Preparing for Heart & Soul

Preparing for PA Heart & Soul: A Workshop Series

Interested in becoming a PA Heart & Soul community? PA Humanities, in partnership with Community Heart & Soul and the PA Route 6 Alliance, is offering a FREE special lunchtime learning series in May and June on how to bring Community Heart & Soul to your town.

Community Heart & Soul is a resident-driven process that engages the entire population of a town in identifying what they love most about their community, what future they want for it, and how to achieve it. Developed and field-tested over a decade in partnership with over 100 small cities and towns across America, Community Heart & Soul is a proven process for engaging a community in shaping its future. PA Humanities is the only statewide partner supporting Heart & Soul in the Commonwealth. 

Participating in this series will prepare communities to bring Community Heart & Soul to their town (application process coming in July 2023). Communities that apply will have exclusive access to support, coaching and funding from PA Humanities and other partners. 

In addition to being ready to submit an application, participants will learn how to:

Assess a community’s civic health

Engage and onboard residents and partners 

Build a community team that reflects the demographics of the region

Plan resources to support the 2-year process

It is recommended that 1-3 individuals from each community participate in the series. Individuals can be residents, municipal leaders, non-profit partners, local business owners, arts and culture professionals – anyone who might be a part of the Heart & Soul team in your area. 

Questions? Contact Jen Danifo at jdanifo@pahumanities.org

Workshops & Registration Details

May 24, 2023 (12:00 – 1:30 p.m.)

Assessing Your Community’s Civic Health

This workshop will explore the Community Readiness Inventory, a tool towns can use to better understand the civic health of their community past and present. By using this tool, communities can begin to set intentions and goals for using Heart & Soul as a way to engage and plan for their town’s future – the first step in preparing an application!

Register by clicking here

June 14, 2023 (12:00 – 1:30 p.m.)

Exploring Your Community’s Networks

Building a Heart & Soul team and volunteer corps – and gaining interest in the process – means knowing who lives, works and plays in your community. Participants will learn how to seek out and understand their community’s network through a tool called the Community Network Analysis, which can be used as a way to build an inclusion team and process. 

Register by clicking here

July 12, 2023 (12:00 – 1:00 p.m.)

Leveraging Your Community’s Assets

How much does Heart & Soul cost? What should we use funding on? These are the top two questions we usually get from interested towns. Participants will use the Heart & Soul Resource Worksheet to learn what is needed to get Heart & Soul off the ground. Communities will walk away knowing how to leverage and apply their own community assets – and access exclusive outside resources – to support the process. 

Register by clicking here.

The PA Heart & Soul Workshop Series and Community Heart & Soul funding is made possible by the following program partners: