassion, and action in time when their communities needed it most,” said Jen Danifo, PHC’s Senior Program Officer and host of the Heart & Soul Hero virtual award ceremonies. “This is what Community Heart & Soul is all about and PHC is honored to have the opportunity to uplift their work.” Citizen's Fire Company #1 was selected to receive a Pennsylvania Heart & Soul Hero Award for its exceptional service to the Mount Holly Springs community during the COVID-19 shutdown. Accepting the award on behalf of the team was Tim Yingst, Fire Chief, and Dennis Russell, President of the fire company. Citizen's Fire Company #1 has long played a vital role in the community, not just in its job of keeping residents safe but also helping with fundraisers and education programs. The team responded to the COVID-19 shutdown by working to keep the town’s spirits up in spite of the restrictions. For example, they did drive by-birthday celebrations for those unable to leave their house and helped to honor graduating high school seniors. As they approach their 125th anniversary, the station's legacy of service to the Mount Holly Springs community continues. “Our fire company is the heart and soul of Mount Holly Springs," said Carmen James, a member of Mount Holly Springs Heart & Soul. “No matter where you live -- or who you are -- you can count on [them].” Related Content Orton Family Foundation's Community Heart & Soul site (Orton is a statewide partner of PHC) Mount Holly Springs Heart & Soul Pennsylvania Community Heart & Soul

We at the Pennsylvania Humanities Council cannot stay silent about the recent events that have once again highlighted the pernicious and systemic problems that Black people and all people of color face every day. We believe in justice for George Floyd and the countless other victims of police brutality and racism, but real justice will only come when we each do our part to build an equitable society. Our experience in communities across Pennsylvania has been that when people can see one another's humanity through stories, reflection, and relationship building, they are not only capable of doing this work but are often eager to challenge their biases and cross divides in order to shape a future where everyone is safe and free. We’ve witnessed how conversation and dialog can create avenues for civic involvement and community development once thought impossible. The process of confronting a society and national history replete with white supremacy and systemic inequities that impede justice can be difficult and uncomfortable. It takes real work but we can and must do this.  The Pennsylvania Humanities Council believes in the power of people from all walks of life to come together to make change. We stand with each and every person taking action for a more perfect union. All of us must join this struggle for justice.  But in the words of Maya Angelou, “Nothing will work unless you do.” There are many resources online to help us all become part of the change; one we recommend is "Talking About Race" from the National Museum of African American History & Culture. It provides tools and guidance to empower us on our journeys and inspire meaningful conversations and actions in our lives and in our communities.

Congratulations to Frank Sill (Upper Chichester) for receiving one of the Pennsylvania Humanities Council's first ever Pennsylvania Heart & Soul Hero Awards! The COVID-19 crisis and subsequent shutdown brought many challenges to cities and towns across the world as they adapted to social distancing and other health and safety requirements. Despite the difficulties, Pennsylvania’s residents showed their resilience and strength by working together to meet the needs of their neighbors.  To acknowledge some of the many people who supported their communities during this time, the Pennsylvania Humanities Council (PHC) created the Pennsylvania Heart & Soul Hero Award. The award honors local heroes in communities that PHC has partnered with through Community Heart & Soul, a humanities-based initiative that uses resident stories and community conversations to spark collective decision-making and action.    Frank Sill, nominated by the Upper Chichester Leadership Team, was among six recipients recognized as Heart & Soul Heroes for their outstanding community service. Each awardee receives a certificate, virtual award ceremony, and a spotlight article.  “The recipients of these awards displayed resilience, compassion, and action in time when their communities needed it most,” said Jen Danifo, PHC’s Senior Program Officer and host of the Heart & Soul Hero virtual award ceremonies. “This is what Community Heart & Soul is all about and PHC is honored to have the opportunity to uplift their work.” Frank Sill was selected to receive a Pennsylvania Heart & Soul Hero Award for his exceptional service to the Upper Chichester community during the COVID-19 shutdown. As president of the Rotary Club and a leader in various organizations, including the Upper Chichester Historical Society, Chichester Business Association and Chichester School District Board of Education, Sill draws from a deep well of local knowledge and civic engagement experience. When the pandemic  hit, Sill took action, tapping his robust network of community connections to help collect and distribute masks to first responders. He also worked closely with senior citizens countywide to make sure they were getting the support and assistance they needed. Finally, under Sill's leadership, the Rotary Club was able to distribute six scholarships to graduating seniors this year, despite the loss of fundraising opportunities. “Frank is the person you go to if you need something to get done," said Barbara Kelley, assistant township manager. “He connects people.” Related Content Orton Family Foundation's Community Heart & Soul site (Orton is a statewide partner of PHC) Upper Chichester Heart & Soul Pennsylvania Community Heart & Soul

Congratulations to Gary and Tina Solak (Cameron County) for receiving one of the Pennsylvania Humanities Council's first ever Pennsylvania Heart & Soul Hero Awards! The COVID-19 crisis and subsequent shutdown brought many challenges to cities and towns across the world as they adapted to social distancing and other health and safety requirements. Despite the difficulties, Pennsylvania’s residents showed their resilience and strength by working together to meet the needs of their neighbors.  To acknowledge some of the many people who supported their communities during this time, the Pennsylvania Humanities Council (PHC) created the Pennsylvania Heart & Soul Hero Award. The award honors local heroes in communities that PHC has partnered with through Community Heart & Soul, a humanities-based initiative that uses resident stories and community conversations to spark collective decision-making and action.    Gary and Tina Solak, nominated as a team by Jessica Herzing, were among six recipients recognized as Heart & Soul Heroes for their outstanding community service. Each awardee receives a certificate, virtual award ceremony, and a spotlight article.  “The recipients of these awards displayed resilience, compassion, and action in time when their communities needed it most,” said Jen Danifo, PHC’s Senior Program Officer and host of the Heart & Soul Hero virtual award ceremonies. “This is what Community Heart & Soul is all about and PHC is honored to have the opportunity to uplift their work.” Gary and Tina Solak were selected to receive a Pennsylvania Heart & Soul Hero Award for their exceptional service to Cameron County and the surrounding areas during the COVID-19 shutdown. The couple are radio hosts at WQKY (98.9 FM) based in Emporium and used their platform, including social media, to keep their listeners informed about the latest crisis information. Both are involved in their local community and felt it was their duty to provide timely and accurate information. In support of local businesses affected by the shutdown, the Solaks encouraged the public to purchase gift certificates and shared resources for grant and loan programs. Tina created an online forum for sharing information, providing a space for much needed conversations. “We immerse ourselves in our community and we're just looking out for our neighbors and giving them the information that they need," said Tina Solak. "We don't think of it as anything special, this is our job.”   Related Content Orton Family Foundation's Community Heart & Soul site (Orton is a statewide partner of PHC) Cameron County Project Pennsylvania Community Heart & Soul

Congratulations to Lee Scandinaro (Meadville) for receiving one of the Pennsylvania Humanities Council's first ever Pennsylvania Heart & Soul Hero Awards! The COVID-19 crisis and subsequent shutdown brought many challenges to cities and towns across the world as they adapted to social distancing and other health and safety requirements. Despite the difficulties, Pennsylvania’s residents showed their resilience and strength by working together to meet the needs of their neighbors.  To acknowledge some of the many people who supported their communities during this time, the Pennsylvania Humanities Council (PHC) created the Pennsylvania Heart & Soul Hero Award. The award honors local heroes in communities that PHC has partnered with through Community Heart & Soul, a humanities-based initiative that uses resident stories and community conversations to spark collective decision-making and action.    Lee Scandinaro, nominated by Amara Geffen, was among six recipients recognized as Heart & Soul Heroes for their outstanding community service. Each awardee receives a certificate, virtual award ceremony, and a spotlight article.  “The recipients of these awards displayed resilience, compassion, and action in time when their communities needed it most,” said Jen Danifo, PHC’s Senior Program Officer and host of the Heart & Soul Hero virtual award ceremonies. “This is what Community Heart & Soul is all about and PHC is honored to have the opportunity to uplift their work.” Lee Scandinaro was selected to receive a Pennsylvania Heart & Soul Hero Award for his impressive service to Meadville during the COVID-19 shutdown. He took it upon himself to assess the needs of his community and determined that food accessibility was a major issue. He then worked to establish a vital school lunch program which will continue providing food to area children through the summer. Scandinaro is deeply rooted in his community and works collaboratively with residents and local organizations to assist those in need. He currently is employed by Arc of Crawford County, helping to promote and protect the human rights of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and actively supporting their full inclusion and participation in the community. “That's always been what my MO is -- trying to fill what needs there are and serving the public as much as possible and in whatever way I can... not in a way that's about me but in a way that's about all of us just moving together,” said Scandinaro. Related Content Orton Family Foundation's Community Heart & Soul site (Orton is a statewide partner of PHC) My Meadville Pennsylvania Community Heart & Soul

Congratulations to John Hartnett (Meadville) for receiving one of the Pennsylvania Humanities Council's first ever Pennsylvania Heart & Soul Hero Awards! The COVID-19 crisis and subsequent shutdown brought many challenges to cities and towns across the world as they adapted to social distancing and other health and safety requirements. Despite the difficulties, Pennsylvania’s residents showed their resilience and strength by working together to meet the needs of their neighbors.  To acknowledge some of the many people who supported their communities during this time, the Pennsylvania Humanities Council (PHC) created the Pennsylvania Heart & Soul Hero Award. The award honors local heroes in communities that PHC has partnered with through Community Heart & Soul, a humanities-based initiative that uses resident stories and community conversations to spark collective decision-making and action.    John Hartnett, nominated by Lee Scandinaro and Autumn Vogel of My Meadville, was among six recipients recognized as Heart & Soul Heroes for their outstanding community service. Each awardee receives a certificate, virtual award ceremony, and a spotlight article.  “The recipients of these awards displayed resilience, compassion, and action in time when their communities needed it most,” said Jen Danifo, PHC’s Senior Program Officer and host of the Heart & Soul Hero virtual award ceremonies. “This is what Community Heart & Soul is all about and PHC is honored to have the opportunity to uplift their work.” John Hartnett was selected to receive a Pennsylvania Heart & Soul Hero award for selflessly supporting local residents with a substance use disorders during this especially difficult period of social distancing. He is president of the Meadville chapter of Not One More, an organization dedicated to providing resources and support to people in recovery. Not One More strives to end the stigma around addiction and to create healthier relationships within communities. John quickly transitioned Not One More's group meetings to an online platform at the start of the COVID-19 statewide shutdown, ensuring life-saving access to a virtual support network. The distance-based approach and flexible scheduling even strengthened connections with those previously unable to join in person due to transportation or scheduling restrictions. "One of our values is being a healthy community where people have access to healthcare and support services," said Autumn Vogel. “This community is a better place because John is in it. We’re grateful for him.” Related Content Orton Family Foundation's Community Heart & Soul site (Orton is a statewide partner of PHC) My Meadville Pennsylvania Community Heart & Soul

Congratulations to the Carlisle Community Action Network, including network organizers Margee Ensign and Jennifer Love, for receiving one of the Pennsylvania Humanities Council's first ever Heart & Soul Hero Awards! The COVID-19 crisis and subsequent shutdown brought many challenges to cities and towns across the world as they adapted to social distancing and other health and safety requirements. Despite the difficulties, Pennsylvania’s residents showed their resilience and strength by working together to meet the needs of their neighbors.  To acknowledge some of the many people who supported their communities during this time, the Pennsylvania Humanities Council (PHC) created the Heart & Soul Hero Award. The award honors local heroes in communities that PHC has partnered with through Community Heart & Soul, a humanities-based initiative that uses resident stories and community conversations to spark collective decision-making and action.    The Carlisle Community Action Network, nominated by Lindsay Varner (Community Outreach Director of the Cumberland County Historical Society), was among six recipients recognized as Heart & Soul Heroes for their outstanding community service. Each awardee receives a certificate, virtual award ceremony, and a spotlight article.  “The recipients of these awards displayed resilience, compassion, and action in time when their communities needed it most,” said Jen Danifo, PHC’s Senior Program Officer and host of the Heart & Soul Hero virtual award ceremonies. “This is what Community Heart & Soul is all about and PHC is honored to have the opportunity to uplift their work.” Carlisle Community Action Network (CAN) is a group of 70+ community members that meet weekly via Zoom to discuss actions and responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. Taking the lead in coordinating this group is the President of Dickinson College, Margee Ensign, with support from Dickinson’s Assistant Chief of Staff, Jennifer Love, and other participants. Ensign, Love, and all of CAN were selected as Heart & Soul Heroes for quickly jumping into action to meet the needs of Carlisle and reaching across cultural divides to ensure everyone had a voice in the process. CAN hosted weekly discussions, helped launch an online resource page to keep the community informed, connected local businesses with Dickinson College student helpers, supported a food bank, organized the bottling and provision of hand sanitizer to residents, and engaged in outreach to vulnerable populations in the community. “Whenever a new issue arose there was never the question of ‘could we do it?’ It was ‘how quickly can we move, and who wants to be involved in it?’” said Ensign.   Related Content Orton Family Foundation's Community Heart & Soul site (Orton is a statewide partner of PHC) Local and college leaders honored by Pennsylvania Humanities Council for effective, collaborative work (Dickinson College) Greater Carlisle Heart & Soul Pennsylvania Community Heart & Soul

Jean Kosha's remarkable life journey has taken her from working with the teachers of child refugees in Liberia and Sierra Leone while with the International Rescue Committee, all the way to serving youth at the Municipal Branch of the Upper Darby Township Library in Pennsylvania. She cares passionately about meeting the needs of young people and recently received support from the Pennsylvania Humanities Council (PHC) to bring Teen Reading Lounge (TRL) to the library in order to further deepen their engagement with the humanities and social justice issues. The PHC-created program combines immersive conversations around the humanities with real world civic engagement and cultural activities. "It seemed to be the perfect fit," said Kosha. "Teen Reading Lounge provides a space where we can talk about these issues that our teens face every day." The COVID-19 pandemic has led to the closure of schools and libraries, along with the cancellation of many youth development opportunities. The Upper Darby Township Library had just launched Teen Reading Lounge when the statewide shutdown orders went into effect. Rather than cancel the program, they decided to move it online and keep their teens engaged at a time when it seemed they needed it most. We reached out to Kosha for a Q&A to check-in on how she's navigating this new virtual terrain and to learn more about how the humanities are impacting the lives of young people in Upper Darby. First, how are you doing with all this? You okay? The short answer is yes! There’s a lot packed into that question. From a personal view, I feel like the virus is always hovering just out of view. I worry about my husband, who drives for Uber and Lyft, being exposed to it. I worry when I go out to shop. I wonder how long it will last, whether my son and daughter will be able to go to their college campuses in Fall, and when the library will be open. I believe there’s always a silver lining to every cloud and I’ve found with the pandemic, being apart physically has allowed me to connect more frequently with my family and colleagues.   Tell us a little about why you moved to Upper Darby and how you became involved with Teen Reading Lounge. My husband, who is Liberian, and I wanted to live in a diverse community where our children could grow up surrounded by people with different ethnicities, religious beliefs, and cultural practices. We wanted them to feel part of the world community. Since they are biracial, we didn’t want them to live in a place where they would feel isolated. In Upper Darby the community is so diverse and they have made friends with people from all corners of the world. It is a great place to live! When I first moved here I worked at the library helping at the children’s desk. I gradually began doing programs for children and teens. I decided to start a Teen Advisory Board (TAB) because our young people were eager to create their own programs at the library. Last spring I learned about Teen Reading Lounge and it seemed to be the perfect fit for our library. It was a chance to read and discuss great books with our teens, but it was so much more. We could focus on the humanities and most importantly incorporate social justice issues.  What was your Teen Reading Group working on before the shutdown? The teens chose the theme of “Representation Matters” for our first cycle and we focused on the book Black Enough. It led to discussions about identity, privilege, and representation. Right before the pandemic hit, we started a project where the teens had their photo taken and cut out the silhouette. They were in the process of cutting out words and images that they considered part of their identity. The resulting work of art was going to be hung in the library in a display.  Unfortunately, we only got half way through before we had to close the library.   How has the coronavirus situation impacted Teen Reading Lounge and the young people you serve? Of course, initially all of our efforts just stopped cold and we had to reassess how we could continue to meet with the teens and continue our program. The first time we met online it was a chance to check in with our youth community. A lot of our discussion was about how they are dealing with the pandemic, being stuck at home, trying to do school work, and listening to the sometimes frightening news reports. We spoke about self-care and some strategies they could use to deal with the stress that they may be facing. Just before closing we had received two more books, American Born Chinese and Free Lunch that are related to our “Representation Matters” theme. We had the funds through PHC’s grant to mail participants their copies. This past week we met online and played games through Zoom that we learned about at one of PHC webinars I attended a few weeks ago. The teens loved it and we plan to play them again at our next meeting. I’m happy to say, we are moving forward. We’ll be wrapping up this cycle soon and then in June we’ll start our second one. The teens have decided on the theme “Finding our place in this world.” I think we will have some very engaging discussions!   You managed to get a Zoom conference with the mayor of Upper Darby and your youth. Why was that important and how did your group respond? Our recently elected mayor, Barbarann Keffer, was interested in meeting our library’s youth community as a part of her townhall tour that she planned for the spring. Fortunately, we were able to shift that meeting online. She met on Zoom with the participants of Teen Reading Lounge and our Teen Advisory Board and listened to their ideas about the needs of young people in Upper Darby. They were able to share their thoughts, including how important it was to have a safe place for teens to gather and hang out with friends.  One teen mentioned how Upper Darby was part of the Underground Railroad, but that this fact was not highlighted in the community. They felt it was important for the township to celebrate that. It was an amazing chance for the teens to voice their ideas and influence the direction of their own community. The mayor even invited them to nominate four young people to serve on the historical and recreation committees. How great is that? She wants to meet again in June to continue the conversation! After the mayor left the Zoom meeting the teens continued to talk because they were so energized by the conversation. They thought it was one of the best meetings they’ve had. When I asked who would be interested in being on the committees everyone raised their hand!   What is working remotely teaching you about engaging with the library’s youth community? The teens are still there! They still want to meet, engage and discuss. They want to be involved and they want to participate in building our community.  During one of the first online meetings I held with teens, one member who was particularly quiet in the “in person” meetings was much more vocal through the chat box online. Through text she shared her ideas and cracked jokes. Everyone in the group noticed and we all got to know more about her and her personality. While we may think of having to meet online as a hindrance, it can actually open doors for some teens in ways that we hadn’t realized.   Finally, why are the humanities important for young people during times of crisis? Many teens are stressed about what is happening with the pandemic. They are concerned for themselves and their family. Having access to good literature and peer conversations, where they can immerse themselves in stories and ideas, is so important. Through the humanities we are able to constructively contribute to the shape of our communities and become leaders. The humanities are essential to all of us.  One of the things I keep repeating to the teens is that they are living through an incredible time in history. I have encouraged them to keep a diary, record their thoughts, capture this moment. While it seems surreal now, in 50 years their grandkids will be asking them, “What was the 2020 pandemic like?” and they will have many incredible stories to tell.   Related Content Youth Engagement in the Time of Social Distancing: An Introductory Conversation Teen Reading Lounge

Artists thrive through adversity because art is a marvelous transformation of adversity. No matter how difficult the times we face, artists smile, rise and get back to the life of art. What do Chester artists do in tough times like these? They Reclaim, Repurpose, Rebuild and #RemainCreative!    #RemainCreative is a Chester Made social media campaign that will keep our audience engaged and thinking creatively during this time of limited in-person interaction. Facebook & Instagram posts as well as E-blasts to our mailing list will show Chester artists continuing to thrive in their field while staying at home, healthy and safe. We will also post videos that will flash back to past Chester Made events, workshops, and activities that might inspire a creative post of your own.   #MOTIVATIONMONDAYS On a compelling #MotivationMonday, we heard from Sistah Mafalda, a Chester Made Artist and Storyteller resident and creator of #StandTall, a stilt-walking story-telling movement in the city of Chester. We hope you enjoy her message of resilience and freedom to #RemainCreative. Click here to watch all of the videos.  #THROWBACKTHURSDAYS What a joy it's been looking back at the many experiences of the Chester Made project. Throwback posts give Chester Made partners a chance to reflect on the lessons, connections, and successes from the past that continue to inspire and help us #RemainCreative today. On one #ThrowbackThursday we replayed a clip of N. Davina Stewart, a Gary, IN-based artist who utilizes satire, speculative fiction, and performance poetry to create compelling narratives and interactive public art projects that challenge the status quo and encourages participants to re-examine / re-imagine / re-invent the spaces they occupy. This is one of seven videos made documenting the 2016 Chicago & Gary peer exchange with local artists working to make change in their communities. Listen to what Davina has to say about owning your legacy and reflect on how this has informed many Chester Made activities. SITTING ON CRATES In his new series, Sitting on Crates, Chester Made Artistic Director Devon Walls interviews Overtown artists, including Kenneth "The Art Monster" Picasso and Emmanuel "Fitz God's Gift" Fitzpatrick, about their most recent work.   In episode one we are introduced to "By Any Means," a mural paying tribute to Malcolm X and Huey Newton, located on Edgemont Ave, Chester, PA. Hopefully you've had a chance to experience it in person! What's Coming Up That's right! Chester Made is officially making podcasts! Check out our first one here  featuring Devon Walls and Ulysses Slaughter talking about Chester's art scene. Listen on Anchor, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, and more, all for free!  Finally, stay tuned for the brand new Chester Made Website coming soon! This website will have everything Chester Made and will be a hub for information about past, present and future Chester Made events and projects. We can't wait to hear what you think! Don't forget to share with us what you've been up to by emailing us at chestermade@pahumanities.org.  #KEEPMAKINGART

The Pennsylvania Humanities Council (PHC) is pleased to announce the recipients of their Pop-Up Grants for Cultural Producers, a new rapid relief program created in response to the COVID-19 crisis. The recipients represent arts groups, museums, historical societies, libraries, and cultural institutions from across Pennsylvania.  Social distancing measures have caused the closure of museums and libraries and the cancelation of in-person programs, historical tours, festivals, and other major events that bring people together and support local economies. Pop-Up Grants for Cultural Producers provide up to $2,000 to help arts and cultural organizations adapt by supporting events, programs, and projects delivered through virtual or other forms of distance-based engagement with the public. “These are challenging times but Pennsylvania’s cultural sector is creative and resilient,” said Laurie Zierer, executive director of the Pennsylvania Humanities Council. “These pop-up grants will directly support cultural programming that builds community and inspires hope and humanity at a time when we need it most.” PHC received applications from hundreds of affected nonprofit organizations and secured funding to support 47 of them. Among the projects are: Ogun & the People Project, a series of facilitated online discussions centered on the Afro-Cuban pataki, or sacred parable, Ogun & the People, facilitated by the Kule Mele African Dance & Drum Ensemble (Philadelphia); Our Food, Ourselves, a virtual exploration of how food writing and nonfiction storytelling open windows into larger aspects of the human experiences, hosted by the Creative Nonfiction Foundation and featuring scholars and food writers (Pittsburgh); Going Viral, a series of conversations and creative workshops for young people at the Lower Macungie Library that includes “Pandemic Packs” with history books and supplies (Macungie); Revival! (Social Distancing Edition), a virtual dance party and live performance, hosted by the BlackStar Film Festival, celebrating the visual and sonic frequencies contained within Black spiritual and ecstatic experience (Philadelphia); Talking Portraits, an interactive website from the Lackawanna Historical Society where visitors can meet animated, Harry Potter style portraits to learn about local history and participate in discussions with historians (Scranton). All of PHC's grants and programs generate avenues for civic involvement and community development. These creative pop-up projects build on this work while also addressing the immediate relief needs of cultural organizations and those they serve. The full list of Pop-Up Grants for Cultural Producers recipients is as follows: 3 Dots Downtown African American Museum in Philadelphia Ars Nova Workshop Arts without Boundaries Barrio Alegria Belle Vernon Public Library Beyond the Bars Black Lily, Inc dba BlackStar Film Festival  Bosler Memorial Library Boyertown Community Library Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center Cliveden of the National Trust Creative Nonfiction Foundation Delaware County Historical Society Elkland Area Community Library Erie Center for Arts & Technology Fairmount Park Conservancy First Person Arts, Inc. Friends of Hershey Public Library Harmony Image Productions & S.I.F.T.Media (Sisters in Film and Television) Higher Grounds Music Highland Community Library Hill Dance Academy Theatre Jamaaladeen Tacuma Outsiders Improvised & Creative Music Festival Japan America Society of Greater Philadelphia Johnstown Area Heritage Association Kulu Mele African Dance & Drum Ensemble Lackawanna HIstorical Society Lehigh University Lower Macungie Library Meadowcroft Rockshelter & Historic Village Nichole Canuso Dance Company Nueva Esperanza, Inc. Office of Public Art, Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council Ollin Yoliztli Calmecac Painted Bride Art Center Performing Artists Collective Alliance Philadelphia Folksong Society South Philly Acoustic Jam Taller Puertorriqueno The Colored Girls Museum The Rosenbach The Soapbox Community Print Shop & Zine Library Tiny Farm Wagon of CultureTrust of Greater Philadelphia Ujamaa Collective World Cafe Live York County History Center The Pop-Up Grants for Cultural Producers program is made possible by support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, individual donors to PHC, and an anonymous donor who offered additional funds for Philadelphia-based projects serving artists and small arts organizations. This grant program is not part of the CARES Act, which allocated federal funding to be distributed by state and territorial councils through the National Endowment for the Humanities. PHC will provide more information about its CARES Act opportunity soon.

by Jeff Siegler* Beaver County Community Heart & Soul Volunteer and founder of Revitalize, or Die The timing was not ideal. Just as we were getting the go ahead from the Pennsylvania Humanities Council to embark upon the Community Heart & Soul program, we got notice from Governor Wolf’s office that getting together would be impossible. Needless to say, this put a substantial wrench in the works. At the heart of what we are trying to do is build community, and not getting together in person makes that quite a bit difficult. As I have endlessly shouted on my own platform, we will not be able to build community online, and in fact, it is our over dependence on the internet that has helped to degrade our sense of community. So this is awkward. Nevertheless, social distancing restrictions were put place, but the problems the community was facing were not going away. I am new to both the Pennsylvania Humanities Council and the Community Heart and Soul program, but community struggles are my speciality. I have worked in community development and revitalization going back to 2003 and became particularly interested in issues of civic pride and apathy while overseeing the Ohio Main Street Program. I took some time to think about how we might move forward considering the fact that we could no longer actually meet up to get this thing started. While this was not an ideal situation, it did provide us with a rare opportunity to do something we nearly never do, take our time. I am fortunate enough to be working with two communities in Beaver County, Beaver Falls and Rochester. I grew up in a Rustbelt town in Northwest Ohio that reminds me a great deal of both cities. These communities had once been prosperous and vibrant, but fell on hard times when the nature of the economy changed and are now looking at themselves from the view that their best days are behind them. This is a painful and damaging situation to get into, but it is one that thousands upon thousands of communities are currently in. The psyche of most smaller communities in the Rustbelt is complicated, and has been shaped by decades of bad news. So many of these cities have been knocked down so many times that they stopped trying to get up. They have learned not to trust what people tell them, they have learned that it is too painful to have hope, they have learned that this may be as good as it gets. What people on the outside don’t understand about these places is that they have every reason to feel the way they do. They may be easy to pick apart and deride their disfunction, but their behavior is the only reasonable response to a situation in which they have suffered. We get so much wrong when we think about community revitalization because we overlook that fact that cities are made up of people. Cities take on the characteristics of the people that populate it. We would do far better to think about how people feel and function if we want to tackle some of these community problems. Because in the end, if we want to help a city lift itself up, we have to figure out how to help its residents lift themselves up. I don’t mean to sound so negative about any community, particular not the two communities I am extremely excited to be working with, but I have also come to realize, that there is no use trying to gloss over reality. If we really hope to start making some headway on these issues, we can’t pretend that everything is fine. We can’t just keep hoping that tomorrow will be better if we don't behave different today. There is no sense going to the doctor and pretending that everything is great only to not get treated for what is bothering you. The whole point of embarking on this process is to attempt to address the issues that are holding us back. There are problems, there is no sense in denying it. There are issues, there are struggles. A community is complicated and things happen. Apathy takes hold, disfunction can set it, trust erodes. This isn’t an indictment on all the people that live there. It’s simply recognizing that things needs to change and that brighter days are ahead. "Instead of just sitting back and waiting until things cleared up to get started, we could instead seize on an opportunity to take our time and have some deeper discussions." So it comes back to this, if we want to revitalize a city, we have to revitalize its people. As with anything then, we first must understand what is wrong. This is the reason I feel like there is not nearly enough progress made in the fields of community development and revitalization. We look at the city as a whole and then consider how do we fix this singular entity. We throw planning at it, we throw infrastructure at it, sometimes we throw money at it. These are all solutions to a very different problem and not the problem that needs addressed. These are physical problems, problems we can see with our eyes, but just as it is with people, often times, the most challenging problems are the ones we can’t see. The ones that exist inside. So with this in mind, we decided to hit pause and consider that maybe this break was giving us a chance to start to explore some of these ideas. Instead of just sitting back and waiting until things cleared up to get started, we could instead seize on an opportunity to take our time and have some deeper discussions. As one does during a pandemic, we logged onto a Zoom call and we just talked. We talked about what it feels like to live in a community that doesn’t believe in itself. We discussed the impacts of not knowing fellow community members. Someone mentioned that one of their biggest issues was a lack of trust, and we spent a long time talking about how that affects a community and its residents. This lead to a deep discussion of how trust is lost and what can be done to restore it. We kicked around the subject of apathy and how it seems people just don’t care as much as they used to. Then we talked about how pride can combat apathy and steps we might take to start down a new path. With both communities, we were afforded a really fortunate opportunity to talk about some things we rarely get to talk about. We got deep and dirty in the subjects that really affect a community and not the superficial stuff we typically spend so much time on. "We got deep and dirty in the subjects that really affect a community and not the superficial stuff we typically spend so much time on." We didn’t solve any of the world’s problems in our discussions, but I believe we went deeper than we usually go. We at least had a chance to consider some of the root issues we need to address when it comes to community revitalization. We may not know all the solutions to these issues, but it is so rare that we even discuss the real problems. I love having a chance to work with passionate community members and be a part of these discussions. It is not ever for a lack of love or concern that a community struggles, but often a lack of not knowing what to do. There is a lot of bad advice out there and many towns don’t ever take the time to address some of the root issues they are struggling with. I believe the Community Heart & Soul program will give us that chance. We have a long way to go and plenty of issues to deal with, but we there is no shortage of passionate people willing to do whatever it takes to make their community stronger. It is hard to say where this process will end up, but at least we were afforded the time to have the conversation about what issues we really want to address.   * The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author. Jeff Siegler is a community revitalization specialist partnering with the Pennsylvania Humanities Council on Community Heart & Soul in Beaver County.   Related Content Pennsylvania Heart & Soul Communities Uncommon Strategic Partnership Advances Applied Humanities Work In PA Community Heart & Soul

On Wednesday, May 13th, the Pennsylvania Humanities Council’s hosted their Teen Reading Lounge network for an informative 90-minute conversation exploring how we can center marginalized identities in both on and offline learning opportunities for middle and highschool students during the COVID-19 crisis and beyond. The webinar featured Jean Kosha from the Upper Darby Municipal Library, Fatima Hafiz from Transformative Educations Associate, and Daniel Egusquiza from Barrio Alegrí­a. They discussed how they plan and facilitate humanities-based programs that foster belonging and honor the diverse strengths and needs of our youth. Panelists primarily represent library and afterschool humanities programs, however their insights may be applicable to other youth engagement and education services. Check out the webinar recording below! Here is a list of research and resources about affirming student identities, remote learning, personal growth and reflection, and humanities education. More virtual offerings are in development at PHC and we hope you will join our future webinars!

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has announced new grant guidelines designed to rapidly distribute CARES Act funding to cultural nonprofits affected by the coronavirus pandemic. This new funding opportunity, NEH CARES: Cultural Organizations, will provide grants of up to $300,000 to sustain humanities organizations and preserve jobs in the cultural sector. This grant opportunity should not be confused with the CARES Act funding allocated for distribution by the Pennsylvania Humanities Council and other state councils. Information about that opportunity will be available soon. Please sign-up for our newsletter to stay up-to-date.

On April 22 PHC hosted its second online webinar for youth development professionals.  Over 250 people across the state participated in a 90 minute session addressing Low-Tech and No Tech ways to engage youth.  The webinar acknowledged systemic barriers to technology access within communities of color and low-income families, shared strategies for staying connected with youth, and built collective agency. Moderated by Dr. Valerie Adams-Bass, the panel featured Jeannine Cook from Philadelphia-based Harriett's Bookshop, Kelly Rottmund from the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, and Emilia Autin-Hefner from FabYouthPhilly.  Panelists answered questions from Dr. Adams and audience members who participated in the chat, and shared challenges, successes, and implications of moving to remote programming. Maintaining relationships to address the social-emotional needs of youth was a central focus of the conversation. The discussion also touched on ideas for tapping intergenerational wisdom to bridge young people’s tech-savvy capabilities with elders' experience with utilizing things like radio, the postal service, and the telephone. Each panelist shared valuable insights and represented the perspectives of a small business partner for community initiatives, a library afterschool program, and a youth-development organization.  Audience members remained engaged throughout the webinar, sharing ideas, resources, and contact information with one another. Resources and ideas from the audience and panelists are compiled here. The conversation concluded with a call to action for advocacy towards equitable access to technology and for solidarity in this moment where our interdependence is undeniable.    As our ways of programming and interaction shift in response to the pandemic, PHC is interested in understanding the bigger systematic issues that cultural producers and educators face in maintaining relationships with our community and keeping them connected to the humanities in ways that are vital to growth and development. This webinar is supported by Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) funds from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services administered by the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, Department of Education, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Wolf, Governor.  Additional support is provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

We are committed to supporting the public health and safety of all Pennsylvania residents. Following recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, along with the Pennsylvania Governor’s Office, Pennsylvania Humanities Council has decided to cancel or postpone all upcoming events until further notice due to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak. We are also strongly encouraging all our program partners to do the same. In addition to event cancellations, our staff will be working remotely. Please get in touch with us at PHC@PAhumanities.org with any questions or feedback: we are here to help. Through its programs, events, and partnerships, PHC uses the humanities to bring Pennsylvanians together to shape the future through the power of stories, reflection, and relationships. We center our work on human connection and shared experiences that typically take place face-to-face at community gatherings.  As a statewide organization we are experienced at bridging divides, but the new “social distancing” guidelines are an entirely new challenge. They are also an opportunity for us to better implement and understand different communications tools as avenues for civic involvement and community development. We have started exploring ideas and resources to help keep Pennsylvanians connected throughout this crisis and will share them soon. Please know that we are monitoring the situation closely and will keep you informed of future changes and updates. Be advised that Pennsylvania residents should observe the latest recommended health and safety precautions. Visit CDC.gov and the Pennsylvania Department of Health for up-to-date information. Thank you for your patience and cooperation during this difficult time. Our heart goes out to everyone who has been or will be impacted by COVID-19.  We are all in this together.

Each one of us is a grassroots advocate.  Simply put, being a grassroots advocate means that we—no matter who we are or where we are—have each other’s back, in good times and in bad. I was reminded of this beautiful synergy when I recently sat in on a meeting of The Cameron County Project team in Emporium, PA. A small coalition of citizens who are transforming their county into a Heart & Soul Community in partnership with the Pennsylvania Humanities Council and the Orton Family Foundation, these everyday women and men—accountants, teachers, an environmental specialist, school custodian, factory laborer, nonprofit director, bank teller, school nurse, stay-at-home parents, small business owners, retirees, and others—are each a blade of hope doing their part to sow seeds and improve the lives of their friends and neighbors. In just the few years since The Cameron County Project’s Community Heart & Soul initiative launched, they’ve connected one-on-one with over 500 of their neighbors to gather stories and taken part in 20 outreach events. Collectively, they’ve identified the local attributes that are most important to them: sense of community, nature, local economy, arts and culture, accessibility, and safety.  According to The Cameron County Project’s leader Jessica Herzing, at the very top of this list are the genuine, kind people who live in this rural area of The PA Wilds. “We were all surprised at the amount of people we didn’t know that live here,” she said. “We have about 4600 residents, and you feel like you know everyone, but even in a small county, that isn’t true. There are demographics here that are surprisingly wonderful!” And more recently, The Cameron County Project pivoted down yet another new pathway, adapting to more immediate needs by launching a Facebook touch-point effort called the “Cameron County – Covid 19 – Community Resource Group.” As grassroots advocates, we are planted in the soil of our backyards, neighborhoods, and the many communities to which we belong and with which we most identify. Broader still, we each are a thread uniquely sewn into the tapestry of our country and our world, with a purpose and mission beckoning us to go above and beyond. Our single thread—an original sliver of color and light—helps hold all the others together. And occasionally when our own thread snaps, the others hug and hold us in place. From our single thread the world radiates, and the sun, moon, and stars dangle and shine. The Cameron County Project team members are prime examples of how our individual and gathered threads of living, breathing grassroots advocacy—even as minute as they may seem amidst the larger patchwork of life—truly can move mountains and shift tides. Our efforts can reroute darkness and divert disaster, or simply bring a smile to a stranger’s face on the street. This being the greatest gift we, as grassroots advocates, can give to one another: the gift of connection, of letting others know we are all in this precious orbit called life together.  Our threads can, and do, make all the difference. I always sit in awe of folks like those leading the charge of progress at The Cameron County Project. I look into their eyes, and see the hope of today and the bright light of tomorrow reflected back. I love them most for even taking that first step to impact a need they see.  I admire their perseverance through challenges, like the often-arduous task of initially getting strangers and neighbors alike onboard to understand the mission at hand amidst the noise and clatter of misinformation and disconnection. I applaud their willpower in moving forward one step at a time to first form the portrait of a need, and then to strategize a blueprint for how they can best steer from there into a more promising future.  And, I respect the very personal, gut-level struggle many of these modest folks confront as they sometimes question their own worthiness and abilities in leading a marathon of good works. This journey can often feel more like the trenches of battle than goodwill. Still, even amidst incoming missiles of misunderstanding and petty grievances from others—whose hearts these grassroots advocates will have to work a little harder to convince—they walk with heads held high. “YOU ARE HEROES!” I told The Cameron County Project team, as we sat around a table at the Cameron County Chamber of Commerce office on a Thursday night a few months ago. “You’re too humble to call yourselves that, but that’s what you are.” They looked at me wide-eyed, carefully and slowly letting the recognition set in. Compliments aren’t a currency most grassroots advocates barter in, or even expect. For them, it’s about a higher calling than that. Even so, kind words and gratitude are deserved and hold value at the heart and soul level. “Yes, you are true heroes!” I repeated. “Your names may never be carved into monuments, nor will streets or auditoriums likely ever be named for you. But your footprints here, and the work you are doing right now, will outlive you. You embody the essence of what it means to be authentic grassroots advocates at their very best!” A pause . . . then they finally accepted my compliment with smiles in return. I’ve learned that sometimes being a grassroots advocate myself simply means being the cheerleader in the room, helping to rally others forward. Each one of us has a skill set, natural gifts, and a reservoir of passion. By rolling this foundation of heart and soul down the sidewalks and streets just outside our front door, or channeling it through our fingertips tapping across a keyboard, we can ignite change, in ways great and small. As a longtime member of the Pennsylvania Humanities Council’s Board of Directors—where I’m surrounded by even more of the most awesome grassroots advocates, I’ve especially gained an indelible appreciation for the sheer power that emerges at the crossroads of storytelling and advocacy.  Time and again, like during my visits with the team in Cameron County, I’ve seen how both the telling of and listening to our individual stories, our community’s stories, and our universal stories translate spoken and written words into unstoppable calls to action. Through these stories emerge transformative roots to the past, a firm grounding in the present, and the glistening seeds of innovation that we then get to plant as we ourselves pass this way ever so briefly. My own evolution as a grassroots advocate began by me looking deeply at what passions really make my heart sing and then looking at what platforms I have available to me as an author, artist, and educator. I challenge you to do the same: What are your passions, and what are your available platforms, and where can these resources cross paths to help others, even in the quietest, unseen corners? No matter who you are, or where you are, you have a voice, and a heart, and a platform. It can be a one-on-one connection—face-to-face, or via text, email, or handwritten note—or a more extensive outreach and involvement within your community, state, nation, or world.  You, my friend, are the pebble that can launch many ripples in the water. As an author writing books across multiple genres—memoir, essay collections, entertaining/culinary, history, how-to, and next up children’s literature, I discovered that I have the opportunity to connect with many different audiences across the country and advocate for things like healthier living, adopting rescue dogs, ending abuse, embracing forgiveness, cross-generational friendships, creativity, or simply reminding people to have fun.  Just as I’ve been blessed to be placed in front of millions of people during appearances on programs like The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Hallmark Channel’s Home & Family, Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live, EWTN’s The World Over, and home shopping’s behemoth QVC, I’ve also had amazing one-on-one interactions. Whether it’s a single person in the aisle of a supermarket who stops me because they need a hug and someone to just listen to them or audiences watching on the other side of that TV camera when the green light flashes on as I’m sitting on a set in Hollywood or New York, each of these platforms is an opportunity to connect and to advocate. As an artist, I’ve discovered the impactful possibilities of creating Participatory Art projects that everyone can come together to create, either in-person or via social media. These include THE SMILE THAT CHANGED THE WORLD (is yours) and the 5 Day PEACE Challenge / #5dayPEACEchallenge. Whether exhibited in the bustling flow of a museum as the first was for one of its many installations or performed quietly along an old dirt road where I planted my final PEACE letter during the early days of the National Emergency amidst the Coronavirus outbreak, each has been a chance to reach out and to advocate. And, as an educator and professor at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford, I quickly became a #1 Fan of Generation Z—young people born between 1997 and 2012. The unprecedented courage of these young people in sharing their truths out loud—especially regarding their mental health challenges—and, in doing so, flipping the script on stigmas and stereotypes, has energized me as a grassroots advocate on behalf of Gen Z and mental health.  Looking at the platforms available to me to shout this new mission from the rooftops, I penned two essays—“Who is Generation Z?” for Huffington Post and the cover story “X meets Z” for Portraits Magazine—to start putting the faces on this extraordinary new generation. And now, wherever I travel, I always sit down for roundtable discussions with Gen Zers and mental health experts, and other audiences to further these discussions.  Gen Zers have even emboldened me to step out more than ever before as an advocate and, for the first time, to share my own family’s legacy of suicide: my great-grandfather and two of his brothers all died by suicide. I’ve watched the impact of those deaths shower down through every generation of my family, often festering as stigmas, mental and behavioral health issues, addiction, and still more tragedy. Sharing my family’s story has helped open the door of healing for others to also walk through. As grassroots advocates, we are learners just as much, if not more, as we are teachers and doers. We are listeners just as much, if not more, as we are communicators. The Cameron County Project’s team leader Jessica Herzing puts it this way: Grassroots advocates are “people who steward their influence, in such a way, to help others grow theirs. They’re just community bridge builders, creating more accessible ways for more people to be heard.” Big thumbs up to that! So in this moment, I invite you to ask yourself:  What passions do I have?  What gifts do I have?  What platforms, great and small—social media, professional contacts, community relationships, etc.—do I have?  What needs do I see that could use my help?  And, if you are already active as a grassroots advocate—first off, thank you!—then I suggest asking yourself a question I ask myself every day: What more can I do? Then, look deeply within and know that you are the thread meant to pull all those answers together into action and hope.  And also please know, by doing so, you too are a hero!   5 Super Easy Ways Anyone Anywhere Can Be a Grassroots Advocate Right Now   SPREAD JOY!  At the core of being a grassroots advocate—locally, regionally, nationally, or globally—is connection. Whether you are new to recognizing your potential as a grassroots advocate or a seasoned pro at it, simply smiling and waving, and perhaps offering a kind word, to more people—friends and strangers alike—as they pass by is Grassroots Advocacy 101. USE YOUR VOICE! Our words—spoken, texted, emailed, or however shared, and no matter how articulate—can be very powerful and encouraging. Talking to friends and family about positive causes, issues, and organizations you believe in can send many ripples out into the world. EMBRACE YOUR ONLINE PLATFORM!  Whether you have one follower or 100 million, you can be a social media influencer. Use whatever social media you’re active on to both follow and share information about causes, issues, and organizations that inspire you. STUDY UP! Being a grassroots advocate means being a teacher and a student in ever-reversing roles. It’s important, and personally motivating, to take a few minutes here and there to research a cause, issue, or organization that speaks to your heart in order to further inform yourself and to better help you spread the message. SAY THANK YOU! Yes, money talks, but a well-deserved “Thank You!” speaks even louder at the heart and soul level. Combine the best of both by writing a check to a favorite charity (giving whatever works for you) and including a note thanking the staff and volunteers for their incredible service in making the world a better place.     About John Schlimm John Schlimm is a Harvard-trained educator, advocate, artist, and the author of 19 books. He has served on the Board of Directors at the Pennsylvania Humanities Council since 2015. For more information or to connect with John on social media, please visit: www.JohnSchlimm.com.

On April 2nd the Pennsylvania Humanities Council Teen Reading Lounge network hosted an informative 90-minute conversation exploring how afterschool humanities programming for youth ages 12 - 18 is being impacted by the COVID-19/novel coronavirus outbreak. Libraries, K-12 schools and many community centers serving youth and their families have been ordered to close. This resulted in an abrupt disruption in the afterschool opportunities young people have come to rely on for connection, comfort and learning.  So, where does that leave us? Are there opportunities to stay connected despite our mandate to maintain social distancing? What creative solutions are sites and staff coming up with across the state - and nationally - to stay connected? Hear what our panelists had to say. Guest speakers  included: Laura Saccente, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Statewide Afterschool Youth Development Network (PSAYDN) Dr. Valerie Adams-Bass, Assistant Professor of Education at the University of Virginia. Corri Hines, School Age Services Advisor, Bureau of Library Development, Office of Commonwealth Libraries, Pennsylvania Department of Education We  spoke with Laura, Valerie and Corri about best practices for staying connected, guidelines for virtual and other forms of communications with youth and creative solutions for reaching youth and families that may not have robust technical resources. We  also reviewed local and national examples of virtual youth programs and youth engagement strategies. Access the resources that were shared and the powerpoint presentation here. This webinar is supported by Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) funds from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services administered by the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, Department of Education, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Wolf, Governor.  Additional support is provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

The Pennsylvania Humanities Council (PHC) has partnered with the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED), the Beaver County Planning Commission, and the Orton Family Foundation to support the towns of Ambridge, Beaver Falls, and Rochester along their path to becoming stronger, more vibrant communities using Community Heart & Soul®, a humanities-based approach to community and economic development. Through this unique partnership among government agencies, a statewide nonprofit, and a national foundation, PHC and Orton will provide training and technical support worth an estimated $50,000 per year to each community. In addition, the communities expect to receive $25,000 per year in combined funding over two years from PHC and DCED, for a total investment valued at $150,000 per community. Since 2015, PHC has been working to bring Community Heart & Soul®, a model originally pioneered by Orton, to communities across Pennsylvania. Ambridge, Beaver Falls, and Rochester join Upper Chichester, Cameron County, Greater Carlisle, Meadville, and Williamsport, which currently have Community Heart & Soul® projects underway. “The humanities have proven a powerful tool for community and economic development in Pennsylvania,” said Laurie Zierer, PHC’s executive director. “We are seeing significant positive change because residents are building relationships, honoring their homegrown talents and assets, and reclaiming and reshaping their communities.” Each town is paired with an official Community Heart & Soul® coach, a trained professional tasked with guiding the community through the program, including gathering residents’ stories, carefully discerning a town’s values through community events and activities, and developing an action plan. "With its rich history, beautiful natural setting, and charming, family-friendly towns, Beaver County is primed for growth," said Lance Grable, Director of the Beaver County Office of Planning and Redevelopment. "Community Heart & Soul® will put Beaver County residents first, relying on their stories and feedback to steward future planning efforts. I could not be more proud of my County Commissioners for allowing us to embark on this monumental effort and teaming with the Pennsylvania Humanities Council." Beaver County is located in southwestern Pennsylvania, near the city of Pittsburgh and other amenities and attractions. Walkable towns dot the Ohio River which runs through the county's picturesque landscape. Beaver County’s transition away from the steel industry has brought new challenges and opportunities to the region.  Community Heart & Soul® will start in all three towns in February 2020.   Related Content Pennsylvania Heart & Soul Communities Uncommon Strategic Partnership Advances Applied Humanities Work In PA Community Heart & Soul  

In July 2019, the Chester Made team welcomed a group of 25 young leaders from Sub Saharan Africa visiting the US under the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders. Although past exchanges involved groups from Chicago, IL, Gary, IN and Detroit, MI, this was the first peer exchange that I was a part of where our visiting participants were from outside of the US, though you would never have guessed after seeing the immediate connection between everyone in attendance. The Mandela Washington Fellowship provides outstanding persons from Sub Saharan Africa a trip to US higher education institutions with the goal of honing their skills in one of three fields: Business, Civic Engagement, or Public Management.  Chester, PA was chosen as a site visit for the 2019 Mandela Fellows because of the city’s history and assets, Chester Made’s deep rooted community engagement projects, and the thriving business and arts district. Chester is a city that has seen decline, and residents, artists and activists are taking remarkable steps to rebuild its reputation through civic engagement and art, two things the Mandela Fellows are also responsible for in their work. To me, this demonstrates why exchanges are so important for Chester Made and other projects, businesses and organizations.   The exchange kicked off with a delicious, thoughtfully planned lunch at Brothers Restaurant which is owned by Chester Made Artistic Director, Devon Walls. This meal was the talk of the exchange! We enjoyed jasmine rice, tikka marsala chicken, pepper steak, and maple candied carrots that were to die for! Created by Executive Chef Aaliyah Alamin, she spoke about her passion for making deep-rooted connections through the culinary arts. The meal and words of wisdom fueled our conversations about the ways we communicate about our love for the work we do, the leadership positions we hold in our community, and the legacy we want to leave behind. Chester representatives who live, work, study and play in Chester were also invited to the restaurant to come share about their role in the revitalization of the city. It was exciting to see this group of energized civic leaders talk about their work with pride and relate to each others journeys through struggle, determination and growing success.   A panel discussion--complete with an impromptu “switch-up” of panelists--was facilitated by Chester Made Project Manager Ulysses ‘Butch’ Slaughter. African and American panelists alike learned that they faced similar challenges working in communities where many are struggling with poverty, health and safety issues. When asked how this exchange will influence their work going forward, Fellows agreed that leadership, legacy, and love are indispensable factors no matter where or who you are working with.   “I’ve been really emotional since I’ve been here because I’m in a house of art. And when I’m somewhere where I have paintings on the walls, musical instruments, and artists talking with their hearts, I feel kind of emotional. I do believe that art is the best way to educate people, to develop our creativity and different ways of thinking. I do believe that education is the way to change people--to help them find the best version of themselves...And I do believe that when someone changes to the best version [of themselves], they are able to change the world.” --Janice Soraia Fortes da Graca of Cabo Verde  The one thing that rang true throughout the day was that together, anything is possible. “The African American experience here and the Africa experience back home is like the bridge that we need to connect with. I want to learn from this experience, I want to build that bridge because I’ve been connected to this experience since my early days. I understand the challenges that people face in Africa and the challenges that people face here that are almost similar, and what we have to do is learn from our experiences--take the positive experiences from here and replicate them back home. This is something that Africa can do.” --Desta Mekonen Abreha of Ethiopia  We left Brothers Restaurant to participate in a group painting activity organized by Chester Made Artistic Director Devon Walls, Kenny Hunt, and Damien Parson. Everyone headed to the Chester Made Makerspace, getting a tour of the Avenue of the States and its lively businesses along the way. Once filled, the Makerspace resonated with groovy tunes like Drogba (Joanna) by Afro B, dancing painters, and singing voices. We worked together to create three beautiful murals of African stilt-walkers, chosen to compliment a stilt-making and walking workshop we had scheduled the following month. It was an energetic afternoon that uplifted the Avenue of the States in Chester as a truly international city. To wrap up the Mandela Washington Fellows visit, everyone sat in a circle in MJ Freed Theater, surrounded by vibrant local art. The visiting leaders asked questions about Chester’s history, development, and vision for the future. We responded with hopes of more exchanges like this one, in addition to a sustained connection to this group of humanitarians. The atmosphere was that of a friendly and open community made more rich by the diverse backgrounds of everyone present.  Opinions were shared on socioeconomic growth and local business, embellished with moving personal stories. The Fellows learned about the core values of Chester Made: how arts and culture drives economic and community development. We learned our visitors shared similar values. The event not only felt educational, but thoroughly enjoyable, like the bus dropped off a group of close friends. In a thank you letter to Chester Made partners after the exchange, Trisha Alexy, Administrative Director, Mandela Washington Fellowship, Lehigh University Business Institute, wrote, “While their experience over the six weeks is filled with seminars, business trips and cultural experiences, the lessons they will take with them because of people like you are amazing life lessons. And, the opportunity the Fellows have to interact with someone with your experience is, by far, the most valuable aspect of the program.” By the end of this experience everyone who was involved--from Chester artist to African entrepreneurs--were speaking the same language through art.  View more photos from the exchange here. Past exchanges: October 2016 Chester Made peer exchange in Gary, IN and Chicago, IL November 2017 Gary, IN peer exchange in Chester, PA March 2018 Chicago, IL and Detroit, MI peer exchange in Chester, PA  

The Pennsylvania Humanities Council (PHC) and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (PCA) have partnered to co-sponsor arts and culture projects in Williamsport, Meadville, Carlisle, and Upper Chichester. The grants provide $2,000 in matched funds to towns currently implementing Community Heart & Soul®, a humanities-based community and economic development program supported by PHC. The goal is to support resident engagement and uplift local creative assets. The four projects are as follows: Williamsport residents will share their stories and collaborate with Factory Works to create a two pillar public art mosaic at the entrance to Pajama Factory, an iconic local building recently added to the National Register of Historic Places.   Inspired by community ideas and drawings, the Art & Environment Initiative (A&EI) will work with the people of Meadville to create a vibrant relief mural on the Snodgrass Building, which provides housing for residents experiencing poverty. Greater Carlisle Heart & Soul will implement a community-led, outdoor art installation to recognize the over 600 people buried at Lincoln Cemetery in Carlisle, raising awareness about the history of the site.  The Upper Chichester Heart & Soul team will host a series of creative intergenerational rock painting workshops for residents at township parks with the intent to engage a diversity of residents. “We are excited that the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts has partnered with us to champion local creative assets through collaborative public art,” said Dawn Frisby Byers, PHC’s Senior Director of Content and Engagement. “These projects are so wonderfully attuned to the ideas and aspirations of residents because our Community Heart & Soul® towns have worked hard over the past few years to bring together a diversity of voices to unearth shared values.” Projects are already underway and set to be completed in 2020.   Related Content Watch Williamsport residents share their stories of The Pajama Factory and Factory Works Pennsylvania Heart & Soul Communities Uncommon Strategic Partnership Advances Applied Humanities Work In PA

Putting the humanities in action to make positive change is what we do -- and what we hope to inspire others to do. So, we were excited to partner with the Pennsylvania Library Association (PaLA) in launching the first ever Humanities in Action Award at their 2019 annual conference in Erie. The award was created to spotlight and honor library programs that use the humanities as a tool for positive youth development. We wanted to celebrate libraries that were co-creating with their youth on developing programs that encourage deep engagement and work to create positive change in their communities.  PHC helped develop the criteria for the award but had no part in the judging of applicants. Winning the award this year was York County Libraries for their powerful Youth Empowerment Summit (YES) -- a series of education and advocacy workshops under the theme “Save the World,” organized by youth and library staff. York County Libraries is a former Teen Reading Lounge (TRL) site, previously supported by PHC. Jennifer Johnson, Teen Forum Manager and Library Services Manager told us, “TRL definitely laid the groundwork for demonstrating that the youth-led approach to programming works.” For this Q&A, we reached out to Johnson to tell us more about YES, the Humanities in Action Award, and how the humanities have become a mighty force for positive youth development in York. Congratulations on receiving the Humanities in Action award! What does it mean that your youth put the humanities in action? For youth to put the humanities in action means to demonstrate curiosity about the world, collaborate to create change, and to demonstrate empathy. The humanities foster confidence. Teens are trying to figure out who they are, where they are going and what they want to do when they get there. Providing opportunities for teens to test boundaries, discover possibilities and follow their passions helps to build confidence in their skills and abilities and creates a foundation from which they are able to fashion a bright future. What is the Youth Empowerment Summit (YES) and why is it important? YES is a day-long annual event comprising of workshops designed to engage teens in a variety of activities to stimulate their interest in post-secondary education, personal learning interests and advocacy opportunities.  It is planned and implemented by the Teen Leadership Committee, consisting of York County teens and York County Libraries’ Teen Services staff. The planning includes author selection, arranging appearances by the selected author and workshop presenters, managing student registration for the event, ordering supplies and catering arrangements.  One of the best things about the Youth Empowerment Summit is the opportunity it gives teens from all around York County to meet and connect with each other.  Students sign up in advance for workshops and at YES, work on projects with students from other school districts, enabling them to put into action skills and competencies, such as problem-solving, creativity and empathy, all of which are regarded as essential for young people embarking on a college or career path. Why did the young people choose the theme of “Save the World”? The library is uniquely placed to provide a platform for teens to speak out and in the last couple of years, we have built on the theme of empowerment to include the development of advocacy skills. This reflects the passions and interests of the current Teen Leadership Committee.  During the planning for YES 2019, we became aware of teens advocating for action to address the climate crisis, starting with the student walk out in Australia. As the media attention grew around the walkouts, Teen Leadership Committee felt that this was a theme that would resonate with teen attendees. They began researching the possible workshop topics. In the course of our discussions, the teens realized that the theme encompassed not only the environment but spoke to a larger perspective that included self-reflection in addition to making an impact through words and actions to bring about change in the community. ~  “The Youth Empowerment Summit helped me hone my leadership skills and to see the power of literacy in creating youth advocacy."  Teen Leadership Committee member ~ Were there any workshops that especially resonated with the young people? York County Libraries ran a Capital Campaign to raise money for renovations and expansions to three of its libraries. Teens agreed that it would be a great Financial Literacy program for teen attendees to learn about library funding and find out more about libraries.  This was not one of the sessions that filled up first during preregistration, but it certainly transformed the understanding of those who attended. From informal feedback on the session, it became clear that teens were unaware of the library’s role in the community. This reaction generated conversation amongst the Teen Leadership group after the event: they found it hard to understand how people could not know about the library and all the opportunities available for teens. To me, it is interesting how this weaves into the wider narrative of how libraries don’t always do a good job of explaining what they have for teens to discover and what libraries have to offer to the community as a whole. Why was it important that the Youth Empowerment Summit was led by teens? One of the unique features of the Youth Empowerment Summit is that it gives the members of the Teen Leadership Committee the opportunity to implement the program that they have planned. Adult staff is there to assist but on the day of the Summit itself, teens are in leadership roles. Their t-shirts are a different color and they are identified as staff. It is not often that teens are permitted to be in prominent leadership positions, where the decision-making falls on them. With a teen-led programming model, any ‘failure’ is viewed as a chance to learn, inspiring teens to rethink their approach and build on their experience. Learning that it is okay to make mistakes builds resilience and grit, all of which are valuable 21st century skills employers are seeking. ~  “The Summit helps you to get ideas on what to do to get involved in York County.” 9th Grader, York Academy Regional Charter School ~ Were there any challenges as the adult assisting with a youth-led project? Letting go of control has been one of the biggest learning curves for me in co-creating teen programming. Traditional programming models put the adult in charge of fulfilling expectations and managing success. Taking a step back and letting teens lead was at first challenging because it forced me to become aware of my own expectations and preconceptions about programming with teens. Connecting teens with opportunities to pursue their interests and develop relationships with their peers and adults is empowering for teens and very liberating for me as a facilitator. Focusing on the process of connected learning rather than on the end product relieves some of the anxiety and pressure to succeed, thereby allowing space for creativity to develop and flourish. ~ “I loved how the writing workshop got us to interact with people we never met before.” 9th Grader, York Academy Regional Charter School ~ How do you think young people benefited from participating in the Summit? According to the post-surveys, for the odd one or two, it was a day out of school with great food, but for everyone else, it was a transformative experience, not only personally but also in the way that youth view libraries and how they see themselves in relation to libraries.  The biggest learning experience for the Teen Leadership Committee was time management, one of the 21st century soft skills that employers are looking for in high school and college graduates. Setting goals and deadlines for meeting the goals is a life skill. There is a timeline for managing the implementation of the Youth Empowerment Summit and the teens get to experience juggling the demands of planning a county wide event with school work, extra curricular activities and family life. The York County Libraries are a past Teen Reading Lounge site -- what impact did this experience have on the library’s future youth work, like the Summit? Teen Reading Lounge models the approach to teen programming where projects are developed based upon the interests of the group. Big ideas are discussed and community-based projects created to bring these ideas to life. In this way youth is able to build a better understanding of themselves, their peers and the community in which they live. TRL definitely laid the groundwork for demonstrating that the youth-led approach to programming works. TRL also provides a useful tool to advocate for the value of this model for teen programming in York County.  

PHILADELPHIA, PA, November 8, 2019 - Six new members were added to the Pennsylvania Humanities Council’s (PHC) Board of Directors, each beginning their term on November 1. A slate of five members were elected by the current Board: Bonita Allen (Pittsburgh), Ivy L. Barsky (Philadelphia),  Chanel Cook (Erie), Kimberly Koller-Jones (New Castle), and Dr. Leah Spangler (Johnstown). Governor Tom Wolf appointed the sixth, Gisele Barreto Fetterman (Braddock), Second Lady of Pennsylvania and wife to Lt. Gov. John Fetterman. The five elected members are eligible to serve up to two consecutive three-year terms. The gubernatorial appointee serves consecutively with the governor, after which they are eligible to be elected for continued membership. Also new is the election of Sister Mary Persico, President of Marywood University, as chair of the Board. She joined in 2017 as an appointee of Governor Tom Wolf and succeeds Silas Chamberlin.  “The PA Humanities Council is energized to move vigorously forward at a time when the humanities speak to every part of the human person in addressing the need for beauty, truth, and purpose in the world,” said Persico. “The new Board members bring great enthusiasm and experience to an already accomplished and dedicated group of Directors.” PHC is governed by a 24-seat board of directors, which is made up of both elected individuals and governor appointees. Currently 23 members serve on the board with backgrounds in business, law, education, philanthropy, government, arts, and culture. Current board members Allen Dieterich-Ward, Gwen White, Christina Saler, and Sister Mary Persico were reappointed by Governor Tom Wolf. Their terms will expire in 2023. Biographies of newest members and new chair follow. Additional information about PHC’s Board of Directors is available at pahumanities.org/board. ***   Bonita Allen (Pittsburgh) is the immediate Past President of the Pennsylvania PTA and has chaired several statewide organizations and initiatives. She has her own consulting business working as an instructor of teachers, parents, and administrators. As a Parent Involvement in Education (PIE) consultant, she presents at conferences statewide and nationally, and serves as a mentor for the Pennsylvania Title I State Parent Advisory Council (SPAC). Allen graduated from Harvard University cum laude.   Ivy L. Barsky (Philadelphia) is a non-profit professional and independent consultant. She served as the CEO of the National Museum of American Jewish History, Philadelphia (2011-2019); Deputy Director, Museum of Jewish Heritage--A Living Memorial to the Holocaust, New York; and has worked for art galleries and museums including the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Institute of Contemporary Art. Barsky has an MA in the history of art from the University of Pennsylvania and a BA from New York University.   Chanel Cook (Erie) is the director of nonprofit and community investment at Idea Fund, Erie. She previously served in federal and local-level positions including in the County of Erie and the US House of Representatives. She is the Chair of the Erie Philharmonic Board of Governors and a member of both the United Way of Erie County Board of Directors and the WQLN – PBS 54 Community Advisory Board. Cook earned an MS in organizational leadership from Mercyhurst University and a BA in Political Science from Gannon University.   Gisele Barreto Fetterman (Braddock) is an access and equity advocate, a hugger and the Second Lady of Pennsylvania.  She is the founder of Freestore 15104, where surplus and donated goods are received and redistributed to neighbors in need. Gisele is the co-founder of 412 Food Rescue, a community wide effort to end hunger and reduce food waste. She is co-founder of For Good PGH, a non-profit that works to advocate inclusion and inspire kindness. Gisele was born in Brazil and emigrated as a child to the US, living as an undocumented immigrant for over a decade. Gisele is a Forty under 40 honoree, a Tedx Speaker a Jefferson Awards recipient and a mother of three.   Kimberly Koller-Jones (New Castle) is the Executive Director of the Hoyt Center for the Arts in New Castle, PA. She is also the President of the New Castle Blueprint Communities Council, Secretary of the Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce, Secretary of the Lawrence County Land Bank, and a board member of the Education Committee for Erie Arts & Culture. She received a BFA from Seton Hill University and an MA in arts administration from Goucher College.   Sister Mary Persico IHM, Ed.D. (Scranton) is currently serving as the twelfth president of Marywood University, Scranton, PA. Previously she was the Executive Vice-President of Mission Integration for Trinity Health, Livonia, MI, and the former Catholic Health East, Newtown Square, PA. She also served in Catholic secondary education as Principal and teacher for many years. She holds a bachelor’s in French and education from Marywood University, a master’s in French from Assumption College, Worcester, MA, and a doctoral degree in educational leadership from Lehigh University.   Dr. Leah Spangler (Johnstown) is the founding CEO of The Learning Lamp and Ignite Education Solutions. She taught public relations, nonprofit management, social enterprise and fund development at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, Saint Francis University, and Mount Aloysius College. She is also an instructor for the Pennsylvania Quality Assurance System. Dr. Spangler currently serves on the board of the Cambria Regional Chamber of Commerce. A graduate of Temple and Northwestern universities, she completed her doctorate in Leadership and Administration at Point Park University.   About the Pennsylvania Humanities Council The Pennsylvania Humanities Council is an independent nonprofit partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities and part of a network of 56 state humanities councils that spans the nation and U.S. jurisdictions. We put the humanities in action to create positive change. We are passionate advocates, innovative program designers and strategic grantmakers. We lead a movement to champion and redefine the role the humanities play in our lives. We use the humanities to generate avenues for civic involvement and community development, and for youth and adults to strengthen skills for school, work and every day. Learn more at pahumanities.org. Contact Dawn Frisby-Byers Senior Director of Content and Engagement 215.925.1005 ext. 124 dfbyers@pahumanities.org  

“I’m not mad, I’m not sad, and I don’t expect you to apologize,” Aurora Sanchez, a youth mentor at Lucien E. Blackwell West Philadelphia Regional Library, coolly told two normally well-behaved young men who were now regretting clowning with her during a serious part of a book discussion. “But if you’ll do it to me, you’ll do it someone else and then this isn’t a safe place, this thing that we’re trying to work on and create where people can just come and be themselves.” After taking a couple walks around the building to think things over, the youth stayed late to talk about how they acted. In their written reflections for the week both said they wanted to work on learning when to stop. A safe, supportive environment That ‘safe place’ Sanchez has been cultivating for the last two years, where young people can build important life skills in a supportive environment, is Teen Reading Lounge (TRL), a civic engagement book club created by the Pennsylvania Humanities Council (PHC). Blackwell is one of nearly 100 sites statewide that have been supported by PHC since the program debuted in 2010.  Teen Reading Lounge at Blackwell has been attracting and engaging African American youth, including a large percentage of young men, in humanities discussions and projects in a culturally rich neighborhood experiencing the pressures of gentrification, crime, and poverty. At the request of the young people involved, the library plans to double their offerings of the program from once to twice a week starting this fall.  “This is it,” said Sanchez. “If you’re looking for a model, if you’re looking for a youth program, if you’re looking to create a book club that’s going to really have the elements that will make young people want to be there and stay engaged, this is it.” As a Teen Reading Lounge facilitator at the Free Library of Philadelphia with over 15 years of experience in youth development, Sanchez knows firsthand what works and what doesn’t. She started her career at Upward Bound through a Temple University work-study, then went on to EducationWorks in both North and South Philly. In 2004 she landed another work-study at the Free Library working with kids and teaching Spanish to adults. From 2006 to 2018 her role shifted to facilitating and supervising after school programs. Now she is the Free Library’s Healthy Communities Coordinator while concurrently being a YOUTHadelphia Program Advisor for the Philadelphia Foundation. ~ “If you’re looking for a model, if you’re looking for a youth program, if you’re looking to create a book club that’s going to really have the elements that will make young people want to be there and stay engaged, this is it.” ~ Serving youth of color and youth experiencing poverty “Openness of the model is what makes Teen Reading Lounge effective,” said Sanchez. “Young people come to meetings because they want to come to meetings.” In Teen Reading Lounge, participants select the books they will read, engage in deep discussions with the support of an adult facilitator, and work together on humanities-inspired creative and civic engagement projects. Through participant surveys and feedback from Teen Reading Lounge youth workers, Pennsylvania Humanities Council staff found that the program seemed most effective with youth experiencing poverty and youth of color. In 2018 they commissioned a study with the Allegheny Intermediate Unit to dive into the data which not only confirmed their observations but discovered it was improving vital social emotional learning skills like self-awareness and responsible decision-making. A big part of the appeal at Blackwell is also Sanchez herself who radiates a buoyant, positive energy but is seasoned enough to know when to be serious and has no tolerance for bullying. “You set healthy boundaries and you model healthy behaviors,” she said. “It’s okay to be themselves and we can have fun but we can have boundaries.” Sanchez says she remembers what it’s like to be a teen and that makes her feel connected to young people. “I appreciate the space that teenagers are in,” she said. “I have very vivid memories of being a young person and how hypocritical adults were with me. Adults wanted me to be a child when it was convenient for them and they wanted me to be an adult when it was convenient for them. I didn’t always understand the rationale. Those experiences stuck with me.” Using the humanities to inspire Sanchez has brought her empathetic, youth-centered approach to the three cycles of Teen Reading Lounge she’s facilitated so far, each lasting about two months. The books selected are written by People of Color, focusing on themes of race, power, and sexuality. The literature never fails to spark powerful discussions and directly appeals to the concerns of neighborhood kids, whose personal experiences run deep. The most recent summer cycle started with a celebratory book giveaway. “They were so excited -- they lit up!” said Sanchez. One young man hauled a stack of ten books home to show his family and his mother and grandmother ended up reading them alongside him. “Not only does he have access but the adults in his family are taking an interest. You can’t ask for much more.” The teens’ readings, projects, and activities have been capturing their imaginations and connecting them to their community and world by exploring new ideas through the humanities. There are also some very special events.   When the young people at Blackwell read Dear Martin, Sanchez performed a small miracle and managed to get Nic Stone, the book’s popular author, to video chat with the group. The young people had a rare chance to speak to a high profile YA writer and ask Stone questions about her life and work and share their own experiences. “She was so flawless and incredible,” said one of the young men later. After discussing Dear Martin, which focuses on the themes of police brutality and code switching, the youth made three PSA videos with the help of Lil’ Filmmakers, a local production company. They wanted to encourage other young people to do the right thing and do their part to make the world a better place. In another cycle of the program, the group took a field trip to Eastern State Penitentiary to learn more about the criminal justice system after conversations about the purposes of punitive justice that arose from reading Children of Blood and Bone, a novel by the Nigerian-American novelist Tomi Adeyemi. Sanchez sees her group’s activities as showing the power of the humanities to inspire young people to engage deeper and make real change. “Stories that reflect the complexities of lived experience can affirm and build bridges of compassion,” she said. ~ “Stories that reflect the complexities of lived experience can affirm and build bridges of compassion." ~ Empowering future leaders Sanchez has also supported the group in guided meditations, an anti-violence social media campaign, and community improvement projects. But she’s careful to encourage youth to only contribute at the level they feel most comfortable -- and she never pressures them to read every book cover-to-cover. “We are really doing much more thinking about issues,” said Sanchez. “The book is just a part of that. We’re learning about the world around us and learning how we can make an impact.” She says she wants to create a safe place where young people can use the humanities to talk about what matters most to them, working together to undo any negative stereotypes they see as holding them back. “When you empower them to make decisions, you empower them to be the leaders,” said Sanchez. “It shows them that ‘no, no, no, I have a voice, and my voice matters.’” Sometimes it isn’t easy work but she says she is always learning, especially through ongoing professional development opportunities provided by PHC. As important as training is, she says the heart of youth work is being real, being honest about mistakes, and treating young people as equals, like she yearned for when she was a teen. “I try to bring my authentic self. I aspire to show them that I am human and flawed.” - Teen Reading Lounge is made possible by Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) funds from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services administered by the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, Department of Education, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Wolf, Governor.  The views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this website do not necessarily represent those of the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services or the Department of Education, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Additional support is provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities, generous individuals, foundations, and corporations.  

PHILADELPHIA, September 11, 2019 – The Pennsylvania Humanities Council (PHC) has expanded its award-winning Teen Reading Lounge program to nine new library sites across the state for 2019-2020. Eleven existing sites, including last year’s Out-of-School-Time (OST) pilot sites in Philadelphia, will continue to receive support -- totaling $144,000 for all 20 locations. The primary goal is to continue to leverage the humanities as a tool for positive youth development, with an emphasis on engaging youth experiencing poverty and youth of color.  “Traditional programs for teens rely on a top-down approach,” said Laurie Zierer, Pennsylvania Humanities Council executive director. “Teen Reading Lounge is different because we start by asking young people what they think is important and then let them take the lead.” First launched in 2010, Teen Reading Lounge is an interactive book club for youth ages 12-18. Through youth-focused book discussions and creative civic engagement projects, teens come together to explore contemporary issues while building valuable social emotional learning skills. Since its inception, Teen Reading Lounge has run in nearly 100 communities and engaged more than 1,000 youth in rural, urban, and suburban areas across the Commonwealth. A recent independent analysis by the Allegheny Intermediate Unit found that the program improved skills in high-need areas like communication, social awareness, and collaboration. Teens also self-report improvements in how they feel about books and express an increased interest in reading. The funds PHC provides cover program expenses and an outside facilitator -- a local professional with expertise in working with youth who can help library staff develop and run the program. Library staff also receive training in working with facilitators and teens to design a program that’s meaningful for their communities -- an approximate $35,000 investment of PHC staff and resources. “Words cannot express how excited we are to have been selected for Teen Reading Lounge,” said Jean Kosha, program coordinator at Upper Darby Municipal Library. “We are all looking forward to this youth driven initiative where teens are driving the bus and making decisions about what social justice topics we explore, the literature we'll read, and the activities we'll do to deepen our understanding of our world.” New and returning sites hosting Teen Reading Lounge in the 2019-2020 program year are listed below by county:   Beaver Laughlin Memorial Library B.F. Jones Memorial Library Berks Kutztown Community Library Muhlenberg Community Library       Blair     Hollidaysburg Area Public Library   Bradford Sayre Public Library (NEW)   Cambria Cambria County Library (NEW)   Delaware Upper Darby Municipal Branch Library (NEW)   Erie Erie County Public Library      McKean Bradford Area Public Library (NEW)   Northumberland  Priestley Forsyth Memorial Library     Philadelphia Free Library of Philadelphia:  Lillian Marrero (NEW) Free Library of Philadelphia:  Lucien E. Blackwell Branch Free Library of Philadelphia:  Parkway Central (NEW) Sunrise of South Philadelphia, Inc. (South Philadelphia High School) The Barbara and Edward Netter Center for Community Partnerships at The University of Pennsylvania (West Philadelphia High School)  Catholic Social Services (John W. Hallahan Catholic Girls High School)    Venango Franklin Public Library (NEW)   Warren Warren Library Association (NEW)   Westmoreland County Greensburg Hempfield Area Library (NEW)   Teen Reading Lounge is made possible by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Wolf, Governor. Additional support is provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities. As a key part of its prevention focus, The Philadelphia Department of Human Services provides financial support to operate the Philadelphia out-of-school-time pilot sites.    ---    About the Pennsylvania Humanities Council The Pennsylvania Humanities Council is an independent nonprofit partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities and part of a network of 56 state humanities councils that spans the nation and U.S. jurisdictions. We put the humanities in action to create positive change. We are passionate advocates, innovative program designers and strategic grantmakers. We lead a movement to champion and redefine the role the humanities play in our lives. We use the humanities to generate avenues for civic involvement and community development, and for youth and adults to strengthen skills for school, work and every day. Learn more at pahumanities.org.   Contact Dawn Frisby-Byers Senior Director of Content and Engagement 215.925.1005 ext. 124 dfbyers@pahumanities.org

University of Pennsylvania’s Veterans Upward Bound (Penn VUB) program held its 40th commencement ceremony on August 29th at Houston Hall on the Penn campus in Philadelphia. The program prepares area veterans for college through a rigorous academic curriculum that includes cultural and arts experiences funded by the Pennsylvania Humanities Council (PHC). The evening in the Bodek Lounge began with a catered dinner and a warm welcome from Penn VUB’s newly appointed director, Col. Kenneth M. DeTreux, USMC. “As the new director, this is my first VUB graduation and I now see first-hand the incredible impact the program makes on our students,” said DeTreux. “Their demonstrated commitment and dedication to successfully completing the program speaks to their self-determination and resiliency in their pursuit of post-secondary education and bettering their lives overall.” Many of the veterans in the program are first generation college students who are currently experiencing poverty or other life challenges. The training provided by Penn VUB builds important skills necessary to succeed academically, delivered within a supportive community of fellow veterans. The 40th commencement ceremony included a processional, students reflections, and the awarding of certificates. “VUB’s staff and faculty don’t walk ahead of you, nor behind you, they simply walk right beside you, every step of the way,” said Frank Lopez, Jr., one of the graduating veterans, in his commencement speech. "I’ve had so many amazing experiences at VUB but one of my fondest memories is when we took a trip to see two plays by August Wilson -- that will always stay with me,” said Lopez. For many participants, the PHC-supported trips to theaters and other cultural experiences are a first and provide context and insight to their studies. Pennsylvania Congressman Dwight Evans (PA-03) attended the ceremony, helping to pass out certificates and taking photos with the graduates and their guests. The veterans will now be going on to colleges throughout the region, including Chestnut Hill College, Temple University, and Community College of Philadelphia.   For a full gallery of photos, visit University of Pennyslvania's web site.   Related Content Penn Professor Helps Veterans “Confront Their Demons” In The City Of Bones The “Saving Grace” Of Penn VUB: Spotlight On Andre Williams For Philadelphia-Area Veterans, the Humanities Build Academic Skills--and a Path to Positive Change Veterans Honored At Penn VUB Graduation Ceremony Humanities Inspire Academic And Personal Growth In Philadelphia-Area Veterans  

Yep, it’s hard to draw young people to a book club or other program structured around the humanities -- and these programs can be hard to find despite a growing body of research suggesting that an environment where teens can feel safe to open up and have meaningful dialogue is vital to their social emotional learning.  But how do you create a program that is actually active, engaging, and sustainable?  In 2009, we worked with a team of education and humanities leaders to create Teen Reading Lounge as a way to answer that question. We’ve learned a lot since then, having expanded to almost 100 sites across Pennsylvania and winning an award or two along the way. We found that even in our distraction-filled world, young people are yearning for a deeper way to connect with each other through the humanities. Last year we released our Teen Reading Lounge Program Development Guide which sums up our approach and has useful advice for any youth program -- particularly those that engage with the humanities and youth of color. Our Teen Reading Lounge partners in libraries and schools are amazing and throughout the years have helped us to continually revise and update the program based on their experiences and feedback. This summer we did a short survey asking them for advice on how they’ve managed the enormous stumbling block of attracting, retaining , and engaging youth. Here’s what they told us... #1 - LET THEM LEAD (NO, REALLY.)  Teens not only desire to be heard, they want to be empowered to do something personally meaningful.  Research is finding that youth-led programs encourage a sense of personal ownership while building leadership and planning skills. “Let them lead, let them cocreate with you,” says Rosie Jacobson, youth facilitator at West Philadelphia High School. “Make the youth feel cool and part of the process.” “You need to make things real world applicable and involve community members,” advises Jamie Orth, youth worker at Laughlin Memorial  Library, Ambridge. Youth-led service projects are the perfect way to pass the reins and let young people make a difference and connect with their community. That’s why we hardwired civic engagement into our Teen Reading Lounge program.  Some examples: At Erie County Public Library, a group of teens, inspired by their book discussions, created “blessing bags” in the winter to help those in the area experiencing homelessness. At the Philadelphia City Institute (PCI) branch of the Free Library the teens created videos about gun violence and “fake news,” leading them to bravely interview the public in Rittenhouse Square about their opinions. Young women of color at John W. Hallahan Catholic Girls’ High School created a survival guide for new immigrants.   If you step back and let teens take the lead, you’ll be surprised at what they can do. We are! #2 - PROVIDE GOOD FOOD One thing we hear over and over again is that having high quality snacks and meals is the secret to keeping teens coming back.  “I cannot emphasize the importance of food -- eating it, making it -- in the process of comfort, socialization, discussion, distraction, friendship,” says Melanie Ramsey, Director of Children’s and Youth Services at Hollidaysburg Area Public Library. (Hollidaysburg happens to receive support from Benzel’s Bretzel Bakery, so they know good snacks.) That plastic bowl topped with dusty hard candy probably isn’t going to cut it. Ask your teens what they like to eat and see what you can do (with a careful eye to any allergy issues.) “They need to feed their bodies to feed their minds,” says Melissa Adams, Library Director at Muhlenberg Community Library. Adams notes that some young people are experiencing food scarcity issues, making those library snacks an important resource.  Food insecurity is linked to negative health, social-emotional, and behavioral issues -- something to think about next time you’re crunching numbers for your food budget. #3 - PROMOTE AND PARTNER Library staff and other youth workers are blackbelts at crafting catchy flyers and witty social media posts to promote their programs. But making sure your content gets seen by teens can be tricky. If young people don’t often visit your building or follow you on social media, all that work isn’t going to do much good -- and neither will an ad in the local print newspaper that few people under 40 are reading. You have to think outside your immediate location, going to where the teens are -- online or offline -- says Janet Yost, Director of Kutztown Community Library. “We have great success in promoting our youth programs through the school district,” she said. “One high school teacher had a display of our Teen Reading Lounge books which really helped boost our attendance.” Also important is reaching out to parents, guardians, teachers, education leaders, community organizations, business leaders, and elected officials. BF Jones Memorial Library in Aliquippa took their popular Teen Reading Lounge program to a neighboring organization that supports youth experiencing poverty. That partnership built relationships with young people from areas that weren’t previously being served and created a more diverse teen presence. Make sure your promotional materials are culturally inclusive and never forget rule #2:  “always, always promote snacks,” advises Tina Cunningham, youth facilitator for Hollidaysburg Area Public Library. #4 - JUDGE NOT Adults have been frustrated with young people since forever. “They think they know everything, and are always quite sure about it,” groaned Aristotle about those darn kids back in the 4th century BCE.  A quick way to make your youth program unpopular is to criticize, nag, cast judgment, and implement heavy handed rules. “Encourage them to be loud, to express their ideas, to be messy, and to be teens,” says Renee Roberts, Project Manager at Abington Community Library. Many young people also struggle with issues around identity and need freedom and support to discover who they are.  “Be open and welcoming,” says Kim King, Assistant to Director/Youth Services Coordinator at Priestley-Forsyth Memorial Library. “Don't judge young people based on their looks or habits. They are learning their place in society.” Renee Albertson, a youth worker also at Priestley-Forsyth Memorial Library, agrees. “Allow the teens to unapologetically be themselves without judgement!” #5 - GIVE THEM (THEIR OWN) SPACE If teen activities are relegated to an old conference room and they are shooed out after an hour for a meeting of the local Rotary club, their investment in that space will be minimal. They don’t just need space -- they need their own space. “You need to create a real space for the teens,” says Jacki Clark, Youth Services Coordinator, at Muhlenberg Community Library. “Ask them for help, let them know the library is theirs.” In 2019, the Erie County Public Library debuted a new $200,000 teen area at their Blasco branch. The space includes a laptop bar overlooking the bay, a performance stage, collaboration spaces, a teen book collection, and an Idea Lab Makerspace equipped with state of the art design hardware like 3D printers, sewing machines, and a vinyl cutter. The Teen Advisory Board was brought in as part of the design process, informing the adults about their needs. If you don’t have a couple hundred thousand dollars to build a new facility you can keep it simple. “Just provide a safe place, and be willing to meet their immediate needs,” says Jennifer Honess, Teen Reading Lounge facilitator at BF Jones Memorial Library. Not sure what those needs are? Ask them. Always make sure they are part of the process. #6 - FIND RELATABLE TEEN MENTORS A common movie plot is for someone to blow into town like Mary Poppins and mentor a local group of unruly youth. The teens resist at first but eventually respect is earned and they all go on to win some kind of championship. That’s Hollywood and not real life. A more likely hero for your teen program is going to come from your own community.  Molly Krichten, former youth coordinator at Bridgeville Public Library, says finding the right staff is key to successfully engaging youth and it needs to be “people they see out in the community… people who treat kids with dignity and respect.” This is especially important for youth of color who are building their ethnic-racial identity, a key component in their developmental growth. Researchers like Shawn Ginwright have written extensively on why mentors that understand, reflect, and respect the experiences of youth of color can have a more positive impact on their development. Teens will value mentors who are invested in their local community and care about their well-being -- people they can trust and have quality time to spend with them. #7 - MAKE IT FUN If you’re striking out pulling out the same tired board games week after week, it could be time to rethink things. Teens have access to endless entertainment options and a host of competing after-school programs. If you’re not offering something that can go toe-to-toe against Fortnite and Snapchat, it is going to be a challenge to attract new people. “Go places, do things, engage, talk, and be open,” says Renee Albertson, youth worker at Priestley-Forsyth Memorial Library.  Try to make creative connections to their interests: Have a group of die-hard gamers? Incorporate video games.  Reading The Hunger Games series? Head out to an archery range.  Are they into music? Visit a recording studio and hold a poetry slam.   Take field trips, invite speakers, go out to eat, and find new experiences. There are endless ways to apply the humanities in a fun and engaging way that are only limited by your group’s imagination (and your budget.) #8 - BE PATIENT So, you did your homework and promoted the heck out of your new youth program. You’ve got a dedicated teen space all ready with some great snacks and a decent budget ready for some exciting activities. And on your big opening day… two teens show up, one walks out. Ugh. First, know that bigger isn’t always better. We’ve found that smaller discussion groups can sometimes be the most rewarding for both young people and the adults working with them. If you still think your group isn’t up to size and your promotional game is strong, sometimes the best advice is to be patient. “Allow for slow growth,” suggests Jo Bradley, site director at John W. Hallahan Catholic Girls’ High School. She says that even with a smaller group, there will be an abundance of activity options.  Authentic community doesn’t spring up overnight and if you’ve created an engaging and fun environment with some good snacks (remember rule #2?), word will get out. #9 - TRUST THE HUMANITIES At the Pennsylvania Humanities Council we know the humanities and have witnessed their incomparable power to transform people and places -- not only from our work with Teen Reading Lounge but through our other programs and initiatives. Through Chester Made and Community Heart & Soul we've leveraged arts, culture, and the stories of everyday people to make meaningful change and challenge old narratives. Our support of Veterans Upward Bound provides college-bound Pennsylvania veterans opportunities for exciting cultural experiences and deep dialogue that are helping them deal with the injuries of war. Trust that the humanities can work for you and the youth you serve too.  “The humanities make teens better equipped to understand each other and themselves,” says Trenton Bankert, youth facilitator at Guthrie Memorial Library. “Through the humanities, they connect to other people’s stories, feelings, and experiences.” “When we feel broken or angry or sad, the humanities remind us that we’re not alone in those feelings, and that we can work through them. It gives us hope that the way things are now isn’t the way they always have to be, and encourages us to explore the boundaries of who we are. And when growing up, sometimes that is the best lesson you can ever learn.”   ***   If you’re a youth worker and have a good suggestion on building an active, engaging humanities-based youth program, we want to hear it! Share this story on social media, tag us, and include #TRL. Want to learn more about engaging youth? You can download our Teen Reading Lounge Program Development Guide, check out out PSAYDN's resource page, and read the YALSA/ALA Teen Programming Guidelines. Do you recommend any other resources? Let us know in the comments!   Teen Reading Lounge is made possible by Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) funds from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services administered by the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, Department of Education, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Wolf, Governor.  The views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this website do not necessarily represent those of the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services or the Department of Education, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Additional support is provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities, generous individuals, foundations, and corporations.  

With the relaxed bustle of a weekend barbeque, teens bottlenecked the first floor of a West Philly rowhome once owned by the late Paul Robeson, famed African American athlete, performer, and civil rights advocate. His face beamed at the crowd from photos and exhibits as enthused students held up poster board presentations and chatted with peers and adults about ideas for start-ups and their recent internship experiences. Steaming plates of tacos, beans and rice made the perilous journey from chafing dishes on the front porch through the happy melee to seats in the rear of the house.  This “Internship Finale” brought together those hardy youth who completed Teen Reading Lounge at West Philadelphia High School. The out-of-school time (OST) program held regular meetings on campus but also had a four-hour weekly internship component -- a challenge to balance with all the demands of school and life. The capstone celebration at the Paul Robeson House was a day for project presentations, sharing work experiences, and some well-deserved recognition. The students were part of a new twist on Pennsylvania Humanities Council’s Teen Reading Lounge program. At over 80 sites across the state, the program’s model has focused on young people deeply discussing both traditional and contemporary literature, inspiring creative and civic engagement projects. Youth experiencing poverty in both rural and urban communities have had a particularly strong connection to the experience. The Netter Center for Community Partnerships at the University of Pennsylvania wanted to take that approach and try something a little different at West Philadelphia High School.   Instead of focusing on Young Adult novels, comic books, and other literature, the teens dug into the New York Times business section, debated the ethics of soda tax regulations, and watched inspiring TED Talks. Deep, engaging discussions were still there but the creative projects were focused on business or social entrepreneurship plans and there was an added internship experience at a local business. "I have been working in nonprofit education in Philadelphia for about 10 years and haven't seen this type of partnership," said Joseph Brand, Sayre University-Assisted Community School Site Director for the Netter Center for Community Partnerships. "It gives students an opportunity to not only create projects that build 21st century soft and hard skills through humanities, but also connects those skills to the real world -- I think that is amazing." With the support and guidance of the Pennsylvania Humanities Council, the core humanities spirit of Teen Reading Lounge remained in place: reflective conversations and engagement with ideas and stories were still key to the experience. Best practices for effective youth development were also in place. This wasn’t the first time Teen Reading Lounge has been used as a platform to develop workforce skills. Carla Christopher, former York City poet laureate, worked with Martin Memorial Library in 2015 to develop a program that built entrepreneurial skills. But the incorporation of an internship experience was new. “This was a fresh approach to Teen Reading Lounge,” said Jen Danifo, senior program officer at the Pennsylvania Humanities Council. “Not only did it allow participants to build skills employers cite as essential to a well-rounded job force, it allowed the young people to unpack their own experiences on the job and explore possible next steps for future careers.”  A recent independent analysis of Teen Reading Lounge by the Allegheny Intermediate Unit found that nearly 75% of youth participating in the program reported improvement with communication, social awareness, and collaboration -- skills identified by the U.S. Department of Labor as needed by young people in order to be successful in the new economy. Because of Teen Reading Lounge’s knack for building high-demand “soft skills,” executive director Laurie Zierer says the Pennsylvania Humanities Council is interested in continuing to explore the possibilities of future workforce development applications.  “We are excited by the potential,” Zierer said. Alexandra Garney, an Americorps VISTA volunteer, was part of the group selected by the Netter Center to facilitate the program, along with Rosie Jacobson, Netter Center Facilitator and Education Specialist and Lucas Vanarthos, Netter Center Facilitator. Margaret Zhang assisted with curriculum creation as a Netter Center Silverman Fellow. Garney says that she wasn’t much of a fan of the humanities back when she was in school but this experience has put things in a new light. “If there had been programs like this I would have been a lot more excited about it,” said Garney. “The students had an opportunity to have a real world application of the humanities.” Brandon Sampson-Brown, a 10th grader at West Philadelphia High School, is one of those students. Teen Reading Lounge helped him land a dream internship at Toyota, an experience that supports his career goal of becoming a mechanical engineer. He says he learned a lot about airbag safety and got hands-on with the inner workings of the office.  Sampson-Brown credits the program for providing a supportive environment to build skills he says he will need when he heads into the workforce. “It helped me with speaking and helped me with my writing,” he said. “I appreciate Teen Reading Lounge because everyone is so positive -- Miss Alexandra talked to us like a peer.” The weekly Teen Reading Lounge meet-ups had included fun ice-breakers, discussions about justice in the workplace, writing and reading assignments, internship reflections, and some traditional humanities fare. The group read Robert Frost and Malala, an Afghan novelist and Nobel Laureate. They listened to music from John Cage and the French pianist Christophe Chassol.   This approach provided opportunities to think about the working world in new ways, providing a greater appreciation for context and the range of human experience. “Students were able to think deeply about the concepts that we were learning about through a variety of different mediums,” said facilitator Garney. “Sometimes the practical experience of an internship is too practical and doesn’t allow for the in-depth learning and reflection of the humanities.” Site Director Brand says it was the engaging conversations and hands-on experiences that helped keep the teens interested and coming back week after week -- not an easy task for some OST programs. “We were able to maintain a consistent group,” said Brand. “The ability to apply what they are learning to real world experiences has really helped bridge some challenges that we would have had with retention in some of our other programs.” There were no signs of retention challenges at the packed Internship Finale. The smells of Latin American food on the porch of the Paul Robeson House beckoned students and guests inside to hear about the final projects and talk about internship experiences.  There were some understandable jitters about presenting the projects. “At first I was really, really nervous because I didn’t know what was going to happen,” said Sampson-Brown. “After people started talking to me I felt pretty good.” His final project was called “Nothing But Net,” a 3x3 basketball program designed to provide an outlet for kids in his neighborhood. “Where I’m from, the teens smoke, they do bad stuff, but I know a lot of them like to play basketball,” said Sampson-Brown. “If they play basketball and do positive things, they probably won’t do that bad stuff.” The projects aren’t just imaginative. Sampson-Brown has obtained funding for the idea from Rebel Ventures, a youth-driven healthy food business supported by the Netter Center, along with another donor who was inspired by his presentation, to do the tournament at a YMCA this summer. Other projects included business startups, like a chic cupcake bakery, as well as creative nonprofit ventures. Indya Fields came up with The N2KO, or The Need to Know Organization. She wants to build bridges to people who feel isolated or trapped in their lives. “The N2KO was created to give people in the shadows a voice,” she said. Presentation time came to an end when Garney and Brand invited everyone to the rear of the Paul Robeson House for the final ceremony. The faces of young people lit up as Garney called each student up to the front and detailed their accomplishments while Brand handed them an oversized envelope with a certificate of completion from the Netter Center. The farewell address was delivered by Vernoca Michael, Director of the Paul Robeson House, member of the Netter Center Community Advisory Board, and niece of Paul Robeson. "My counselor told me that the only thing I could do was work with my hands, on the floor scrubbing someone's floors. But then I was accepted into Harvard and MIT and went on to do my grad work after that,” she said to a big applause from the teens. “You can do it.” --- Thank you to the Netter Center, who helped with the creation of this article. Learn more about the Netter Center’s comprehensive University-Assisted Community Schools (UACS) program, which brings academic, human, and material resources from Penn to schools during the school day, after school, and in the summer: https://www.nettercenter.upenn.edu/what-we-do/programs/university-assisted-community-schools   

In 2010, a 7-inch long LEGO® space shuttle rocketed out of Earth’s atmosphere aboard the Discovery, a tiny plastic symbol of the big, new partnership between The LEGO Group and NASA and their shared effort to bring science education to a new generation of young people. Uncommon alliances between expressly different organizations, like a space agency and a toy manufacturer, can happen at those curious places where missions dovetail. Think: Burger King and Mental Health America, Hyundai and Prada, and UNICEF and Target. The Pennsylvania Humanities Council’s (PHC’s) partnership with the Vermont-based Orton Family Foundation looks similarly implausible at first glance. The latter was founded in 1995 by Lyman Orton of the Vermont Country Store, and is best known for creating the Community Heart & Soul model of community development. State humanities councils are traditionally focused on giving grants for cultural events and to historical societies, art centers, libraries, and other local groups. “At first we thought it was a bit of a head-scratcher,” said David Leckey, executive director of the Orton Family Foundation. “Why would a humanities council want to work with a nonprofit focused on community development, like comprehensive plans and downtown plans?” The path to the unusual relationship was paved by PHC’s strategic shift towards civic engagement and education initiatives in 2013. “We decided to take the humanities back to their classical roots, connecting the pursuit of knowledge to action,” said Laurie Zierer, PHC’s executive director.  “We wanted to change the conversation about the humanities, demonstrating that they are relevant to everyday people for making change in their communities and building up assets and relationships.”  Since joining forces, PHC and the Orton Family Foundation have brought the Community Heart & Soul model to small towns and cities across Pennsylvania -- with more on the way. Everyday people are coming together to participate in the life of their community at local events.  They are sharing their stories and hopes, helping to steer planning and development efforts towards more inclusivity. In Carlisle, Heart & Soul volunteers re-discovered an historic African American church, leading to a preservation effort that has rallied the community together. In Williamsport, city officials are relying on the shared values developed during storytelling workshops to guide planning efforts. Pennsylvanians are starting to feel their voice actually matters and that they are empowered to make a real difference. The two organizations found common ground in the model’s emphasis on involving everyone, especially those who are often missing or overlooked in community conversations, to shape their community’s future. “Our missions were similar,” said Zierer. “We both wanted stronger, healthier, more vibrant towns. Community Heart & Soul has a large story-gathering component and that aligned with our humanities work.” After its initial strategic shift, PHC began branching out into applied humanities work, most visibly with its successful Chester Made arts and culture based community revitalization program in the city of Chester. At the time, one of PHC’s consultants for its Civic Engagement grant program suggested contacting the Orton Family Foundation to learn more about their storytelling-based community development approach. The recommendation was prescient. Fast forward to 2015 and the board of the Orton Family Foundation were on a plane en route to Pennsylvania to develop a strategic plan and a vision for how to work with PHC. It was a rare moment for both sides.  “I was amazed how quickly they bonded, how quickly they spoke the same language,” said Leckey. “From then on, when we speak about the Pennsylvania Humanities Council, my board intimately knows the people, the effort to structure the missions that we both share together.” Staff from PHC later journeyed to Vermont and have since joined together for regular meetings, trainings, and site visits. Zierer and Leckey have a monthly scheduled phone call and program staff are in almost daily communication. “As I was putting budgets together for my board, I called Laurie and said, ‘You know, as I’m looking at our travel budgets I’m thinking about just opening up an office in Pennsylvania because it will be cheaper for me,’” joked Leckey. “The benefit of working with Laurie is how well-connected she is.” "Together we leveraged each other’s strengths and collective talents,” said Zierer. “We were able to cross sectors and form new partnerships and new funding collaborations -- it opened doors for us.” The remarkable synergy has piqued the interest of humanities organizations in other states and at the national level. Zierer and Leckey were asked to share insights about their partnership in a highly attended Humanities Council Master Class webinar organized by the National Endowment for the Humanities,  PA: Forging Strategic Partnerships. But there were challenges too. Boards needed to be convinced. The case for the partnership needed to be made to funders and communities. Co-branding had to be ironed out. All are issues that both organizations look at as learning opportunities.  “We’ve learned to let go of some of the control we thought we needed,” said Leckey. “Our program and our approach is even better by making sure that we’re conscious of how much we think it has got to be done our way instead of the way best for communities in Pennsylvania.” For Zierer, it is all about the bigger picture of changing the conversation around the humanities, positioning them as something relevant to everyday people to make meaningful changes in their communities. “As a state humanities council we are the voice for the humanities in Pennsylvania,” said Zierer. “We see our programs, particularly Heart & Soul, as a way to demonstrate the difference they can make. With our work with Orton, people are seeing themselves -- and their stories -- as the very fabric of their communities, and they are building the humanities skills, ability, and motivation to make a difference.”  The curious partnership between Pennsylvania Humanities Council and the Orton Family Foundation may not have resulted in anything so dramatic as rocketing a LEGO shuttle into space (yet). But by helping communities tell their stories, uncover lost history, and articulate new visions for the future, they are showing Pennsylvania residents how to reach for the stars. Related Content Pennsylvania Heart & Soul Communities Orton Family Foundation Chester Made

Ogden, Twin Oaks, Boothwyn -- these Pennsylvania neighborhoods are distinctive enough that some of their residents are not even aware that they are all part of Upper Chichester township (Delaware County.) Judy Stang, an Upper Chichester Heart & Soul volunteer, recently found herself having to explain to skeptical students at a Chichester High School job fair that they were indeed part of the community. “We educated those students,” said Stang, shaking her head. “That’s why we need Heart and Soul, to get people in the community to understand that they belong.” Upper Chichester Heart & Soul is a local organization supported by the Pennsylvania Humanities Council using the Orton Family Foundation’s Community Heart & Soul method of civic engagement. It has a grassroots, humanities-based approach, looking to residents to identify their own needs and values rather than receiving something prescriptive from others. Carefully listening to the stories and ideas of residents is key to the process. Across the country, Heart & Soul communities are bringing people together, building connections and partnerships, with needed investment and growth in tow.  Sometimes, the stories themselves yield surprises. In Mt. Holly Springs, near Carlisle, an historic African American church was discovered by Greater Carlisle Heart & Soul volunteers during the story-gathering process, leading to a headline-grabbing preservation effort that has rallied the community together. Uncovering that lost history was made possible through deliberate efforts to bring all voices to the table, something especially important in diverse communities like Upper Chichester. “I think there could be some surprises because we’re going to be interviewing so many people,” said David Schreiber, a 14 year resident and Heart & Soul volunteer. “Every group has something to contribute, its own unique culture and heritage.” So far Upper Chichester Heart & Soul has held community forums, a career fair, and workshops. As it moves into the next phase of the process a team of trained volunteers will begin to collect stories. Although the groundwork is just being laid, volunteers are already seeing momentum. “I’ve seen people that have participated in the program thus far get excited by what they’re seeing,” said Reverend William M. Irons Jr. of St. Matthew CME Church. “They tell another person about what’s going on and another.” Hannah Hinkle, a library assistant at the Upper Chichester Library, is also optimistic. “It’s going to revitalize the town,” she said. “We’re on the right path with that –- it’s exciting.”  Residents are stepping up to help from all areas the township, drawn together by their shared love of their community. Agnes Tillery and Diane Henson are volunteers living in the neighborhood of Twin Oaks and have been friends for 74 years. They were together 1st through 12th grade, graduating in the first class of the Chichester Senior High School in 1963.  “We love Upper Chi, that’s why we joined Heart and Soul,” said Tillery. “We want to make sure that our community is involved.” “And what we can do to help,” added Henson.  Having taken on the role as chairman of Upper Chichester Heart & Soul, Judy Stang is not shy about admitting that the process is a lot of work, especially in a world with so many competing distractions -- but she sees change. “We have become such a society of go in, shut the door, get on your cell phone… but not get out and start to talk to neighbors,” said Stang. “Now people are starting to talk to each other.” A recent Heart & Soul event called “A Real Conversation About the Future of Upper Chichester” put an exclamation point on community networking. A facilitator mixed the residents up into small groups and tasked them with answering questions on poster papers affixed to the walls of the municipal building conference room. “What would you miss in Upper Chi if it wasn’t here?” one poster asked. “If you could have one wish for this community, what would it be?” asked another. As they moved from poster to poster, residents in the small, diverse groups opened up and shared their hopes and dreams for Upper Chichester with those they might not normally speak to -- and they listened to each other. Reverend Irons says the members of his mostly African American church are starting to feel as though community leaders are finally hearing their concerns and that’s inspiring them to get more involved.  “I love that people want to participate and have a voice,” said Irons. “It’s really about empowering people -- when people are empowered then they really will pick the ball up, so to speak, and run with it.” To learn more about Upper Chichester Heart & Soul visit their website and Facebook page. Related Content Upper Chichester Heart & Soul Volunteers Gather For Intensive Storytelling Training Upper Chichester Heart & Soul Community Profile Pennsylvania Heart & Soul Communities  

Walking into the crowded conference room and seeing Dr. Herman Beavers, professor of English and Africana Studies, listening intently to a student interpret the meaning of a play, you would be excused for thinking you stumbled into any typical humanities class on a Friday afternoon at the University of Pennsylvania. But this classroom, squeezed above a Ben & Jerry’s ice cream shop in a nondescript building on South 40th Street, is special. Conversations take place here that don't often happen anywhere else on campus.  Courage to confront the past The students are veterans enrolled in University of Pennsylvania’s Veterans Upward Bound (Penn VUB), a college preparatory program with cultural experiences supported by the Pennsylvania Humanities Council. The mostly African American group are older than other students on campus and many have grappled with addiction and housing insecurity. They are looking to open up new career opportunities through higher education like any other college-hopefuls but are distinguished by their rich and complicated lives -- lives that lend to unusually powerful discussions. “When you add in the range of experiences of both men and women, who have developed a perspective on how the world works -- a perspective that may have been reached via the loss of self-respect, alienation from family, and finding the courage to confront their demons -- it makes for incredibly enlightening conversation,” said Beavers. The day’s topic featured an examination of Gem of the Ocean, August Wilson’s unflinching play about African American life in Pittsburgh at the dawn of the 20th century. The story is a personal one for Beavers whose own family migrated to Pittsburgh from South Carolina in 1945. He has written and lectured extensively about Wilson and teaches a community service course at Penn based on his plays.  “We Have Value” The group of about a dozen veterans walked into the room primed for a discussion. Really primed. In the weeks prior they read and discussed the script and then caught a performance at The Arden Theater. For some, Penn VUB provided their first live theater experience. “[It] added a deeper connection to the story than reading the play alone,” said Lashay, one of the veterans. “I thought it was amazing how the play was still relevant to issues being faced today.” “It became personally emotional,” said John, another veteran, who said the performance brought rare clarity to some issues he was struggling with. When Dr. Beavers arrived to the classroom, he had little time to take his seat before the discussion dived deep into the meaning of ‘citizenship’ for freed slaves. “We share a common human condition,” said one veteran. “We too experience what white people experience. We too have a family. We have value.” “What does it mean to own yourself?” Beavers questioned back. “To know oneself, to know one’s value as a human being, and being able to proclaim that and live it!” someone called out to nods and sounds of approval. Coltrane Throughout the discussion, Beavers reminded the class that he never asks rhetorical questions. He was not delivering a one-sided traditional lecture, rather it was a creative exercise everyone was invited to take part in. “I try very hard to engage in active listening, which means pulling out things that flip a switch for me and trying to build on it,” said Beavers. “That way, the group -- all of us -- feel like we’ve built something together.” What was built had the free flowing feel of a Coltrane record. Voices rose and fell, heady theories gave way to personal stories -- with the occasional syncopation of humor and bald honesty. “I destroyed my family because of my alcoholism,” someone admitted. “Like Citizen Barlow who went to the City of Bones, I’ve had to reconcile with the faces of my own past.” In the play, the mythical City of Bones is the destination for the legendary slave ship, Gem of the Ocean. The character Citizen Barlow makes a spiritual pilgrimage there with Aunt Ester as his shamanic guide, allowing him a revelatory vision of his people’s ancestral journey to America and insight into the terrible crime he committed. In the James Ijames directed performance at The Arden Theater, this scene burst to life as the whole theater flashed and rumbled, beckoning the dramatic transformation of the set into a colonial slave ship. At centerstage, water cascaded onto a chained, sobbing Citizen Barlow while the haunting silhouettes of African slaves lined the outside of the hull and the cast intoned solemn hymns. Vivid details from Gem of the Ocean were recalled and discussed by the group again and again -- the play struck at the heart of their lived experiences. “The performers brought life, dimension, and action,” said Charles, who before the play said he knew little about the lives of African Americans in this era. “I learned that I need to pursue more knowledge about my ancestry and culture.” Engaging veterans in deep humanities discussions is gaining national traction. Initiatives supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities and other organizations are providing resources for veterans to talk more openly about their past experiences and, in the case of Penn VUB, provide a springboard to college success. “Through our support of University of Pennsylvania’s Veterans Upward Bound program we’ve seen the transformative power of the humanities for those who served in the military,” said Laurie Zierer, executive director of the Pennsylvania Humanities Council. “The humanities provide a valuable tool to help veterans deal with the lasting injuries of war.” New beginnings For his last question to the class, Beavers, who stayed far longer than he had scheduled, asked, “What have we talked about today?” After a pause, one of the older men spoke up. “We’re still fighting the same battles, the same wars. We have to stay the course in order to make it better for the ones coming behind us.” “You’re not on this journey alone,” said another. “There’s been many before you. You have to reach out and help people along the way.” Beavers smiled. “This has renewed my sense of optimism about what we do as educators,” he said. “This is clean. This is pristine. This is magnificent. I don’t have enough adjectives to describe how this afternoon has been.” “New beginnings have to be clean,” he concluded.   Do you want to go, Mr. Citizen? Do you want to get your soul washed? Listen to what I tell you. We gonna go to the City of Bones tonight but first you got to get ready. I want you to go and take a bath. Get scrubbed real good. -- Aunt Ester in Gem of the Ocean by August Wilson     Related Content The “Saving Grace” Of Penn VUB: Spotlight On Andre Williams For Philadelphia-Area Veterans, the Humanities Build Academic Skills--and a Path to Positive Change Veterans Honored At Penn VUB Graduation Ceremony Humanities Inspire Academic And Personal Growth In Philadelphia-Area Veterans

We love libraries. Through Teen Reading Lounge (TRL), our award-winning reading and civic engagement club for youth, and through partnerships with state and local library organizations, the staff here at PHC have seen firsthand how vital libraries are to communities across Pennsylvania. Every year we are fortunate enough to visit libraries in all corners of the state. We meet their staff and patrons, talk to their young people, and witness how their programming is transforming lives and making positive change in the broader community.  Someone who has put in many miles traveling to libraries is our Senior Program Officer, Jen Danifo. She works closely with libraries to implement Teen Reading Lounge and provides training and technical support. Her work at PHC is rooted in the belief that the humanities can be powerful force for positive youth development and community change -- and that libraries are the perfect place to put the humanities into action. In celebration of National Library Week, we sat down with Jen to get her thoughts about Pennsylvania libraries, how they’re adapting to change, how they’re engaging with youth, and their important contributions to youth development.  What do you love about Pennsylvania’s libraries? I’ve visited many PA libraries in my time here at PHC, and hands down it’s the people I love the most. The staff of our PA libraries are so dedicated, creative, and caring. I’m always amazed at how much they can accomplish and how much they love the communities they work in. I also love how libraries are committed to making organizational adjustments in response to the way our world is changing. Libraries aren’t just about books and circulation anymore. The work we’ve done with libraries on our Teen Reading Lounge program has helped bring a lot of these changes to the surface. Libraries are thinking through things like how to engage with diversifying communities and how to be more inclusive and equitable.  It’s not easy work, but necessary if they are to continue to thrive.   Can you give some examples of how PHC works with libraries to become more aware of community changes? The recognition that our communities are changing and that libraries have to adjust to be better community partners is vital. You can’t just jump to programming first. PHC really believes that organizations have to make a considerable effort to understand who lives and works in their communities. We work with libraries that are committed to this as well. For example, one of the first steps we take with our Teen Reading Lounge grantees is to ask them to create a community network map. We ask them to look at the demographics of their community and service area. They think about the different kinds of young people in their community and where they gather (or don’t gather). They consider community partners and individuals who can help them reach or build relationships with youth. They think about income and family structures and other context that helps them understand a young person’s experience. This ensures they are being guided by the context and need, that they have a larger purpose and are more intentional with programs. This first step also helps libraries build their knowledge about the community and how it could be changing. How will they adjust? What partnerships might they have to build to reach different kinds of youth? They also do quite a bit of self-reflection and explore how they and their organization can be a champion of missing and hidden voices that may be present in the community but aren’t being engaged. As many libraries begin to shift towards more of a community center model, the network mapping exercise either highlights what they already know about the community or fills in gaps about what they don’t. We're seeing libraries make this shift and as a result engagement with youth is more meaningful and programs are more intentional and relevant. How can libraries better engage with youth? In our experience with TRL, we’ve seen that first and foremost youth want a safe and welcoming place to gather and trusted adults who will meet them where they are. In many communities they can be locked out of public spaces because of biases and preconceived notions about who they are and how they’ll behave. Imagine what kind of an effect that has on a young person’s confidence and personal development. Youth want what everyone wants: they want to tell their story, they want to be heard and they want to feel supported as they try to process what’s happening in their lives. Think of a time when you felt valued, respected, and supported. What contributed to that experience? Replicate that for your young people and I promise you, it’ll make a difference. Many libraries are learning that the more they create space for youth to take the lead and drive activities, the better the experience is for everyone. The old model of adults taking the lead and telling youth what to do needs to be replaced with something more youth-driven. We’ve learned that working in collaboration with youth yields better relationships and they’ll stay engaged if they feel like they are appreciated. What role should young people play in a library? Youth should play all the roles! Seriously, what can’t they do? We’ve seen them plan programs, do outreach, promote, and run programs. I honestly think there is no limit to the roles youth can play in the library. I’d like to see more young people on library boards, though. I’d like to see them have more of a chance to build leadership skills, learn how an organization runs and have influence on policy and procedures. If they are the future of our communities, why can’t we start now?  Why are the humanities -- and libraries -- so important to positive youth development? For some reason we’ve convinced ourselves that personal growth and development is only for the elite, that it can only happen in certain spaces, and that it needs to look a certain way for it to be valid or of good quality. I push back on all of those things, and challenge us to make the humanities a part of every young person’s developmental and educational experience – and to be open to the ways in which youth will change our perspectives about what the humanities should look like. This is important to development because this is how we signal to young people that they are cherished and valued. When we start to tell youth their contribution isn’t good enough or try to dictate what they are and aren’t capable of, we’re marginalizing their experiences and lives, which erodes their self-worth. The earlier this erosion begins, the more damaging it can be. The beauty of the humanities is that there is room for every story and experience. The humanities help us better understand ourselves and our worlds and there’s no limit to what that can look like.  Showing youth that they have a place in the larger story, that they can contribute to their communities, can have a profound impact on their development and self-worth. Libraries are a catalyst for this work. They don’t have to follow the “rules” of some of our more traditional learning partners and that can be very freeing for both the staff and the young people. All of this work is about making our communities stronger by enhancing the assets of the individual. In my opinion that’s one of the most beneficial things a library does; libraries are actively supporting learning, self-reflection, and critical-thinking -- and preparing youth to positively contribute to community life. If that isn’t a reason to love libraries, what is? *** Teen Reading Lounge is made possible by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Wolf, Governor. Additional support is provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities, generous individuals, foundations, and corporations. Related Content Teen Reading Lounge Program Info Building Social Emotional Learning In Youth Through Humanities Centered Activities Berks County Library Expands Youth Leadership Opportunities With Teen Reading Lounge How A Philadelphia Librarian Created A Thriving Community Of Teens Teen Reading Lounge Inspires Healthier Model For Dialogue, Nurtures Empathy Teens Build Social Skills, Process Tragedy At Teen Reading Lounge Group In Northumberland This YA Novel Sparked A Project To Help Erie’s Homeless Population

“It wasn’t easy for her to go to school because people yelled at her and threw things at her and called her names,” said 15 year old Tynaria of civil rights activist Ruby Bridges, who was the first African American student to attend an all-white public school in the South in 1960. Tynaria spoke softly about her admiration for Bridges into a microphone connected to mobile podcast recording equipment along with her friend, Miracle. Dwan Walker, mayor of Aliquippa, sat across the table and listened. “She fights for what she wants,” Miracle told Walker. “I would be terrified walking in a school of people who aren’t like me.” The teens had spent the weeks prior to the recording alongside peers in their Teen Reading Lounge group, a reading and civic engagement club created by the Pennsylvania Humanities Council, discussing books about prominent African American figures in honor of Black History Month.  Working together they created trifold presentations and prepared anxiously for the culminating event: creating podcasts and showcasing their work to community leaders at BF Jones Memorial Library. “They were really nervous about the presentations but once the day came that all went away,” said Kristen Janci, Youth Services Librarian.  BF Jones Memorial Library has been making a concerted effort to foster community dialogue and bring a diversity of people to the table in a region working hard to reinvent itself and reconcile with its past. Engaging youth in innovative ways has been a key part of that effort -- and it has been working. After listening to their presentation, Walker, who was elected Aliquippa’s first African American mayor in 2012, told Tynaria and Miracle that they were stronger and braver than they know. He commended them for their interest in the civil rights movement, connecting it to their own community's history. “Back in the day they had twelve schools in Aliquippa, twelve schools, and they segregated you by ethnicity and by race,” Walker told them. “Where you lived on each plan dictated which school you went to -- imagine that.”  A Wounded Community “There are past wounds,” said Ann Andrews, director of BF Jones Memorial Library. “Unfortunately, because of poverty and some past issues in Aliquippa we deal with a stigma.” That stigma has its roots in a long history of segregation going back to Aliquippa’s development as a company town by Jones and Laughlin Steel Corporation in the early 20th century. As workers poured into the area looking for decent paying jobs, they were separated by race and ethnicity into different neighborhoods. The high demand for US steel led to a period of great prosperity for Aliquippa but when that demand eventually began to dry up it had a crippling effect on the economy. By the 1980s, the last remnants of the steel industry closed shop, leading to increasing blight and abandonment. In 1987, the city was declared a “distressed community” by the state under Act 47, citing a “continually deteriorating financial and economic picture.” The jobs were gone but racial and socioeconomic divisions remained, further strained by the downturn. Aliquippa, once considered the ideal place to raise a family, struggled to adjust to a new economic reality -- one that didn’t include Big Steel.  Bridging Time and Place The BF Jones Memorial Library, colloquially known as the “crown jewel” of Aliquippa, exists as a bridge between time and place. Built in 1927 in the Renaissance Revival style, it features vaulted ceilings, a limestone facade, solid mahogany and brass doors, and intricate woodwork throughout. The exquisite attention to detail reflects the immense wealth of the library’s namesake, steel tycoon Benjamin Franklin Jones, whose lifesize bronze statue greets visitors in the foyer. The building’s opulence is a conspicuous bridge to the community’s once mighty past, when the library catered to a more affluent population.   Many of today’s patrons, drawn from communities throughout the region, face issues of economic insecurity and are looking for more than just book lending. In response, the library has added services like resume workshops, flu shots, and classes that bolster job skills. “We have a very diverse population that use the library,” said Andrews. “People in the community are really attracted to our services.” The programming has been especially appealing to young people. The library pulls students from four school districts: Aliquippa, Hopewell, Central Valley, and South Side. Each district’s population is demographically distinct and the library is actively bringing together families that wouldn’t otherwise meet. They are lured by the special events, activities, a large young adult book collection, and, of course, free afterschool snacks. “It’s great to bring the kids together,” said Andrews. “Whatever happened in the past or whatever people are struggling with, this is now. That is invaluable.”  Last fall, the library added to the momentum by creating a new media lab that helps young people express their creativity and build technical skills in digital media production. BF Jones Memorial Library takes its role as a bridge between disparate communities seriously, continually doing outreach, experimenting with scheduling, developing new programs, and helping to build a stronger community. This focus on community development is something libraries across the country are embracing. American Library Association President Loida Garcia-Febo recently suggested that the public needs to recognize libraries as places that build strong communities, not just as depositories for books. “They support community engagement and the delivery of new services that connect closely with patrons’ needs,” she said.  Youth Take the Lead One program on BF Jones’ roster that’s having growing appeal is Teen Reading Lounge, the popular youth-directed reading and civic engagement club. Started in 2015, it has expanded to three groups representing young people from throughout the Aliquippa area. The teens gather to read books together, discuss important issues raised in their discussions, and then find ways to put the humanities into action to benefit the community. “Teen Reading Lounge provides important resources and an effective way to engage youth -- something really solid,” said Andrews. The teens that took part in the podcasting event were at a group organized off-site at Aliquippa Impact, a nearby nonprofit serving at-risk youth. When Kristen Janci first reached out to the nonprofit to bring their kids to the library there were transportation issues, so she decided to roll up her sleeves and bring Teen Reading Lounge to them, facilitating it herself. Mary Getz, Cohort Coordinator at Aliquippa Impact, is grateful for the outreach by the library and says the program is creating opportunities that would otherwise not be provided to their youth. “One of the ways that young people learn to create change is by finding their voice and using it to tell their story,” said Getz. “Teen Reading Lounge helps our students cultivate important skills to do just that by creating positive dialogue around subjects that are important to them.” Janci says she just wanted to make sure underserved populations had the opportunity to benefit from the library and Teen Reading Lounge was the right approach for that. “There’s a community aspect to it; we welcome everyone in and make them feel like family,” she said. “That appeals to a diverse group.”  The library is one of more than 80 Teen Reading Lounge sites across the state that have been sponsored by the Pennsylvania Humanities Council since 2010. Core to the program are the civic projects inspired by the teens’ humanities discussions. These could be simple acts of service, or in the case of the youth at BF Jones, large scale events like last year’s blockbuster community carnival. The Teen Reading Lounge group had read books about young people who made a difference and discussed how they could honor local heroes in the Aliquippa area. They came up with the idea of a community carnival with a human rights theme, inviting nearby groups and people that were making a difference. The event’s popularity surprised everyone. People from the surrounding areas flocked to the library to talk to the community groups, eat food, play games, and mingle.  “We hadn’t done anything like that before, never on that scale,” said Janci. “We had the local chapter of the NAACP all the way to the fire department.” The teens’ community carnival is coming back again this year and may become a permanent annual event -- a testament to the power of young people to help strengthen the bonds of a community. “I really appreciate how Ann and Kristen see the library as a community center, a place for everyone,” said Jennifer Honess, a social worker who facilitates the Teen Reading Lounge group and assisted with the community carnival. “There are not a lot of places where kids can take the lead and volunteer but BF Jones allows them to do that.”  Healing Past Wounds Segregation was built into the original plan of Aliquippa but the BF Jones Memorial Library is helping to erode those long-standing divisions and make space for residents to reconcile with their past. “Aliquippa is a beautiful place and the library is one branch of that tree that brings hope and life to the community,” said mayor Walker. “That library’s healing people, it’s definitely healing people.” The old narrative that Aliquippa’s best days are behind it are being replaced with new ideas for a better future. Ann Andrews thinks there is a lot to be optimistic about. “This is a good time for Aliquippa, things are on an upswing,” she said. “We are headed toward a better economic and social standard -- there’s been a lot of activity that’s growing a sense of pride in the community.” Much of the conversation about making positive change in Aliquippa is happening at the library and it is young people who are taking the lead and building up their own self-confidence along the way. “[The Ruby Bridges podcast project] helped me realize that no matter how many people try to stop you from being successful, if you want it bad enough go get it,” said Tynaria. “It made me think about all of the activities I had quit because people told me I wasn’t good enough… it made me want to go for my dreams.” ***     Teen Reading Lounge is made possible by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Wolf, Governor. Additional support is provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities, generous individuals, foundations, and corporations.   Related Content Teen Reading Lounge Program Info Building Social Emotional Learning In Youth Through Humanities Centered Activities Berks County Library Expands Youth Leadership Opportunities With Teen Reading Lounge How A Philadelphia Librarian Created A Thriving Community Of Teens Teen Reading Lounge Inspires Healthier Model For Dialogue, Nurtures Empathy Teens Build Social Skills, Process Tragedy At Teen Reading Lounge Group In Northumberland This YA Novel Sparked A Project To Help Erie’s Homeless Population  

National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Chairman Jon Parrish Peede has announced $28.6 million in grants for 233 humanities projects across the country, including $2.8 million for 16 projects in Pennsylvania. “These new NEH-supported projects will help shore up the nation’s most valuable assets: its history, literature, historic sites, regional traditions, and cultural institutions,” said Peede. The announcement took place at Christ Church in Philadelphia which will be receiving a $500,000 grant to to help restore its steeple and supporting brick tower. Other projects include the restoration of an historic African American farm, support for the construction of a new visitor’s center at the Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site, and research into the role of compassion in art and literature. “Congratulations to the recipients of these well-deserved grants,” said Laurie Zierer, executive director of the Pennsylvania Humanities Council. “With the support of the NEH, the humanities are being leveraged to strengthen our cultural and historical assets, as well as make meaningful change in communities across the state.”       ***    NEH GRANT AWARDS AND OFFERS, MARCH 2019 Library Company of Philadelphia Fellowship Programs at Independent Research Institutions Program Description: Support for institutions to host scholars for advanced research in the humanities. Outright Amount: $225,000 Project Director: James Green Lancaster County Historical Society Historic Places: Planning Program Description: Support to enhance public programming at a historic site. Outright Amount: $75,000 Project Director: Thomas Ryan Historical Society of Pennsylvania Humanities Collections and Reference Resources Program Description: Support to preserve and make accessible a significant humanities collection. Outright Amount: $347,525 Project Director: Margery Sly Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania Humanities Collections and Reference Resources Program Description: Support to preserve and make accessible a significant humanities collection. Outright Amount: $87,598 Project Director: Matthew Strauss Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts Humanities Collections and Reference Resources Program Description: Support to preserve and make accessible a significant humanities collection. Outright Amount: $75,000 Project Director: Hoang Tran Swarthmore College Humanities Collections and Reference Resources Program Description: Support to preserve and make accessible a significant humanities collection. Outright Amount: $325,624 Project Director: Wendy Chmielewski Susquehanna University Humanities Connections Implementation Grants Program Description: Support for academic programs that integrate multiple disciplines. Outright Amount: $83,820 Project Director: Betsy Verhoeven University of Scranton Humanities Connections Planning Grants Program Description: Support for academic programs that integrate multiple disciplines. Outright Amount: $34,958 Project Director: Ana Ugarte Dennis Farm Charitable Land Trust Infrastructure and Capacity Building Challenge Grants Program Description: A matching grant to generate private support for a humanities project. Matching Amount: $400,000 Project Director: Denise Dennis Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site, Inc. Infrastructure and Capacity Building Challenge Grants Program Description: A matching grant to generate private support for a humanities project. Matching Amount: $500,000 Project Director: Sara Jane Elk Old Christ Church Preservation Trust Infrastructure and Capacity Building Challenge Grants Program Description: A matching grant to generate private support for a humanities project. Matching Amount: $500,000 Project Director: Barbara Hogue CultureTrust Greater Philadelphia Media Projects Production Program Description: Support for the production of a film, radio, podcast series or other media project. Outright Amount: $200,000 Project Director: Samuel Katz Duquesne University Summer Stipends Program Description: Support for advanced research toward a publication. Outright Amount: $6,000 Project Director: Faith Barrett Duquesne University Summer Stipends Program Description: Support for advanced research toward a publication. Outright Amount: $6,000 Project Director: Danielle St. Hilaire Lehigh University Summer Stipends Program Description: Support for advanced research toward a publication. Outright Amount: $6,000 Project Director: Yinan He Temple University Summer Stipends Program Description: Support for advanced research toward a publication. Outright Amount: $6,000 Project Director: Alex Gottesman *** Download the complete list of NEH grant offers and awards by geographic location.

Liz Dow wants you to put down your phone and look people in the eyes again. The high-energy CEO of Leadership Philadelphia, named a “superconnector” by Fast Company, says the secret to getting things done starts with rethinking how we navigate our human relationships. Effectively connecting with others means listening more, giving selflessly, and taking ownership of your community’s challenges. Leadership Philadelphia is now celebrating 60 years of mobilizing and connecting the region’s brightest talent to better serve the community -- a mission that embodies Dow's ethos of philanthropic leadership. To honor the occasion, they launched “Move in Closer,” a year-long sweep of events and activities that "discuss our shared humanity and pulse those discussions out into the community." The series is partially funded in partnership with the Pennsylvania Humanities Council through a National Endowment for the Humanities Chairman’s Grant. All Philadelphians have been invited to join in on the celebration through a recent collaboration between Leadership Philadelphia and Mural Arts Philadelphia to produce 12 mini-murals placed at high traffic locations throughout the city. The murals pose provocative,  conversation-starting questions that reflect the open and collaborative spirit of the "Move in Closer” initiative. “Our intention is to cause people to pause and think more uplifting thoughts, and to discuss these questions with strangers or friends,” said Dow. The project is a natural fit for Dow who is a longtime advocate for the humanities and arts. She’s even an avid sculptor and her latest pieces focus on -- what else -- human connections. In this Q&A, we join in celebrating 60 years of Leadership Philadelphia, and take the opportunity to ask Dow about effective leadership, the power of storytelling, raising thoughtful children, and how to step out of our bubbles and think more like a “superconnector." *** Q: Over the last 60 years, Leadership Philadelphia has had the honor of inspiring some of the area’s most prominent leaders, including a former Mayor, the President of the Eagles, the CEO of PECO, Police, Airport, and Water Department Commissioners, and PHC’s own executive director, Laurie Zierer. What have you found makes someone a good leader and how can we apply the lessons of leadership to our everyday lives? I believe in the Connector model of leadership, meaning the trusted people who get things done behind the scenes.  Their need for achievement drives them to be more concerned with getting results than getting credit. They play well with others and weave the fabric of the community together more tightly. Connector leaders behave the same way at work as they do at home and in the community.  What you see is what you get. In daily life this means reaching outside your comfort zone to meet people who do not look and think like you; focusing on the other person (not yourself) in conversations; learning about what’s going on in the public, private, and non-profit sectors; behaving in a trustworthy manner, being optimistic; lending a helping hand; and expressing support and encouragement to those around you. According to The Tipping Point author Malcolm Gladwell, “The people who know everyone [Connectors] in some oblique way, may actually run the world…  In a down-to-earth, day-to-day way, they make the world work.”  Q: Fast Company distinguished you as one of the country’s 15 Top Superconnectors and last year the Philadelphia Business Journal called you “the ultimate connector.” How do those struggling to connect in the new digital landscape build meaningful relationships? Meaningful relationships require putting down your phone, looking others in the eye, talking to them, and listening.  It’s important to remember that we’re in this together for the long haul, and that relationships formed now pay dividends for the people involved and the community for years to come.   I tell my students to focus on paying it forward -- doing favors for others without expecting anything in return.  This requires that they become attentive to the wants and needs of others around them. Helping others makes us feel better about ourselves and the world at large.  I ended up on that “superconnector” list because I am constantly vigilant about helping others. I don’t just think about it, I take action and do it every day.   Q: You once said, “Storytelling… creates the ties that bind us.” What role do stories play in your civic work? For our 60th anniversary we created a series of five Master Classes – on Empathy, Compassion, Connection, Common Ground, and Caring.  At least half of each session involved sharing deep stories with strangers. The rooms of 100 people were intentionally diverse by race, age, and economic sector.   The exercises resulted in lifts in feeling of connection ranging from 47% to 98% in workshops lasting two hours.   Stories are the glue that binds us and the window into each other’s life experience. Sharing them builds bridges of compassion, empathy, and trust. Q: In an article you wrote for the Huffington Post you encouraged parents to inspire imagination in their children and teach them art and history. Why are the humanities and arts so important to youth development? The humanities speak to the human experience.  They engage hearts, minds, and souls. Children need healthy outlets for their emotions.  Art lessons provide a safe space for that. My father, who was trained as an artist, took me to art classes every Saturday.  That is my favorite childhood memory. I, therefore, took my children to the clay studio every Saturday from ages 6-12.  We had a Waldorf teacher, who understood that art is more about expression than technique.  My son is creative in every aspect of his life. At age 30 after his day job he writes and performs comedy and, on the weekends, he paints and sketches. My daughter put those lessons to work creating a unique private equity firm. I’m in my 27th year of sculpting every Saturday morning.  Right now, I’m making convoluted     Mobius strips that to me, say “We are all connected”.  Art allows us to mine what is unseen     within us and enables others to see it.    Understanding history grounds us geographically, in community, culturally, and in a civic sense.  The humanities give us perspective to understand ourselves, others, motives, culture, behavior, the impact of our decisions, and cause and effect. They provide our youth with context and guidance for decisions and understanding. Q: Your book Six Degrees of Connection argues that “connectors” play an essential role in community development. How can nonprofits, community leaders, and regular folks harness this power for making change? One way to harness the power of connectors is to become one yourself.  Be other-oriented. Understand that the challenges of the community are your challenges; use your curiosity to learn about unfamiliar people, places, and cultures and then reach out to learn more about them up close, face to face.   Earn trust. Empower others by expressing passion and support. Act as if the glass is half full and be generous.  Follow through and do what you say you will do every time.  If you see a problem, insinuate yourself into the situation and help solve it. While you’re working on your own skills, look for people around you who already demonstrate     them.  Put them on your board or committee.  Ask for their advice and ask them to introduce     you to someone who can help.  Find and befriend them. They’ll make your life easier.  Watch     what they do and follow suit.

“‘Community development’ sounds so overwhelming, but stories are universal,” says Jessica Herzing, the dynamic Cameron County Project coordinator. In 2016, Herzing decided to stop complaining about local policy decisions from the sidelines and started listening to residents, attending community meetings, and learning more about what makes Cameron County tick. The stories she discovered opened her up to the diverse perspectives in her community and that eventually led her to help create The Cameron County Project in 2017, an organization whose aim is a “campaign of storytelling and resident-driven visioning.” Last year, The Cameron County Project officially joined the network of Pennsylvania Heart & Soul communities, supported by the Pennsylvania Humanities Council in partnership with the Orton Family Foundation. Herzing’s role as coordinator is sponsored by her employer Judd Schager, CPA, who is also the treasurer for Cameron County Community Chest -- a local organization offering financial support to the project. Schager says Herzing is a  “natural fit to head up the project.” Tina Solak, Executive Director of the Cameron County Chamber of Commerce, agrees. “Jessica's passion about her hometown serves as a beacon for all of us, no matter what place we call home,” she said. “The coordinator of this project needed passion and analytical skills -- Jessica fills both of those requirements.” In this Q&A, we caught up with Herzing to learn more about the exciting momentum of The Cameron County Project and how storytelling and resident engagement are being used to fuel this bottom-up approach to community development. *** How would you describe the Cameron County Project? The Cameron County Project is a grassroots community project with the goal of encouraging residents to re-engage with Cameron County.  Its intention is to build a sense of pride in what makes our county so special. Sometimes in a small community it’s easy to focus on what you don’t have, and that can bring down the morale of residents. This project is about promoting what we love as residents and using that to create more positive conversations about Cameron County that help our decision makers better represent us all as they take on planning for our future. We plan to create a Resident Visioning Study for the County and an Action Plan on implementing resident values and ideas that will work in conjunction with the 2019 Tri-County Comprehensive Plan.  The raw data will also be available for use through a searchable database that can aid in future research, decision-making, and implementation needs.  Why did you get involved with this project? For me, building the Cameron County Project has been a labor of love going back to 2016. Back then, I was a masquerading as an engaged citizen, complaining about the decisions being made on my behalf by our local government and agencies. I had this moment where I realized that if I really wanted to know what I was complaining about, I needed to dig in and start attending community meetings and join some local clubs. After spending time at township, school board, and Rotary Club meetings, I quickly realized what I thought I knew was wrong and if I was having that epiphany, other residents probably would, too.   In October 2016, I was invited to attend a Community Heart & Soul information session in Ridgway. I, along with Commissioner Lori Reed and Chamber of Commerce Director Tina Solak, left that presentation so inspired by the idea of activating the residents, lifting their voices, and inviting everyone to take a seat at the table. We saw this as a way to reinvigorate our communities and that’s when the Cameron County Project started.  What do you love about Cameron County? It’s so cliché, but what don’t I love about Cameron County?  I love that our communities rally together in a time of need or tragedy. I love that sense of belonging when you walk down the street and people wave and say “Hello” or call you by name.  I love that people always ask, “Who do you belong to?” when trying to figure out how you fit into the community puzzle. If you don’t have a familiar last name, they follow it with “How did you end up here?”  I love that my children are supported by our neighbors, who have become like family. I adore that we’re surrounded by opportunities to enjoy nature and all the recreation that comes along with that. I love that we boast some of the darkest skies in the state, but I can take a day trip to Pittsburgh, Erie, or Buffalo with little issue.   I moved away from Cameron County three days after I graduated from Cameron County High School, in 2005, with the intention to never come back.  Having lived in Harrisburg, Greensburg, and the Pittsburgh area – I’ve gained this new appreciation for the slower pace of life afforded by living in rural Emporium located right in the heart of the Pennsylvania Wilds.   You often use hashtags like #MyCameronCounty and #CamCoProud. Why is it important for residents, particularly those in Cameron County, to take pride in their community? There is a trend of focusing on what Cameron County lacks because we’ve seen some real downturns in industry and decreases in population over the last couple decades. More recently, some backlash has been felt over the blighted buildings that needed to come down which draws a very real contrast to our glory days. Nothing breaks you down more than feeling like you’re stuck in a community that’s dying around you, watching your history being torn down or sitting empty, day in and day out. #CamCoProud is a way to show off what residents think is awesome here. When someone posts something they love; a place they visited, a news article about a positive thing that happened, a local organization that did something remarkable – it’s our goal they tag it #CamCoProud to highlight the awesome things we should be 100% proud of, the things that only Cameron County can offer.  With a new pride-filled perspective, every empty lot, building, and house, can be an opportunity - for growth, economic development, or positive change. What events have you held so far and how have they been received? We “ballooned” Cameron County to celebrate being designated as a Pennsylvania Heart & Soul Community, and to announce our partnership with the Pennsylvania Humanities Council and the Orton Family Foundation. That was fun! We tied green and silver balloons on all the parking meters in the Borough of Emporium, on the Emporium Welcome Center Train Caboose, and at local businesses in Sterling Run, Driftwood, and Sinnemahoning. Residents looked at us funny and were asking, “What exactly are we celebrating?” It created some really great conversations about the project and what we’re working towards. We also partnered with our local Fair Association to hold the Cameron County Cookout last summer and had the best time talking with the residents that came. They had some fantastic stories and we were so humbled by the donations we received from local organizations. We’ve been so fortunate to create partnerships with community groups that have opened doors for us to collect stories from our residents – we haven’t had to plan many events ourselves. This is especially true of the Cameron County Chamber of Commerce, the Cameron County School District, and the Cameron County Family Center. Through their kindness and support of our mission, we’ve been able to have tables and speak at big local events. It has opened up opportunities to teach kids about the idea of a community which has allowed us to collect so many stories from the children and teenagers in our county.  How is the Heart & Soul process getting residents involved in community development in Cameron County? Like other small, rural communities, Cameron County has really low attendance from residents at decision maker meetings.  It’s also hard for residents to get timely information -- we only have two newspapers that are published once a week and our local governments and municipalities don’t have a huge online presence or hold limited office hours.  These factors can create a wall for residents to receive the information they need to be adequately informed and voice their opinions. The Cameron County Project’s ability to apply Heart & Soul to our residents means we can take the “collective idea bucket” to the residents, meeting them where they are, in a way that makes sense to them.  By allowing everyone the opportunity to share their story and what they love about our community, we can have positive conversations about tough issues and make sure that everyone’s hopes, concerns, and ideas are part of how the county moves forward.   Why is getting people involved so important? As a resident, I know that it can sometimes feel like your way of thinking is not in line with the decisions being made. When you aren’t sure how to go about being heard in a constructive way or feel like no one would care even if you did, it’s easy to fall into a habit of “nay-saying” those decisions to your friends, neighbors, or on social media.  Community Heart & Soul is so great about overcoming that frustration and bridging the barriers to being heard. If you can’t attend a 10AM Commissioner meeting, that’s ok – we’ll meet you when your shift ends. If you can’t make it to the 7PM School Board or Township meeting because you don’t have a sitter – that’s ok, we’ll meet you when it makes sense for you.   If you want to be heard, and share your story, we’ll find a way to make it work so your voice is part of the greater conversation.  Just because you can’t make it to a meeting, don’t know exactly who needs to hear your idea, or how to best get it where it needs to go -- doesn’t mean your ideas are less valuable than anyone else’s.  This project’s goal is to reach those people, have a friendly conversation, remind them how awesome and important they are, and help direct them and their ideas in the right direction.   What role do you think storytelling plays in community development? “Community development” sounds so overwhelming, but stories are universal. Our stories are what make us who we are and explain how we each view our communities.  I think it’s through our stories that we see that my Cameron County is different than my neighbor’s Cameron County but each of our experiences and views is so vital to how we as a community come together to make decisions about our future. If you can just share what you love about Cameron County then we can have a conversation about your past and your hopes and wishes for the community. There is so much powerful data about what you value and what you cherish about this place we share.  People don’t even realize that it’s the things they love that our decision makers most need to hear. The most interesting trend at this stage in the story gathering process is how different the Northern Tier and the Southern Tier are in their hopes and concerns within similar age groups. Bridging that divide has always been a challenge, but I’m excited to see how this project brings together both parts of our county. Another interesting thing we found in our interviews was that the high school students said they most valued the feeling of belonging to a community. They really seem to value how much their neighbors care about them and how that makes them feel. They also have some pretty implementable ideas:  a Teen Lounge for homework, more opportunities to pursue artistic outlets outside of school, even just answering the question, “How can we cover the cost to rent a local indoor gym for a basketball game once a week?” These are conversations we’ve been having with local organizations and businesses to see how we can act on their practical requests. What change would you like to see in Cameron County in the coming years? I’d love to see more people at decision maker meetings.  I’ve attended too many where I’m the only person from the public. I always learn the most powerfully positive things at those meetings that change my point of view about a decision being made.  I think of decision-making in a community like throwing stones into a pond. No major decisions are made overnight. An idea is “thrown” and it ripples through being presented, discussed, mulled over, and as the ripple hits the shore, it’s enacted.  I’d love to see more people at meetings when the stone is thrown, rather than waiting until the ripple almost reaches the shore.   Related Content Pennsylvania Humanities Council And Partners Bring $130,000 In Funding, Training And Technical Support To Upper Chichester And Cameron County Pennsylvania Heart & Soul Profile: Cameron County Pennsylvania Heart & Soul Communities

PHC has received a $40,000 grant from PECO to sponsor a series of multimedia projects entitled 'Illuminate Chester' which will bring light to the stories that have defined Chester's past and that are shaping the city's future. Through a campaign and special events, stories will be collected from Chester residents and shared broadly in and outside the community. Some of the most powerful will be professionally produced into short documentary-style videos, or other multimedia projects, and publicized.

 Learn how a reading-based library program builds teen social emotional skills In 2010 the Pennsylvania Humanities Council created Teen Reading Lounge (TRL), an interactive discussion program that uses the humanities to build social emotional learning skills in youth. Over the 8 years TRL has been out in the field, we’ve worked with over 80 libraries, schools and community-based organizations across Pennsylvania to engage over 1,000 young people from a variety of backgrounds. The program is built on the belief that the humanities can cultivate curiosity, empathy, critical-thinking, social awareness, and perseverance.  There are three key steps to building a Teen Reading Lounge experience: featured texts chosen by participating youth; peer-to-peer discussion and dialogue of the themes and issues explored in the readings; and development of hands-on activities and projects to deepen youth’s understanding of the issues brought up in discussion. Projects often incorporate a community engagement or volunteer component as youth begin to connect the readings to issues present in their lives and communities. The program framework is intentionally simple and flexible. There are no required reading lists or must-do projects. Site staff, local educators and youth work together to build a curriculum that’s relevant and meaningful to them. Research around positive youth development cites this as a best practice; developing programs in collaboration with youth that meets their developmental needs and interests ensures they’ll stick with the experience longer. That sustained participation can yield higher levels of engagement and stronger outcomes. When we’re talking about building social emotional learning skills, the more time youth get to practice these skills the more likely they are to become a permanent part of behavior. We’re also working with sites and youth to improve the model and share promising strategies. This is done through youth feedback loops and practitioner community of practice calls. A spirit of experimentation and exploration is baked into the model. The reflective nature of the wrap-around supports is essential to making the learning stick for both youth and the adults overseeing the program. According to the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), social emotional learning (SEL) “enhances students’ capacity to integrate skills, attitudes, and behaviors to deal effectively and ethically with daily tasks and challenges.” SEL consists of growth in five core competencies: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision-making.  Teen Reading Lounge cultivates these competencies by inviting youth to be active participants in their learning and personal development. The humanities are a natural fit for these activities because they invite us to explore the human experience by analyzing circumstances and choices as a way to build knowledge about how we live our lives. Teen Reading Lounge programs have taken place in a variety of settings and deployed a variety of strategies to engage youth in skill development and learning. This too is intentional – and part of what makes the experience unique for each site. As youth workers, all our hand-wringing about sticking to a set agenda, or accomplishing narrowly defined goals, can fail to give young people the opportunity to be their own leaders. It is the spaces between our agenda items where teens so often shine -- making decisions as a group, establishing rules, cooperating and dealing with conflict. As the following examples demonstrate, expanding these opportunities can be more important than having control of the outcome.    Growing Empathy at John W. Hallahan Catholic Girls’ High School Teen Reading Lounge was developed in partnership with the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and initially all participating programs sites were public libraries. But in 2017, PHC expanded the program to include high schools and a variety of other youth-serving organizations. A small, dedicated group launched at John W. Hallahan Catholic Girls’ High School in Philadelphia that year, led by out-of-school time program coordinator, Jo Bradley, and language arts teacher, Samantha Dugan. One text the group explored was Liliana Velásquez’s Dreams and Nightmares, a gripping first-person account of the author’s solo journey from Guatemala to the United States when she was just fourteen. Together the girls participated in a series of conversations about the book, which led to them sharing stories of their parents’ immigration experience. Three of the teens in the group were children of Vietnamese immigrants and the novel made them acutely aware of their own families’ struggles. One of the young girls remarked that Liliana’s account of her journey to an unfamiliar land made her reflect on her own parents’ journey to the United States. She spoke of building empathy for them, hinting at a growing understanding of the immigrant experience. The group was fortunate to meet the author in person, an activity facilitated by the dedicated adults overseeing the program. This experience provided a rich learning opportunity for the group as they were able to hear more about Liliana’s story first-hand. They fired off questions to Liliana, eager to better understand the choices she made, how she navigated some life-threatening situations and what impact the experience had – and still has – on her. The program coordinators were careful not to dictate the questions asked during this Q & A session or control this exchange; it was important for youth to drive this discussion on their own. Embracing their creative control, the students’ final project based on Velásquez’s Dreams and Nightmares was something novel and unexpected. They applied their religious education to develop a secretly coded Bible for immigrants. This ingeniously covert travel guide gave survival instructions, directions to safe locations and other life-saving advice. Through discussion and interactions with Liliana, the group was able to tease out some of what the immigrant experience might be like and brainstormed solutions to help individuals navigate unfamiliar and hostile terrain. This project brought the group closer together while allowing them the opportunity to develop interpersonal skills. The group also explored the concepts of self-management, self-awareness and social awareness. A graduating senior in the group reflected on the experience saying, “On the news we see adults shouting at each other and getting upset but Teen Reading Lounge gave us a positive example of how you can discuss complicated issues and that has really grown my interest in being a more participative citizen.” Processing Tragedy at Priestley-Forsyth Memorial Library When the Parkland, Florida school shooting happened this year, Priestley-Forsyth Memorial Library in Northumberland, PA, was in the midst of reading Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland as their featured Teen Reading Lounge text. The book was selected because of its relatability to the participating youth’s life and developmental stage; many of them were middle schoolers about to transition to high school and were eager to discuss the changing landscapes of their academic and social worlds. Then the Parkland tragedy hit the national media – and the conversations began to take on a sense of urgency about rampant school violence and fears about safety.   Although it was heartbreaking and unexpected to have these conversations, librarian Kim King and local teacher Renee Albertson, who were co-facilitating the program, recognized that the opportunity for youth to talk about Parkland was more important than whatever expectations they had for the program. Kim remarked, “We did not anticipate this discussion, but we knew we had to make space for it so we adapted our plan. It was important to give our group a voice and help them see they could navigate unexpected situations. We all needed time to reflect on what was happening nationally.” Alice’s journey “down the rabbit hole” – previously viewed as exciting and new – became a mirror for the growing disorientation, fear and hopelessness teens felt about the Parkland shooting.  The shooting had stirred consciousness of their vulnerability and in this process, youth revealed a growing disillusionment about their safety. They felt like they had entered a new world where things were more unpredictable. Over the course of the program youth discussed these issues in depth and explored some current school safety and disaster planning policies.   As Alice makes her way through Wonderland, she comes in contact with many different characters, including the Queen of Hearts – an arrogant, emotional monarch – whose solution to most problems is “off with his head!” The group used this character as a way to analyze and discuss leadership styles. Using playing cards with different traits, participants chose their top must-have qualities for a leader. Once this was completed, they discussed it as a group making sure all participants had time to share their top traits. The conversation generated around this exercise had two goals: one, get youth to think about what leadership meant to them; and two, to make connections to skills they had or wanted to build on their way to becoming leaders in their own lives. Interestingly, given the context of the discussions about Parkland that preceded the activity, many young people identified “ensuring safety” as an important leadership skill – once again showing that the program opened up a whole new way to process tragedy and consider its effects on how we live our lives.    Exploring Social Awareness at the Free Library of Philadelphia For several years, the Teen Reading Lounge group at the Philadelphia City Institute branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia has been meeting to discuss an array of books exploring topics such as privilege, equity, power and social justice. Although some young people have dipped in and out of the program, attendance has been consistent – a rarity for high school aged youth. Erin Hoopes, the branch manager and librarian overseeing the program, has taken care to build a comfortable, safe and welcoming environment for these teens. They come back because they know TRL is a place where they can explore topics they may not be able to unpack in school or at their own dinner tables. To watch Erin facilitate group discussion is a master class in how to connect with young people. She takes the reins when appropriate but also steps back to let the young people practice their facilitation skills. Her questions are always sincere; it’s obvious that she cares about what these young people think. She also recognizes the urgency of the issues with which they are grappling. The youth she works with are at a developmental phase where they are in the process of discovering their values and ideals – a necessary step in forming their identities. However, the media, a prevalent force in these young people’s lives, can undercut this process. This is particularly true for youth of color who aren’t always valued or positively supported by society. Erin works with a lot of these young people – and it’s important to her to support them. Not only does research suggest that adult role models can have a positive effect on youth development – but to her it’s the right thing to do.  For Erin, giving youth in her library a space to discuss and analyze the issues that affect their lives is key to building their confidence about themselves and their futures. As the group grew in membership and maturity, Erin sensed a need for them to take action on some of the issues they were discussing. She introduced the concept of civic engagement to the group and together they built projects exploring education inequities in the Philadelphia school system (the group was made up of youth from schools throughout the city) and gun control. The process of choosing topics to explore wasn’t easy. Although they often bubbled up out of the book discussions, building consensus around which one to address was challenging. To help the group through the process of shared decision-making and collaboration Erin used a tool called the 5 Stages to Social Action. Developed by Dr. Valerie Adams-Bass as part of the Freedom Schools curriculum, the 5 stages walks a group of young people through the process of identifying what matters most to them. Questions like “What issues are you concerned about in your community?” and “What do we know or want to know about these issues?” help young people learn more about the cause and effects of societal challenges and do a little bit of fact-checking around their own knowledge and perception of the issues. The tool then carries through these discussions to dreaming big - what can we do about these issues – and from that, the group creates a project to explore solutions. Erin’s group conducted two major projects: they wrote a blog about their experience with the education system and produced a video exploring the public’s perception of gun violence. In addition to talking through these issues, building knowledge about them and learning about their peers’ perceptions and beliefs, youth also take the reins in creation. In these two cases, they learned how to build and launch a blog as well as produce a video from start to finish. The goal here isn’t to “get it right” – and occasionally a group will over-reach or abandon projects they build as a result of the process. Staff is advised not to frame this as a failure but as a valuable learning process that supports the teen’s self-management skills. Erin has talked about how difficult it was not to step in and “save” the project. Instead, she advised and then asked them to reflect on the process – which is where the real learning lies. Participants considered motivation, self-management, teamwork and patience with all of these projects. In other words not only did they practice the skills it needed to get the project done but in the process explored what it takes to make something successful or not. This is an important life lesson. Tackling complex projects is part of every adult’s life and learning how to set realistic goals takes practice. Through this process, Erin’s group has built a sense of community and a sense that they can apply solutions to big, complex problems. Her community of teens is now thriving -- creating impressive civic engagement projects and putting on events that are making headlines. They recently guest-blogged for the YALSA this year and said, “Through TRL, we have become better, more empathetic individuals, and more conscious about the world we live in.” The Humanities Have a Place in SEL One of the most frequently cited benefits of the humanities is improving students’ critical thinking skills which is closely related to the SEL concept of responsible decision-making -- that is, making ethical, informed and conscientious life choices. Responsible decision-making is hard enough for adults, but for teens struggling through their social and emotional development it is especially challenging. Teens can be helped to see the potential consequences of their actions by collectively engaging with the humanities through book discussions. It can build a strong foundation for responsible decision-making by exploring multiple perspectives while encouraging self-reflection and dialogue. In the real world practice of facilitating discussions with teens this can be messy but in a wonderfully rewarding kind of way. The TRL outcomes we track through surveys and other data collection, tell the story that the humanities have a place in SEL. They support the conclusions of a 2017 meta-analysis by CASEL that found SEL to “boost student well-being in the form of greater social and emotional competencies, prosocial behavior, and prosocial attitudes.” Teen Reading Lounge participants showed significant improvements in communication skills, interpersonal relationships and job-ready skills like literacy and creative problem solving. They also report doing better in school and feeling better prepared to express their thoughts and opinions. This is important for any teen but particularly the marginalized. As one of our site managers said, “It’s a great way for libraries to reach all kinds of kids but especially those that are on the fringes.” At our recent workshop for facilitators and site managers of Teen Reading Lounge, making space for kids at the margins was a frequent topic. Each site is nested in a community with unique demographics and needs. Effective SEL addresses the needs of all participants and an effective library or other organization opens itself to the diversity of the community. That’s easier said than done and you just have to embrace the bumpy road ahead. One of our workshop facilitators remarked, “The [TRL] workshops provide youth development professionals -- yes librarians are in the business of youth development if they are working with youth -- an opportunity to develop and practices skills that help to enrich the experiences of teens in the program.” From the examples we’re seeing at Teen Reading Lounge sites throughout Pennsylvania, the humanities are an able partner in making a meaningful impact in the lives of teens and supporting their SEL. Even in this age of infinite distraction, teens forget everything else during a highly spirited TRL discussion. From stories of personal transformation to powerful civic engagement projects, the humanities are sparking change in teens and the broader community. Offering young people the right environment, a place where they have autonomy and feel like they belong is something we can all be excited about.   JEN DANIFO is a Senior Program Officer at the Pennsylvania Humanities Council (PHC). She works closely with grantees to provide technical support in all aspects of public engagement, program development, and learning and evaluation.   This article originally appeared in the Winter 2019 issue of the Young Adult Library Services (YALS) digital magazine (Volume 17, Number 2, pp. 27-31).  For more information, or to subscribe to YALS, visit their web site.  The Pennsylvania Humanities Council would like to thank YALSA for permission to republish this article.  

Ukuleles, ugly sweaters, laughs, tears, and a sloth named Tibbers. The debut of Teen Reading Lounge, a youth-led, book discussion program at Hollidaysburg Area Public Library, was anything but dull. Even the lures of screen time and competing after-school activities couldn’t deter the dedicated group of young readers from coming back week after week to dive deep into the discussions. “The kids just kept saying that they didn’t want it to end,” said Tina Cunningham, the adult facilitator for the group. “They just wanted us to keep meeting.” The program is made possible thanks to a generous sponsorship from Benzel’s Bretzel Bakery, Inc., a family-owned company with deep ties in Blair County. The company’s president, Ann Benzel, represents the fourth generation of the family to run the pretzel business. She prioritizes giving back to the community and has a record of public service in the arts and humanities. “For me, philanthropy has always been about making tangible change in people’s lives by underwriting things that are important,” said Benzel.  “Being able to give teens the tools and support they need in this endeavor is very rewarding.” With Benzel’s help, the library was not only able to start Teen Reading Lounge but it could finally update the furnishings and ditch the drab colors in the teen area that had become like kryptonite to young people. “The space wasn't teen-friendly,” said Cunningham.  "It looked like the kind of place where you wouldn't be allowed to sit down." The new space is brightly colored with cozy chairs aplenty and a guitar in the corner -- just in case singing breaks out (which it does.) The casual setting is drawing in young people to the new Teen Reading Lounge program, where they can hang out and talk openly about issues they feel are important without fear of judgement. Creating supportive spaces away from the stresses of school and social media has become part of the new community role many libraries are embracing, bolstered by recent research on the impact of belonging to learning and development. "We get to actually express our feelings and no one feels left out or scared,” said Spencer, one of the teen participants. “We’ve become like a family.”  Teen Reading Lounge is youth-led but the adults still play an important role. Staff are given extensive training and ongoing support to ensure the best environment for youth development. Conversations between young people can be difficult, especially when they wade into complex subjects like identity, religion, and politics. Adults are trained to create a safe environment where humanities discussions can take root and teens can assume leadership responsibilities. “It can be a challenge to let go and give teens the reins but it has really helped the library strengthen its relationship with the kids,” said Melanie Ramsey, Director of Youth and Children's Services at the library. Since teens run the show, each Teen Reading Lounge site across Pennsylvania is unique. At Hollidaysburg Area Public Library, the group came up with a way to ensure everybody’s voice could be heard. Enter Tibbers, the beloved toy sloth who is passed around like a “talking stick.” “Everyone loves Tibbers,” said Cunningham. “His job is to make sure everyone is respected and knows they’ll get a chance to talk.” Tibbers has become a symbol for the mutual respect of the youth community, encouraging active listening and respect for the speaker in a way that is accessible. The conversations he oversees are mostly fun but they can veer into the serious and even tearful. A discussion about The Perks of Being a Wallflower became especially sensitive. The group saw much of themselves in novel's main character, Charlie, a shy boy with an aptitude for literature. The often tortuous drama Charlie experiences in high school led to group conversations about acceptance and the trials of navigating young adulthood.  Ramsey said that providing space for tears is important for social emotional learning. “We talked a lot with the teens about the ways books can teach you empathy,” she said. “Teen Reading Lounge is giving them experiences they maybe wouldn’t otherwise have.” A 2018 data analysis conducted by the Allegheny Intermediate Unit supports Ramsey’s assertion. It found that Teen Reading Lounge actively builds participants’ social awareness and increases understanding other perspectives -- particularly among rural youth. Along with weighty discussions of big ideas and social challenges, participants have ample opportunity to build relationships and collaborate. The Hollidaysburg teens got to know and trust each other while  “baking” microwave mug cakes, learning to play ukuleles from a local expert, creating mood boards, and holding an ugly sweater Christmas party. "I was able to meet some people who I have gotten very close to," said Alma, a teen participant. “Teen Reading Lounge is a fun new thing to get into." With this pilot session successfully under their belt, Cunningham and Ramsey are recruiting for future sessions. “I tell them, ‘we have so much fun, there are great snacks, a great group of kids, great conversation, a cozy place,’” said Cunningham. “‘We won’t make you talk, we won’t make you sing.’” But, she admitted, “There is lots of talking and singing.”   Teen Reading Lounge is made possible by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Wolf, Governor. Additional support is provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities, generous individuals, foundations, and corporations.   Related Content Teen Reading Lounge Program Info Berks County Library Expands Youth Leadership Opportunities With Teen Reading Lounge How A Philadelphia Librarian Created A Thriving Community Of Teens Teen Reading Lounge Inspires Healthier Model For Dialogue, Nurtures Empathy Teens Build Social Skills, Process Tragedy At Teen Reading Lounge Group In Northumberland This YA Novel Sparked A Project To Help Erie’s Homeless Population

In Monica Hesse’s acclaimed YA novel The War Outside, German and Japanese families are held as prisoners of war in separate areas at Texas’s Crystal City Internment Camp in the 1940s. Haruko and Margot, teen girls divided by culture and circumstance, develop a secret relationship, meeting regularly in the privacy of an icehouse to share their feelings. The tense drama that unfolds raises topical questions about justice and the politics of fear. The Teen Reading Lounge group at the Erie County Public Library, a kind of “icehouse” in northwestern Pennsylvania, read Hesse’s book last fall and identified with the plight of Haruko and Margot. “They were talking about how awful it would be to live in an internment camp and not have access to the things you need,” said Tammy Blount, the Teen Services Librarian who facilitates the group. “The kids were asking themselves, ‘Where do we see that nowadays?’” Teen Reading Lounge is a youth-led, nontraditional book club that encourages deep discussions and projects that have a social impact. The group was started at the Erie Public Library in the fall of 2015 and has been part of their recent growth in youth programming. The library is currently undergoing an expansion that will feature a new teen space with its own book collection, makerspace, and tech area. Blount says she appreciates how Teen Reading Lounge has helped her to develop meaningful relationships with many of the new young people coming to the library. “We get to have important discussions that teens are not typically having,” she said. “The topics are weighty and that builds a deeper bond.” The group is drawing together youth from towns across the county, bringing a diversity of voices to bear on issues raised in the discussions. With the support of the Pennsylvania Humanities Council, the participants, some of whom face economic hardship, are given the opportunity to go on field trips, engage in special learning activities, and listen to guest speakers -- all tied to the book discussions. Past events have included a sail on an historic schooner, listening to a teen TedX speaker, learning Japanese calligraphy, and hosting Penn State Behrend's portable planetarium at the library. The popularity of the program has library administrators setting their sights on starting a new, after-school group at a branch location. Blount insists that the appeal is not just about the books. “It is much bigger than reading,” she said. “The discussions challenge the teens to see the world through someone else's eyes.” "Teen Reading Lounge has opened me up to many new viewpoints and has taught me how to think about other people's perspectives,” said Clara Tupitza, a regular to the group. She says the opportunity to meet youth outside her usual social circles is a big plus. “It has helped me come out of my hermit shell,” said Madeleine Karikhoff, who says she is pleasantly surprised by how popular it is. She believes the discussions have made her more assertive and helped her to find her voice. When the group reflected on when Haruko and Margot spoke for the first time at the Texas internment camp -- during a powerful dust storm -- they remembered the harshness of their own weather. The winters in Erie County can be severe and the teens figured that the people most impacted by bad weather would be those facing housing insecurity. “There is a lot of need in the area,” said Logan Blount, a junior at Northwest Pennsylvania Collegiate Academy. They searched online for realistic, impactful ways to help and came up with the idea of making “blessing bags” -- small bags stuffed with essentials. Once their project was publicized at the library the donations poured in.   The teens got to work, filling the blessing bags with donated socks, hats, gloves, and toiletries. They also created nonperishable food bags with water, granola bars, packs of nuts, and beef jerky. In January, all the bags were taken to the Upper Room of Erie, an area homeless services agency, with hopes that they would provide some comfort to those seeking shelter from the bitter cold. Luis Cole, the staff member at the Upper Room who received the delivery, said he would be handing them out within the hour. Similar humanities-inspired service projects are happening at Teen Reading Lounge sites throughout Pennsylvania. Based on a 2018 analysis conducted by the Allegheny Intermediate Unit, the program is successfully building participants’ social awareness and empathy -- most strongly in rural and urban areas. At the Erie County Public Library, the teens say they just wanted to do the right thing. “Our discussions about The War Outside showed me that even the smallest bit of kindness can go a long way,” said Tupitza. “I wanted to be able to give that kindness.” Teen Reading Lounge is made possible by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Wolf, Governor. Additional support is provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Related Content Teen Reading Lounge Program Info Berks County Library Expands Youth Leadership Opportunities With Teen Reading Lounge How A Philadelphia Librarian Created A Thriving Community Of Teens Teen Reading Lounge Inspires Healthier Model For Dialogue, Nurtures Empathy Teens Build Social Skills, Process Tragedy At Teen Reading Lounge Group In Northumberland  

Andre Williams was honorably discharged from the Marine Corps in 1986, at a time when the United States military sorely lacked the resources to help soldiers reintegrate into civilian life. Seeing few options, he took a job in construction while DJing on the side for extra money. His terminally ill father, a master carpenter who passed away near the end of Andre’s service, had encouraged him to find less physically demanding work. Williams’ career did change course, by accident, when he was faced with prohibitively high repair costs for his DJ equipment. Out of necessity, he succeeded in fixing it himself, which sparked a lifelong passion for electronics. He sought training in computer networking and eventually landed a dream job at IBM, where he worked for the next 15 years. Unfortunately, his career was derailed by serious heart complications, leading to an aortic valve replacement in 2009 and a long, painful recovery. When he was finally ready to re-enter the workforce, it was in the midst of a recession, and jobs were hard to come by. He knew he needed to upgrade his skills to compete -- that meant going to college. A friend told Andre about the University of Pennsylvania’s Veterans Upward Bound (Penn VUB) program which helped veterans prepare for higher education. Entering college as an adult is always difficult, but it can be especially challenging for veterans. The Penn VUB program was created to meet their unique needs. Participants in the program are often first generation college students and most are facing economic hardship. Penn VUB’s successful formula combines traditional college preparatory work with immersive cultural experiences and field trips to college campuses. “Once I found out about the Veterans Upward Bound, that was it, I said, ‘I’m going to go there and I find out how they can help me get reacclimated into getting back into college,’” said Williams. What he discovered at Penn VUB was a camaraderie reminiscent of his military service and a program that offered so much more than just college prep. He especially appreciated the inspiring leadership style of Program Director Diane Sandefur, who patiently encouraged the veterans to work hard and achieve their potential. “She reminds me of one of the most serious units in the Marine Corps called Recon,” said Williams. “She’ll do whatever she can to help you to succeed, but you have to put in the effort.”  The classes were rigorous and prepared him for the academic workload of college while the lively environment helped him learn to manage his PTSD, which can be exasperated in social settings. “For me, Penn VUB was a saving grace,” said Williams. More than anything, he enjoyed the cultural field trips. With the support of the Pennsylvania Humanities Council, Penn VUB has been able to expand its humanities curriculum and provide enriching cultural experiences at theaters, museums, and historical sites that relate to classroom studies. Williams went on a few such trips, but his most memorable was to New York City, where he paid a solemn visit to the National September 11 Memorial & Museum,  toured the Apollo Theater, took in a showing of Wicked, and walked the campus of Columbia University.  “I could actually see myself in Columbia as the result of being there, being able to touch the statue Alma Mater, and seeing the library,” recalled Williams. “It was a wonderful, life-changing experience.” Even after they enroll in college, Penn VUB graduates are able to stop by and access computers, receive guidance, sit in on a tutoring session, or just enjoy some fellowship with other veterans. Williams completed the program in 2016, but he still keeps active in the community. He proudly represented Penn VUB, along with Diane Sandefur and other students, in the First and Second Annual Philadelphia Veterans Day Parades. Williams is currently attending the Community College of Philadelphia with advanced standing after scoring high on his placement exam. He credits this achievement to Penn VUB, which he says gave him both the skills and confidence to be successful. It has been a long road from his heart surgery, but he now feels ready to take the next step in his educational journey -- a technology bachelor’s degree at either Drexel University or Pierce College. “I want to teach computer networking and I would love to be able to teach computer networking to other veterans,” said Williams. “That would be a lifelong fulfillment for me.”

Unlike most libraries, Muhlenberg Community Library is in the enviable position of being on the same campus as the local public schools, creating a prime opportunity for drawing in young people. Jacki Clark, Youth Services Coordinator, sought to capitalize on this good real estate by developing a Teen Reading Lounge group in 2018.

About two dozen Community Heart & Soul volunteers packed the Upper Chichester Township municipal building’s conference room on the evening of October 22nd. Representatives from the Pennsylvania Humanities Council (PHC) and the Orton Family Foundation were there to celebrate Upper Chichester’s work so far and offer training for the second phase of the process. “You all really understand the people-centered aspect of the Heart & Soul process,” said Mimi Iijima, PHC’s Director of Programs and Special Projects, who led the training.

“Surprising!” “Eye-opening!” “Interesting!” Three teens, Alison, Ha and Amanda, representing John W. Hallahan Catholic Girls’ High School, stretched out comfortably on an outdoor patio overlooking the Old City neighborhood of Philadelphia. They gave spirited responses to our questions about their experiences with Teen Reading Lounge (TRL), a book club developed by Pennsylvania Humanities Council that pairs reading with creative projects and thoughtful discussions.

How do journalists, historians, grassroots organizations, and residents all contribute to telling a community's story and motivating meaningful change? What are the challenges communities face in sustaining a sense of place while also welcoming new members and exploring new opportunities—in ways that are inclusive of our differences and shared humanity? Our civic engagement partners Chester Made and Greater Carlisle Heart & Soul will address these questions and more this fall and winter, telling A Tale of Two Cities through a series of programs and activities as part of the national Democracy and the Informed Citizen initiative.

Beginning this past fall, I have had the pleasure of being PHC’s communication’s intern. Given my rhetoric and public advocacy background, I’m interested in exploring community development and the importance of creating transparency among a group of people. A peer exchange weekend with the Chester Made initiative gave me the opportunity. Chester Made is a civic engagement project that brings together various residents from artists and local leaders to entrepreneurs with a common goal of changing the perception of Chester and building a stronger community.

PHC has partnered with the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development and Orton Family Foundation to support Upper Chichester and Cameron County along the path to becoming stronger, healthier and more vibrant communities through a humanities-based approach to community development. Through this unique partnership among a government agency, a statewide nonprofit and a national foundation, PHC and Orton Family Foundation will provide training and technical support worth an estimated $60,000 to each community. In addition Upper Chichester Township and The Cameron County Project have each received $5,000 in combined funding from PHC and DCED, for a total investment valued at $130,000.

When Erin Hoopes applied for a grant to bring Teen Reading Lounge (TRL) to the Philadelphia City Institute (PCI) branch of the Free Library, she was searching for a way to attract that notoriously opaque demographic: teenagers. As Branch Manager, she envisioned a thriving community of teens who felt valued and were invested in the library. “Teens were a largely forgotten demographic group at PCI because we had such a strong tradition of programming and services to adults and families with young children,” said Hoopes. “But I knew that if we could just make PCI a more welcoming place for teens, they would feel invited to attend programs and that the library was an important part of their lives.”

Each year, the statewide nonprofit Preservation Pennsylvania puts out a call for nominations to its Pennsylvania At Risk list, made up of sites determined to be among the commonwealth’s most endangered historic resources. In 2018, four remarkable places that are part of Pennsylvania’s history were added to the list and will become Preservation Pennsylvania’s work priorities for the year. Together, these four sites represent approximately 635 years of Pennsylvania history. The tales they tell are about slavery, creating community after the Civil War, taming the Pennsylvania wilds, industrial growth and railroad history, craftsmanship, and the ways that people form strong connections to local places they love.

Declared an "event unlike any other” by The Meadville Tribune, more than 300 people showed up to the World’s Largest Potluck (in Meadville) on a warm July evening -- but not just for the free potato salad and green bean casserole. Hot off the press was the long-awaited Community Action Plan, the aggregate of a multi-year civic engagement project led by the folks at My Meadville. Busily passed out to curious visitors, this summative document charts the course for future community development. “It was great to hold the finished product in our hands and to get to share it with our friends and neighbors,” said My Meadville Coordinator, Autumn Vogel. “So much hard work had gone into the plan -- from our Leadership Team, our volunteers and the whole community.”

Learn how youth organizations and libraries can promote positive youth development skills through the humanities and civic engagement through this latest recorded installment of the Teen Reading Lounge webinar series.

The Williamsport Sun-Gazette has reviewed the new film, From the Heart of Williamsport, which premiered February 9 to a full house of more than 300 people at the Community Art Center. The film was created by the Heart of Williamsport team, who describe it as "a storytelling film that celebrates what we love about our community."