Just recently, The Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation was awarded a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) as part of NEH CARES. $40.3 million in grants were awarded to more than 300 cultural institutions across all 50 states and the District of Columbia to support essential services, staff, and programs.
“Over the past few months we have witnessed tremendous financial distress at cultural organizations across the country, which have been compelled to furlough staff, cancel programs, and reduce operations to make up for revenue shortfalls caused by the pandemic,” said NEH Chairman Jon Parrish Peede. “NEH is pleased to provide $40 million to preserve thousands of jobs at museums, archives, historic sites, and colleges and universities that are vital to our nation’s cultural life and economy.”
SBTHP’s $29,634 grant will fund the second iteration of the new, annual school program, Where We Are From (WWAF). In partnership with Santa Barbara Junior High School and UC Santa Barbara‘s History Department, WWAF is a multi-week, cross-disciplinary, interactive program held at El Presidio de Santa Bárbara State Historic Park that reaches approximately 400 seventh-grade students and their families. The program involves hands-on, multimedia and digital learning activities utilizing the Park’s historical resources and digital learning platforms. The grant will also provide SBTHP with the opportunity to hire four graduate students from UC Santa Barbara’s History Department as project consultants and co-facilitators.
“The knowledge and practice of history is vital to sustaining healthy individuals and communities,” said SBTHP Associate Director of Public Engagement Kevin McGarry. “Where We Are From is the programmatic embodiment of SBTHP’s institutional mission and values. The project highlights and promotes the diversity of Santa Barbara, especially the layered, cultural history of the Presidio Neighborhood. Where We Are From is a student-centered educational experience designed to deepen the connection the participating seventh graders have to their own family stories, as well as our collective past as a multi-cultural community. The hope is that the program will inspire the students to make that first step toward a deeper commitment to shaping a better future for us all. Thank you NEH for recognizing SBTHP and our partners’ commitment to this important goal.”
Students gather at El Presidio de Santa Bárbara State Historic Park to participate in “Where We Are From” last year.
As SBJHS history teacher Kristin Martinez-Pettit explained, the goal of this program is to “build a sense of community amongst the students as well as stoke their interest in the human story while cultivating their own.” SBJHS’s Principal, Lito M. García, says that the positive effects the program on his students has revealed the “importance of collaborating with a local organization to enhance our students’ understanding of their city, their home.” The NEH CARES grant will also allow SBTHP to adapt the program for new modes of learning designed for remote access. Mr. Garcia explains, “As we have entered new ways of educating our youth beyond the school site the need for access to digital platforms and devices is greater than ever. Where We Are From must continue for several reasons. One, the educational value of research, reading, writing, and speaking. Two, the intrinsic value of knowing more about the community you live in. Three, the need to have access to and the ability to learn remotely.”
Students participate in “Where We Are From.”
For the highly competitive NEH CARES grant category, NEH received more than 2,300 eligible applications from cultural organizations requesting more than $370 million in funding for projects between June and December 2020. Approximately 14 percent of the applicants were funded.
To learn more about NEH, click here >>
To learn more about SBTHP’s educational programs, click here >>