HANCOCK, Mich. (WZMQ) – The Finlandia Foundation National (FFN) announced in a press release that it has launched a “Saving Finland in America” fundraising campaign to help support its’ acquisition of the Finnish American Heritage Center.
FFN acquired the Finnish American Heritage Center soon after Finlandia University announced that it would be closing its doors in March of 2023. In the acquisition, they also received all of the Center’s archives, artifacts, and programs, including the Finlandia Art Gallery, Price of Freedom Museum, Finnish American Folk School, North Wind Books, and the monthly Finnish American Reporter.
According to the press release, this fundraising effort is the first step in a multi-phase plan to maintain the current programs, staffing, conversation, and care for material assets. The foundation is still awaiting confirmation of the purchase of the Center’s building and is working to relocate the collections that were housed in former university buildings. The foundation also is going to prioritize digitizing record to make them accessible to researchers around the world, and create and endowment to ensure the future health of the Finnish American Heritage Center and entities.
“These funds are urgently needed to protect and preserve the pieces of Finnish America that collectively tell the story of the people and their impact on the history of the United States,” says Anne-Mari Paster, president of the Pasadena, California-based Finlandia Foundation. “We encourage all to help us save what we call the Smithsonian of Finnish America.”
For more information about the campaign, or the Finlandia Foundation, click here.
