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- The Window Keeper
The Window Keeper: Civic Honors
Nominate a Pennsylvanian whose everyday actions strengthen community and sustain civic life
Ujamaa Collective (Pittsburgh)
Keystone Oral Histories (New Cumberland)
City of Carbondale
Erie County Public Library
Poet (Philadelphia)
Cumberland County Historical Society (Carlisle)
Erie's Black Wall Street
Crawford County Historical Society (Meadville)
University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia)
Rust Belt Mayberry (Ambridge)
August Wilson House (Pittsburgh)
Friends of the Tanner House (Philadelphia)
Mt. Tabor Preservation Project (Mt. Holly Springs)
Jefferson Educational Society (Erie)
The Cooperage Project (Honesdale)
PA Museums (Harrisburg)
Susquehanna Valley Mediation (Selinsgrove)
Black Scranton Project
Chester Cultural Arts & Technology Center
YMCA Homewood/Brushton’s Lighthouse Project (Pittsburgh)
Pennsbury Manor (Morrisville)
Port Allegany Heart & Soul
The PEOPLE Project (Gettysburg)
Meet the first 25 Window Keepers
PA Humanities is proud to introduce the first 25 individuals whose everyday actions help shape strong communities and illuminate what’s possible across Pennsylvania.
Nominations are now open
Know someone whose everyday actions strengthen community and sustain civic life? Nominate a Window Keeper today.
The Window Keeper: Civic Honors is a statewide initiative that recognizes Pennsylvanians whose everyday actions help shape strong communities and sustain civic life through the power of the humanities.
The project is inspired by Philadelphia Poet Laureate Yolanda Wisher’s poem The Window Keeper, in which the Declaration of Independence is imagined as a vast window, one that must be continually cleaned, clarified, and cared for so it can both let in light and reflect the light of each new day. Real-life Window Keepers are people who take on this responsibility and illuminate what’s possible in our communities.
What is a Window Keeper?
Window Keepers are everyday Pennsylvanians who help sustain civic life through acts of service, care, connection, and education.
They:
- Bring people together and strengthen relationships within their communities
- Use storytelling, dialogue, history, or cultural practices to deepen understanding
- Help others feel seen, heard, and connected
- Encourage participation in civic and community life
- Sustain traditions, knowledge, and shared experiences across generations
They are neighbors, educators, organizers, librarians, faith leaders, volunteers, and community members whose contributions often go unrecognized but have lasting impact.
Read the Guidelines for more information.
Let us all be this believer,
Out on the scaffold of history…
Polishing the Giant Window
‘Til we see our own
Luminous faces.
How to Nominate a Window Keeper
Step 1
Learn what a Window Keeper is
Learn what a Window Keeper is
Review this website, watch the video of the poem, and look at the examples of our first 25 Window Keepers.
Step 2
Identify a Window Keeper in your community
Identify a Window Keeper in your community
It could be a neighbor, educator, organizer, librarian, faith leader, volunteer, etc.
Step 3
Submit your Window Keeper through our online form
Submit your Window Keeper through our online form
Your need their name, contact info, location, and a little about the work they do.
Nominate A Window Keeper In Your Community Today!
We’re inviting anyone in Pennsylvania to nominate a Window Keeper in their community. PA Humanities staff and a review committee will honor selected individuals, sharing and archiving their stories online, and creating a living map of these civic heroes who demonstrate care and community leadership across Pennsylvania. Together, these stories form a lasting public collection that reflects how democracy is practiced and sustained in daily life with our shared humanity at its core.
Deadline September 1st.
Window Keepers across Pennsylvania
PA Humanities is proud to introduce the first 25 Window Keepers! These are Pennsylvanians whose everyday leadership helps strengthen civic life. They were carefully selected by PA Humanities to launch the Window Keeper: Civic Honors initiative and illustrate the many ways people care for their communities.
Click the map points to learn more about each Window Keeper!
As the statewide leader in humanities-based community work, PA Humanities has demonstrated how stories, dialogue, and reflection can strengthen communities and expand participation in civic life. Through nationally recognized programs like PA Heart & Soul and Youth-Led Humanities, we have helped cultivate a growing network of civic leaders across Pennsylvania by putting the humanities into action in everyday spaces. The Window Keeper initiative builds on this work at a pivotal moment, as the nation approaches the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. We encourage Pennsylvanians to reflect on how civic life continues to take shape today, not only through historic texts, but through the everyday lives, relationships, and experiences of people across the Commonwealth.
Get your community on the map, nominate someone today!
Help us recognize everyday leaders from all 67 counties across Pennsylvania whose care and commitment strengthen our communities.
Nominate A Window Keeper In Your Community Today!
By submitting a nomination, you can:
- Recognize a neighbor, educator, organizer, or other community member whose steady leadership strengthens civic life
- Shine a light on the everyday places where democracy is practiced, from classrooms and libraries to parks and front porches
- Ensure your community is represented in a statewide story collection spanning all 67 counties
Read the Guidelines for more information.
Resources
Promotional Toolkit
Download graphics, messaging, and outreach materials to help you share the Window Keeper Civic Honors initiative with your community.
Nomination Guidelines
Review the eligibility criteria, nomination requirements, and important information about how Window Keeper submissions will be reviewed and recognized.
Donate to support PA Humanities so it can continue to provide programming like The Window Keeper: Civic Honors
If you’re interested in sponsorship opportunities with this initiative, please contact Ken Dinitz at kdinitz@pahumanities.org
Our Funders
The Window Keeper: Civic Honors initiative is supported in part by Pennsylvania state legislators, the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, the National Endowment for the Arts, and individual donor Randall Miller. “The Window Keeper” by Yolanda Wisher was commissioned by PA Humanities and ArtPhilly for America250PA’s National Convening of State Partners Closing Dinner on September 21, 2024.
