Cartwright Announces $30,000 in NEH CARES Act Funding to the Wyoming Historical and Geological Society
Press Release
U.S. Representative Matt Cartwright (PA-08) today announced a total of $30,000 awarded to the Wyoming Historical and Geological Society through a National Endowment for the Humanities CARES Act economic stabilization grant. This funding will enable the Wyoming Historical and Geological Society to retain three full-time and part-time staff positions and technical consultation to oversee collection digitization and virtual outreach activities.
"The arts and cultural organizations help us create a sense of community," said Rep. Cartwright. "They also amplify our hospitality and tourism industries, which are just recently opening to an eager public. This grant will help sustain the Historical Society and its part enhancing our regional offerings and preserving our culture and history."
"While working from home during the quarantine, staff realized how little access there was to our historical documents, photos and artifacts," said Mary Walsh, Interim Director, Wyoming Historical and Geological Society. "The NEH funding gives us the opportunity to retain all four staff members who will digitize items from our collection and make them available on our website. We thank Congressman Cartwright for his support and are very grateful to receive this funding."
This award is one of 317 grants made nationwide that will allow cultural organizations to retain staff to preserve and curate humanities collections, advance humanities research, and maintain buildings and core operations. The Pennsylvania Humanities Council, which supports the arts and humanities across the Commonwealth, also received $792,000 through the NEH CARES Act funding to state and jurisdictional humanities councils.
The Wyoming Historical and Geological Society is also known as the Luzerne County Historical Society, which is the oldest county historical society in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It pursues its mission through exhibits, events, lectures and tours at its museum, library and historic houses, as well as by stewarding its comprehensive local history collection of objects and documents.
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