PA Heart & Soul Celebrates 10 Years of Community Impact at State Capitol
Harrisburg, PA (May 13, 2025) – Today, leaders from across Pennsylvania gathered in the Capitol Rotunda to celebrate the 10th anniversary of PA Heart & Soul, a community-driven initiative supported by PA Humanities that has helped residents in 16 communities and 53 municipalities shape the future of their towns through storytelling, collaboration, and connecting through shared values.
PA Heart & Soul, which began in 2015 through a collaboration with Community Heart & Soul, a national nonprofit based in Vermont, uses a resident-led approach to planning and revitalization. It encourages shared decision-making and gets people involved in creating an action plan for the future. The initiative strengthens community bonds and serves as a catalyst for economic growth.
Hosted by PA Humanities in partnership with Community Heart & Soul, the event brought together state legislators, local officials, and community leaders who have seen the transformative power of PA Heart & Soul firsthand.
“The humanities have proven a powerful tool for community and economic development in Pennsylvania,” said Laurie Zierer, Executive Director of PA Humanities. “Our resilient PA Heart & Soul towns are finding innovative ways to engage residents, build relationships, honor homegrown talents and assets, and reclaim and reshape their communities.”
Mark Sherman, President of Community Heart & Soul said, “It is remarkable to reflect on a decade of impactful partnership between Community Heart & Soul and PA Humanities, united by a shared commitment to strengthening civic life in small cities and towns across the Commonwealth. In 17 Pennsylvania communities—representing over 160,000 residents—we’ve helped people build deeper connections, elevate local voices, and shape more vibrant, resilient futures.”
Elected officials who have seen the impact in their districts reflected on the initiative’s outcomes:
Rep. Rob Matzie praised the effort, ““PA Heart and Soul has been invaluable in fostering and nurturing a true sense of community in Ambridge – culturally, socially, and economically. I am proud to have supported their efforts and will enthusiastically continue to do so.”
Rep. R. Lee James remarked, “Organizations like the Venango Area Heart and Soul do wonders for our residents by providing them with opportunities to voice what they like about Venango County and what they’d like to see different. That’s the beauty of open discourse. Continuous dialogue and feedback serving as the driver of forward-thinking ideas creates a positive outlook for all.”
Mayor Michele Bannon of Carbondale, a former PA Heart & Soul team leader, added, “”Community Heart and Soul has had a meaningful impact on our community. The structure of the program gave our residents a voice and what they love about Carbondale. It’s helped us to recognize what makes us stronger and unique as a community. By concentrating on what we love, it encouraged our residents to get involved with what they are passionate about in Carbondale.”
Mayor Jaime Kinder of Meadville, “The process helped us understand that for Meadville to be successful, it had to work for everyone who lived here. As a result, we stopped looking for someone else to save us. Instead, we used the Community Heart & Soul process to help us shape our own future. That shift in mindset—focusing on creating a place where residents thrive—has been transformative.”
The event concluded with a reading of a proclamation from Governor Josh Shapiro declaring May 13, 2025 as “Community Heart & Soul Day,” recognizing the 10th anniversary of PA Heart & Soul and its lasting contribution to community development in the Commonwealth. The text of the proclamation can be found here:
PROCLAMATION BY THE GOVERNOR
WHEREAS, PA Heart & Soul is a statewide initiative by PA Humanities based on Community Heart & Soul (CH&S), a nationwide four-phase, 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; and
WHEREAS, PA Heart & Soul utilizes the unique Community Heart & Soul (CH&S) process that centers resident leadership and experiences and is based on three powerful principles – involve everyone, focus on what matters most, and play the long game; and
WHEREAS, PA Heart & Soul, through this process, helps Pennsylvania municipalities move toward a brighter, more prosperous future by bringing community residents closer together; and
WHEREAS, this program transforms communities through initiatives such as creating new community spaces, energizing downtown areas, honoring history and culture, and more; and
WHEREAS, 53 cities, townships, and boroughs have participated in this process in the Commonwealth, brought to Pennsylvania by a unique and powerful partnership among PA Humanities, Community Heart & Soul, the Department of Community and Economic Development, the PA Route 6 Alliance, and the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources;
THEREFORE, I, Josh Shapiro, Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, do hereby proclaim May 13, 2025, as
COMMUNITY HEART & SOUL DAY
in recognition of ten years of this unique partnership and the hard work of Pennsylvania municipalities. I encourage all Pennsylvanians to learn more about the Community Heart & Soul process to improve the quality of life in their community.
GIVEN under my hand and the Seal of the Governor, at the City of Harrisburg, on this first day of May two thousand twenty-five, the year of the Commonwealth the two hundred forty-ninth.
Governor Josh Shapiro
For more information about PA Heart & Soul, please visit their website.
