I want to thank you, dear friends and supporters of Los Altos History Museum, for being a part of the Museum community over the last year. By opening our e-newsletters, logging onto our webinars, renewing your membership, donating to our campaigns, and attending our events, you let us know that the work we do matters to you.
Over the last year, we’ve revamped our 3rd and 4th grade educational tours, mounted a creative outdoor Wallace Stegner exhibition, and hosted four family-friendly events in our courtyard: Rancho Day, Apricot STEM Fair, Train Day, and Creek Fest. I hope you were able to attend some of these fun events, that showcased how dedicated the staff and volunteers are in making the past engaging and meaningful. Over the last year, we’ve also made tremendous progress in getting our collections photographed, scanned, and ready to be placed on the web, as we’ve worked on the content for the Permanent Exhibition. That process has led to some wonderful discoveries as I have read oral histories, looked at photos and artifacts, and dug into pamphlets and books in our archives. The Museum is a resource to everyone curious about the area where we live.
As the Museum focuses on telling the history of our community to the next generation, we ask for your support. Please consider a donation to the Museum’s Annual Appeal. I am sure you’ve been asked for a lot of donations recently, from politicians facing mid-term elections to the many worthy non-profits trying to solve global problems. The Museum cannot make a nationwide appeal; we serve our local community and we want to keep doing so for years to come.
Over the last year, the expenses for the Museum have gone up by over 20%, but income has not matched that uptick. Hiring and retaining talented staff is a priority for the Museum, and we’ve added several key additions to our staff over the last year, including our Museum Educator and Deputy Director. Please help us maintain the quality of programming you’ve come to expect from the Museum. Your donation to our Annual Appeal today makes that possible.
As our thanks to the support of our community, we will now offer a complimentary one-year Friend level membership to anyone who donates $1000 or more. This level includes invites to our special events, and discount or free entrance to museums across North America—perfect for families on the go!
2022 was a challenging year for the Museum, with partial closures due to construction, lingering effects of the COVID pandemic on our volunteer pool, and increased printing and design costs, among others. We all expect 2023 to be better, and your help today makes the future brighter.
Thank you for reading this, and for being the reason why we do what we do!
Dr. Elisabeth Ward, Executive Director
Visitors learn about monarch butterflies at the Apricot STEM Fair.
Collections intern Christopher Tu cleans DVD’s of “Los Altos History Show.”
