ROOTS & BRANCHES

It was a true “back to the future” moment for me earlier this month when I attended a kickoff party for the 50^th anniversary of the organization now known simply as PA Humanities.

My own association with the group dates back more than two decades to when it was known as the Pennsylvania Humanities Council and I was one of the presenters for six years in a program the group underwrote called “Commonwealth Speakers.”

In the Commonwealth Speakers program, basically any nonprofit group in Pennsylvania—ranging from libraries to historical and genealogical societies—could apply to host a presenter from the Commonwealth Speakers catalog. The organization was required to offer the program free to the public and publicize it with the goal of getting an audience of at least 25 people. In exchange, PHC paid the speaker’s honorarium, travel, lodging and meals.

For me, it turned out to be a wonderful opportunity. I went into the program in 2022 just as I was cutting my teeth as a genealogy speaker while I was still during my first stay as executive director for Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania.

I don’t believe there had been a genealogy topic in the Commonwealth Speakers catalog previously, because I found a ready audience for my talks … I did a couple of dozen the first year I was in the program and was steadily booked during the whole six years.

Funding for Commonwealth Speakers dried up during the Great Recession, but the now-rebranded PA Humanities has survived and is working on a variety of innovative programming that preserves the stories of people and helps encourage a whole gamut of humanities-based activities. The group was also the conduit for a lifeline of vitally needed COVID grants to some 92 organizations totaling $1.4 million through the program known as SHARP (Sustaining the Humanities through the American Rescue Plan).

Among the programs PA Humanities is and has worked on are:

• PA Heart & Soul: In 2015, PA Humanities partnered with the Orton Family Foundation to bring the Community Heart & Soul® model to Pennsylvania communities — a proven process that empowers people to shape the future of their communities by creating a shared sense of belonging that improves local decision-making and ultimately strengthens social, cultural and economic vibrancy.
• The Teen Reading Lounge is built on the belief that encouraging youth to choose creative programs based on their own interests is crucial to adolescent development. PA Humanities created an award-winning, unconventional approach to book clubs that offers a safe space for ages 12 to 18.
• The PA Kindness Poem Project in which the organization partnered with Philadelphia poet laureate Trapeta B. Mayson on a mission to help spread kindness throughout the state. The year-long initiative invited residents to share messages on social media that promote generosity, healing, reconciliation, and peace.

Donations to PA Humanities are tax deductible and can be made at the URL, https://pahumanities.org/support-us/donate/