Minnesota Humanities Center Veterans' Voices
Total from 2013 Appropriation: $309,020.30
Total from 2014 Appropriation: $100,000.00
This Veterans-led initiative draws on the power of the humanities to bring the knowledge, experience, and leadership of Veterans into public life and education. The program helped Minnesotans celebrate Veterans’ stories and provided a stage for future Minnesota Veterans to share their stories, which have often been absent. Veterans’ Voices recognized the next great generation and illustrated that the Veteran’s voice is essential to the work of building our great democracy.
During this time period, Legacy funding helped support Public Events such as:
• Two Veterans’ Voices Award Ceremonies (September 11, 2014 and September 11, 2015), attended by nearly 650 individuals, honoring 55 Veterans for their positive contributions to communities across Minnesota
• Always Lost: A Meditation on War, a traveling exhibit featuring Pulitzer Prize-winning combat photographs and literary meditations on the nature of war, toured Minnesota visiting 14 communities and reaching more than 4,000 visitors
• The creation of a Veterans’ Voices Literature resource and professional development opportunity for educators who seek to incorporate authentic Veteran narratives into classrooms across the state
$425,000 the first year and $425,000 the second year are for programs and purposes of the Minnesota Humanities Center. Of this amount, $100,000 each year may be used for the veterans' voices program. The Minnesota Humanities Center may consider museums and organizations celebrating the identities of Minnesotans for grants from these funds. The Minnesota Humanities Center may develop a written plan for the competitive issuance of these grants and, if developed, shall submit that plan for review and approval by the Department of Administration.
• The Humanities Center will become a resource and partner for organizations offering Veterans related programming
• The Humanities Center will become a place where Veterans feel comfortable and at home
• Veterans and civilians will come together in thoughtful conversation
• Minnesotans will recognize Veterans as individuals with authentic narratives who make positive contributions to communities across the state
• Participants will make a connection between military service and the humanities
· Fourteen public Veterans’-related events attended by over 500 people
· The 2013 and 2014 Veterans’ Voices Awards, together recognizing 55 Veterans from across Minnesota who served honorably, are thriving, and are making extraordinary contributions to their communities
$125,000 is from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund for the Veterans’ Voices program to educate and engage the community regarding Veterans’ contributions, knowledge, skills, and experiences. Of this amount, $25,000 is for transfer to the Association of Minnesota Public Education Radio Stations for statewide programming to promote the Veterans’ Voices program. This is a onetime appropriation.
• The Humanities Center will become a resource and partner for organizations offering Veterans related programming
• The Humanities Center will become a place where Veterans feel comfortable and at home
• Veterans and civilians will come together in thoughtful conversation
• Minnesotans will recognize Veterans as individuals with authentic narratives who make positive contributions to communities across the state
• Participants will make a connection between military service and the humanities
Measurable outcomes not yet available