Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance

Germantown United CDC and Just Act Receive $25,000 Grant to Bring Germantown Together

With a $25,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Humanities Council (PHC) Germantown will undergo an arts-based civic engagement process led by Germantown United CDC and theater-based nonprofit Just Act. The project, aimed at helping prepare Germantown for a comprehensive neighborhood planning process in 2017, will work to increase communication and connections between residents as well as to make Germantown stronger and more appealing to investors. 

The two organizations will work to increase civic participation in the planning and development process and will work to identify shared values and visions for Germantown. They will bring different neighborhood groups together at story circles to help unite the community as well as to help heal historic, invisible divisions between them.

The goal is to facilitate communication and collaborations among residential, business, civic, and faith-based groups as well as better utilize existing community networks for strengthening Germantown’s economic and social vitality.

"So much of the work that Just Act undertakes is rooted in creating space for community members to engage in new ways with one another around pressing topics that impact everyone’s lives,” said Lisa Jo Epstein, executive director of Just Act. “Our story and theatre-based techniques will mobilize an array of residents to dialogue openly about the needs of Germantown’s business corridor, providing vital information that Germantown United and city government can use to insure inclusive community growth.”

Germantown joins three other Pennsylvania communities that will receive this grant from PHC this year: Carlisle, Meadville, and Williamsport. The grants are designed to support humanities-focused approaches to community development throughout the state.

Learn more about the project at http://pahumanities.org/initiatives/civic-engagement/civic-engagement-grants/germantown.

 

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With a $25,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Humanities Council (PHC) Germantown will undergo an arts-based civic engagement process led by Germantown United CDC and theater-based nonprofit Just Act.