Special to the Journal
The Essex National Heritage Commission (Essex Heritage), in keeping with its long tradition of supporting the region’s unique cultural heritage, announced the 2021 Essex Heritage Partnership Grant Program recipients at the Commission’s Spring Annual Meeting on April 22.
Two Lynn organizations, Beyond Walls Inc. and the North Shore Community Development Coalition, were among the recipients. Over the next year, the 12 grant recipients in total will be working to implement a diverse range of educational, interpretive, and preservation projects throughout Boston’s North Shore and the Merrimack Valley. This year, Essex Heritage added “Access and Inclusion” as a fourth category, to assist in keeping our unique and amazing resources accessible to all.
“We recognize the importance of supporting local organizations and we are proud that we are able to award twelve partnership grants again this year,” said Annie Harris, Essex Heritage CEO, “Over the 23-year life of the program we have provided grants to every community in Essex County – and we know that this seed money greatly impacts the region by leveraging more investments in the Essex National Heritage Area.”
Lynn’s 2021 Essex Heritage Partnership Grant Recipients:
Beyond Walls Inc. – In partnership with Lynn Public Schools, Beyond Walls’ “Taking the Classroom to the Streets” project will use culturally relevant public art as the foundation for cross-curricular learning and increased student engagement. Using large-scale works of public art in downtown Lynn as the foundation for an innovative, cross-curricular educational experience designed to engage students more deeply, this project provides youth and families with opportunities to connect art with history, identity, culture, and community as well as deepen civic engagement.
North Shore Community Development Coalition – NSCDC’s YouthBuild program will complete accessibility improvements for Lynn Museum/Lynn Arts including a wheelchair ramp and benches. NSCDC will connect this to a current accessibility curriculum that they are teaching YouthBuild students this Spring as well as to the community service model that is embedded in YouthBuild. As the majority of YouthBuild students are from Lynn, this will also be a point of pride for participants to ‘give back’ to their community. Lynn Museum/LynnArts has a makeshift ramp currently, which needs to be replaced. To accompany the ramp, the students will also build two benches to make the area more welcoming.
About Essex Heritage and the Essex National Heritage Area
Essex Heritage is the non-profit organization that manages the Essex National Heritage Area by developing programs that enhance, preserve, and encourage recreation, education, conservation and interpretation projects on Boston’s North Shore and the Lower Merrimack River Valley. The Essex National Heritage Area comprises the 34 cities and towns of Essex County, MA. For more information, visit www.EssexHeritage.org or call (978) 740-0444.
About the Essex Heritage Partnership Grant Program
The Essex Heritage Partnership Grant Program is a matching grant program created to foster and support the stewardship activities of municipalities and organizations that share Essex Heritage’s mission to preserve and enhance the historic, cultural, and natural resources of the Essex National Heritage Area (Essex County). Impacting many in the region, the 23-year-old program has invested more than $1.6 million in support of the region’s nationally significant heritage.