Independence Day 2024 will be especially meaningful for all of us at Founding Forward.
It will be the first time we celebrate the 4th of July as Founding Forward. Six months ago, we announced Founding Forward as a new, nonpartisan organization created through merger of The Union League Legacy Foundation and Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge.
We are excited about the ways we are already building on our collective strengths. As you’ll read below, dozens of educators attended our teacher seminars, held for the first time at Union League’s Liberty Hill. Professional development experiences like these have a powerful impact on teachers’ lives, benefiting their students as well. We invite you to also check out our intriguing and diverse calendar of Speaker Series events.
Teacher seminars have a new home at Liberty Hill
Educators participating in our 2024 teacher seminars are the first class to enjoy the amenities of Union League Liberty Hill. Founding Forward’s residential teacher programs have permanently relocated from the Valley Forge campus to Liberty Hill. This will allow us to use the Valley Forge campus in the summer months for student programs beginning as early as next year.
We were thrilled to welcome dozens of teachers from across the country, looking to enrich their knowledge. Our summer teacher programs filled quickly this year, and the Liberty Hill setting will be an even stronger draw for next year. We also continue to offer traveling workshops to visit historic sites.
We are excited to continue this month with Freedom, Opportunity, and the History of Immigration, First Five Presidents: Forging a New Nation, French and Indian War, and Medal of Honor Legacy: World War I.
More than 14,000 educators have participated in our accredited programs, gaining inspiration they bring to their classrooms.
Attend our Speaker Programs
Lincoln and the Uncivil War over Immigration
Civil War Roundtable at Liberty Hill
Monday, July 8, 6:00pm reception; 6:30pm program
Professor and Lincoln-Prize-winning scholar Harold Holzer will lead our conversation on President Abraham Lincoln’s role as an advocate for major immigration reform, tracing his evolution from courting Nativists to advocate for European immigration.
Washington & Hamilton: The Indispensable Relationship
Library Hour at Liberty Hill
Monday, July 15, 6:00pm reception, 6:30pm program
Authors Stephen Knott and Tony Williams will discuss their book, Washington & Hamilton: The Alliance the Forged America, exploring the importance of their relationship to the founding of America and the creation of our free American institutions. The book will be for sale during the pre-program reception.
Zero to Hero with Medal of Honor Recipient Allen Lynch
Library Hour at Liberty Hill
Monday, July 29, 6:00pm reception, 6:30pm program
Vietnam veteran Allen Lynch will recount his journey from bullied, aimless kid to Medal of Honor recipient, a choice which, by his own admission, went from “Zero to Hero.” Sgt. Lynch will share his Vietnam experience and stories from life after the war, including overcoming PTSD. His memoir, Zero to Hero, will be for sale during the pre-program reception.
The History of Eastern State Penitentiary
Library Hour at Torresdale
Tuesday, July 23, 6:00pm reception, 6:30pm program
Library Hour at UL National Golf Club
Monday, August 12, 6:00pm reception, 6:30pm progra
Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site President and CEO Kerry Sautner will discuss the fascinating history of this Philadelphia landmark, from its opening in 1829 as a place of a “confinement in solitude with labor” through escapes and riots to haunted historic site.
Speaker Series programs will be available live on our YouTube channel and after the program via our YouTube channel and social media platforms.
Help us celebrate PA Day
Join us at our Valley Forge campus on July 20 for PA Day, part of the nationwide preparation for America’s 250th anniversary of Independence Day. Founding Forward and the Friends of the Medal of Honor Grove, a separate nonprofit that maintains the grove, invite volunteers of all ages and abilities to help beautify this living tribute to each of our country’s 3,500+ recipients of our nation’s highest military award for valor. To volunteer, please register through America 250 (find us under Chester County’s July 20 event).
America250 will provide complimentary supplies and t-shirts to all volunteers. Light refreshments will be provided after the clean-up.
Thank you to our donors!
All donors who made charitable gifts to Founding Forward between July 1, 2023, and June 30, 2024, will be gratefully acknowledged in the Honor Roll of Donors for the 2023-2024 fiscal year that will be mailed to all donors this fall.
The generous support of so many will help Founding Forward to focus its efforts on civic education nationwide at a time when it is needed most.