Freedoms Foundation
{{Short description|Non-profit, non-partisan, non-sectarian educational organization}}
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The Freedoms Foundation (now Founding Forward) is an American non-profit, non-partisan, non-sectarian educational organization, founded in 1949. The foundation is located adjacent to the Valley Forge National Historical Park, near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. In early 2024, the organization merged with the Union League Legacy Foundation to create Founding Forward, a new civic education non-profit.
Bill of Responsibilities
In 1985, the foundation developed a "Bill of Responsibilities"{{cite web |url=http://www.freedomsfoundation.org/File/cc25939e-e65c-4fa7-b780-a98cc05d4b4d |title=Archived copy |website=www.freedomsfoundation.org |access-date=19 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208112346/http://www.freedomsfoundation.org/File/cc25939e-e65c-4fa7-b780-a98cc05d4b4d |archive-date=8 December 2015 |url-status=dead}} as part of its worldwide educational efforts. It was meant to be a corollary to the Bill of Rights.
Medal of Honor Grove
As part of its mission to promote responsible citizenship, character and freedom, the foundation maintains a grove dedicated to recipients of the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest award for valor. The Medal of Honor Grove consists of forty-two acres of woodland. Within the grove, each area is dedicated to one of the fifty states, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.[http://www.freedomsfoundation.org/MedalOfHonor.cfm Medal Of Honor Grove] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111102144141/http://www.freedomsfoundation.org/MedalOfHonor.cfm |date=November 2, 2011 }}. Freedoms Foundation of Valley Forge. Retrieved 2011-10-25. Each acre contains an obelisk that features a dedication plaque, plus the seal of that state, the District of Columbia, or Puerto Rico, plus a list of Medal of Honor recipients from that state, D.C., or Puerto Rico. In most cases, a tree has been planted for each recipient, along with a tree marker that contains the name, rank, unit, and date and place of action for the recipient. "America's Walk of Honor" was dedicated in April 1997, to allow visitors an opportunity to walk the grounds of the Medal of Honor Grove. American artist Peter Max designed the first stone on the Walk of Honor.
At the foundation are ninety volumes of research on Medal of Honor recipients, including photographs, sketches, biographies, and handwritten citations.{{cite news|first=Martha|last=Woodall|title=Honors for a nun who lauded heroes|date=October 23, 2011|newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer|url=http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/20111023_Honors_for_a_nun_who_lauded_heroes.html|access-date=2011-10-26|quote=Sister Maria Veronica Keane of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (IHM). As a volunteer archivist at the Freedoms Foundation ..., 'Sister Veronica,' spent 17 years researching the lives of every person who had received the nation's highest military honor. .... She had turned down burial at Arlington National Cemetery ....}}
The grove is supported by the Friends of the Medal of Honor Grove, a nonprofit organization which seeks to maintain and upgrade the fifty-two acres of the woodland park, in honor of Medal of Honor recipients.{{cite news|first=Martha|last=Woodall|title=Honors for a nun who lauded heroes|date=October 23, 2011|newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer|url=http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/20111023_Honors_for_a_nun_who_lauded_heroes.html|access-date=2011-10-26|quote=A few hours after the graveside ceremony, 140 people attended a $500-a-plate dinner at the Freedoms Foundation to raise money for the Friends of the Medal of Honor Grove for grove maintenance and improvements}}.
=Gallery=
Image:Medal of Honor Grove (California).png| California Section of the Medal of Honor Grove
Image:Medal of Honor Grove.png| Directory of the Medal of Honor Grove
Image:Medal of Honor Grove (Individual).png| Medal of Honor Grove Individual Tree
Involvement with the Boy Scouts of America
File:George Washington Medal 1952 (Boy Scouts of America).png
Since 1949, Freedoms Foundation and the Boy Scouts of America have worked together, including with the creation of the "Price of Freedom" conference, a four-day residential program where participants interact with experts on current issues of citizenship, patriotism, leadership, and heroism.{{Cite web |url=https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/03-118.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2020-07-24 |archive-date=2020-07-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200724104642/https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/03-118.pdf |url-status=dead }}
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Category:Non-profit organizations based in Pennsylvania