During a recent museum visit by 7th graders from Galena Middle School, one student lingered behind as her classmates explored the museum. Shyly, with her teacher nearby, she asked me numerous questions about the Geologic Time concept I had just shared with her and her peers. Admittedly, it is a difficult concept to grasp, but she was intrigued and wanted to learn more. Her eyes widened as we talked about mile-high glaciers, dinosaurs, mastodons, the first modern humans. What a privilege to be there that morning to spark a young girl’s curiosity. And my experience is not unique.
Our staff often relay heartwarming stories of museum visitors who are inspired by what they see in our galleries. Visitors tell us about their immigrant ancestors who mined locally. Civil War buffs share their awe of standing so near the Peace in Union painting. Many marvel over the textiles and clothing displayed. The breadth of the stories we tell at the Galena & U.S. Grant Museum is remarkable.
As we kick off our 2019 year-end Annual Fund Drive, our message is simple yet profound:
we need your financial support to keep educating and inspiring!
As a private non-profit, we rely largely on private donations. We do not receive federal, state or local tax funding. You have helped provide the resources to care for our collection, maintain climate control, host educational events and programs. You care deeply about Galena-area history and want us to continue inspiring curiosity now and in future generations.
As you plan your year-end contributions, we hope you’ll consider some of our efforts of the last year and the future to make our Society more valuable to you and to the Galena region:
¨ We are fostering a community of young historians. So far in 2019, we hosted 1,880 students and youths at the Museum. We are on task to host more in 2020.
¨ We are nurturing life-long learners through senior group tours. We exceeded our 2019 goal by 6% and project another increase in 2020.
¨ We provided 10 mission-driven events, programs and festivals with an estimated audience of 2,500. We are continuing to grow our events due to increased demand.
¨ Our social media and web presence skyrocketed, engaging readers and visitors across the world. Our strategic marketing plan is intended to reach more in the coming year by activating new channels and enticing new visitors.
¨ We created two temporary exhibits to add freshness to our great permanent stories. And we are thrilled to look ahead to the future of our museum in its new location.
¨ Partnering with the Illinois Humanities Council, our outreach team connected with 1,300 students in 15 schools with a message of why our Driftless region is so unique. We are exploring other ways to connect to students in their schools.
¨ We resurrected a friends group, now called the Guardians of History. They are assisting with many important tasks like inventory, oral histories and programming.
We are more than our museum, our artifacts and our events. We are a conduit to retrospection and introspection. Understanding our past will result in a brighter future. With your support, we will make that possible for generations to come.
