SERVICE PROJECTS
Supporting the Community Through Service
“When we leverage our resources for our visitors, that is a part of being a good member of the community.”
Through our ongoing commitment to serve all Hoosiers, the Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites has recently expanded partner engagement by initiating and supporting community service projects across the state.
“We want to be collaborative and supportive of our community, and we accomplish that in a multitude of ways,” said Cathy Ferree, president and CEO of the Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites. “When we leverage our resources for our visitors, that’s just part of being a good member of the community.”
Among our many service projects in the past year, we have supported these community organizations:
HEAD START OF MARION AND HAMILTON COUNTIESTo celebrate the season of giving, in addition to our Head Start program support, we also provided more than 300 toys to make the holidays brighter for young children from low-income families and those in foster care.
The project was made possible through generous donations from Jack & Jill of America, Inc., Indianapolis Chapter and the Pacers Foundation.
Head Start families also received tickets to come to the museum to experience the holiday festivities during Celebration Crossing.
MUJERES CONECTADASFor Dia Internacional de la Mujer (International Women's Day) on March 2, we hosted nearly 200 Spanish-speaking women at the museum for the organization’s annual conference. Each month, we also hosted workshops for the Las Mujeres que Habito (I LIVE) program.
With the core belief that all women have the ability to transform their lives and achieve the success and happiness they deserve, Mujeres Conectadas works to improve the quality of life for Hispanic women in Indiana. Programs focus on a range of personal and professional development topics including mental, physical, social and financial health and well-being.
WHEELER MISSIONTo benefit people experiencing homelessness during the coldest months of the year, we donated 61 blankets and 146 sets of socks to the Wheeler Mission Center for Women & Children.
The items were collected through our Cover the Community with Love event held on March 2 to celebrate the opening of the Woven Together exhibit. Vera Bradley® also made a generous donation.
The Cover the Community with Love donation drive perfectly complemented the overarching story of Woven Together, which featured more than 30 beautiful Jacquard coverlets and shared the stories of Hoosier weavers, including many who overcame hardships in their own lives.
INDIANAPOLIS PUBLIC LIBRARYThousands of children had the opportunity to earn museum admission for their families by spending time reading throughout the summer.
We donated 2,300 family four-pack admission passes as prizes for participants in the Summer Reading Program, which helps improve childhood literacy and skills retention. We also donated visitor passes to the library for families to check out (just like a book) so they can “check out” the museum and historic sites.
The museum also presented Literacy Day where families could engage in interactive read-alongs, musical performances and hands-on STEAM projects. ◆
