Act Now! Your Donation Supports CCAHA's Educational Initiatives

Dear friends,

We hope this message finds you well at the end of another year that was not “business as usual.” Here at the Conservation Center for Art & Historic Artifacts, we have been back to full onsite capacity since June and have enjoyed slowly opening back up for visitors. Our conservation and preservation services staff are busier than ever supporting collecting institutions and private clients in caring for their treasures and making them more accessible through exhibition and digitization.

One of our great joys as a nonprofit conservation center is the important role we play as educators, providing opportunities for people to learn more about conservation, preservation, and collections care. These educational activities take many forms, from hosting graduate interns, to presenting at conferences, to consulting one-on-one with staff or volunteers at organizations of all sizes. Contributions from friends like you are vital in sustaining this part of our mission.

As any teacher knows, educational encounters are opportunities for mutual learning. In this season of gratitude, CCAHA gives thanks for what we have learned from the people and institutions engaged in our educational work:

• In March we presented "Diversity in Collections Care: Many Voices," a virtual colloquium addressing diversity in our field, diversity considerations in stewarding collections, and working with communities. The colloquium's illuminating presentations and honest conversations inspired us to continue working toward change and have launched a six-part webinar series on facilitating dialogue in collections care.
   
• Our robust internship and fellowship program is continuing. This year we are supporting emerging conservation professionals by hosting two third-year conservation graduate students for hands-on internships and two recent graduates for year-long fellowships. Our interns and fellows bring to CCAHA their expertise and a new body of knowledge that contributes to our wider staff’s professional development. They have dived into researching technical topics and building new connections in the communities we serve.
   
• Thanks in part to a grant from the Pennsylvania Abolition Society, CCAHA is partnering with the African American Genealogy Group to provide preservation workshops, guided conversations, and resources for the region’s family historians.  A growing part of our work is helping to preserve community history that lives outside traditional museums, libraries, and archives.  
   
• CCAHA developed and presented a four-part webinar series to support collections care volunteers working in cultural organizations. The programs were delivered in shorter sessions to minimize screentime, and participants were encouraged to participate in online networking sessions. Whether onscreen or in person, we know that learning from each other’s shared experiences is one of the most important components of any educational opportunity.

We know that you value cultural heritage and understand the importance of the work we do.  Training museum and library professionals, supporting community memory keepers, and educating casual collectors helps to foster a stronger stewardship “ecosystem.”  Donations help us keep this programming free or at low-cost, ensuring that our opportunities can be as inclusive as possible.  

We hope you’ll consider making a contribution below to support CCAHA’s diverse educational initiatives.  Equally important, we hope you’ll continue to use our resources, attend our programs, and know that CCAHA is your partner in caring for cultural heritage.

With best wishes as we look ahead to 2022,

Larry Massaro                                            Laura Hortz Stanton
Board Chair                                                Executive Director