Statement of Rebecca Rimel of The Pew Charitable Trusts on the National Park Service Centennial Challenge Funding for the Benjamin Franklin Museum

Press Releases and Statements January 13, 2009 Read time:

Projects: Pew Center for Arts and Heritage

Today, Rebecca Rimel, President and CEO of The Pew Charitable Trusts, issued the following statement in response to the announcement by Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne and National Park Service Director Mary Bomar that the Benjamin Franklin Museum will receive funding from the National Park Service Centennial Challenge:

“Pew is delighted that Philadelphia's Benjamin Franklin Museum will receive funding from the National Park Service Centennial Challenge. Benjamin Franklin was one of our most fascinating and important Founding Fathers, and one of Philadelphia's beloved citizens. A world-class leader deserves to be honored with a world-class museum, and we applaud Secretary Kempthorne and the National Park Service for helping this important project move forward. A new, dynamic exhibition will ensure that residents and visitors will have a place to learn about Franklin's remarkable life and myriad accomplishments in an engaging and imaginative way.

“Pew extends our appreciation to all of the other funders who joined us on this project, including the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Gerry Lenfest, the William Penn Foundation and the Knight Foundation. This endeavor would not be possible without their extraordinary generosity.”