Kosierowski announces $6,000 grant award to county library

State Rep. Bridget Kosierowski, D-Lackawanna, announced today that the Abington Community Library was awarded a $6,000 emergency relief grant from the Pennsylvania Humanities Council, via a program called PHC CARES.

Kosierowski said these awards will help the Abington Community Library and other organizations across the commonwealth continue to serve their communities by retaining staff, shifting to online formats, and making resources available to those who depend on them for education, connection and inspiration.

“Now more than ever, we need the vital resources and programming offered by organizations and institutions like the Abington Community Library,” Kosierowski said. “These dollars will help sustain and evolve important programs and events in ways that can then continue to enrich the lives of our residents throughout our communities.”

PHC CARES is funded by the national CARES Act. The National Endowment for the Humanities received funding allocated to the 56 humanities councils in the United States, including PHC, to distribute to humanities-based nonprofits financially impacted by the coronavirus. PHC CARES complements the $2.4 million in CARES Act funding previously provided to Pennsylvania by the NEH.

According to Kosierowski, PHC reviewed 313 applications, with grant awards ranging from $3,000 to $10,000, scaled to each organization’s average annual operating budget. The recipients represent museums, historical societies, libraries and other vital cultural institutions in 57 counties across the commonwealth.