Register now for Heart & Soul virtual info session

By Lucy Corrie-Tannen

The town of Ambridge, just outside Pittsburgh, is on their third public art project in recent years, this time a mural at Henning Park. An action plan drafted through community gatherings identified these types of projects as a goal, and their first set of painted crosswalks sparked continuing creativity.

On the other side of the state, Wyoming County recently suffered the closing of a hospital in Tunkhannock. The outpouring of engagement from local government and nonprofit representatives in the planning process for a new facility, however, showed area residents how their community had learned to imagine solutions and possibilities together.

In 2023, after conversations and planning since 2015, the town of Meadville in northwestern PA converted a run-down building into the Arc Community Greenspace in an effort to develop neighborhood hubs and foster inclusion. 

Each of these transformations were made possible by PA Humanities’ PA Heart & Soul program, an inclusive, resident-driven process that helps towns build stronger, healthier, and more economically vibrant futures by actively engaging the voices of everyone who lives there. At its core, the process centers storytelling as a way to better understand residents’ hopes, concerns and ideas for action.

If you live, work or play in a PA community and would like to bring residents together for transformative conversations and resident-driven planning, PA Humanities invites you to learn more about becoming a PA Heart & Soul community! We are excited to launch the application process for the 2025-27 cycle this summer. 

PA Humanities will hold a virtual information session on Heart & Soul on June 12, 2025 from 1:00 to 2:00 pm. The information session will introduce our application process, the PA Heart & Soul Summer Workshop series, expand on the Community Heart & Soul® process and highlight other resources, funding and support available to communities.

PA Heart & Soul is open to communities of 30,000 or under, and the local municipality must be involved in the program.  We encourage community teams to participate, made up of representatives from:

• municipal government
• local non-profits
• schools and youth organizations
• community and civic groups
• neighborhood associations or groups
• arts, humanities and cultural groups that conduct community outreach and engagement
• anyone interested in resident-led community planning 

Join us and learn more about the PA Heart & Soul process! You may also visit Community Heart & Soul®’s website for more information.

Reserve your spot in the workshop today! For any questions, please reach out to Jen Danifo jdanifo@pahumanities.org