On Wednesday, March 25, the Historical Society of Pennsylvania was honored to receive the 2015 Willing Hands Award for service in preserving the history of the women and girls of Philadelphia.

The annual award is bestowed by the New Century Trust, a 130-year old women’s non-profit that works to improve the educational, economic, and social status of women and girls. HSP’s President and CEO Dr. Page Talbott accepted the award at a ceremony held at the Trust’s historic location on Locust Street (directly across from HSP).

The Trust was founded in 1893 by a group of women led by Eliza Sproat Turner, a progressive thinker and an activist of means living in Philadelphia. The group’s charter from that year rings as true now as then: “The purposes for which the corporation is formed are the social, industrial and educational cultivation and improvement of working women and girls, without any sectarian distinction.”

The Trust seeks nominations from the public for two Willing Hands Awards each year recognizing non-profit organizations whose projects advance knowledge and public awareness about the historical experience of women in Greater Philadelphia. This award comes from a bequest from New Century Guild member Lillie du Puy Van Culin Harper, whose vision and generosity enables the Trust to honor and encourage work that enhances women’s lives.

The two awards are presented during March – Women’s History Month – at an event held at the historic landmark Guild House of the New Century Trust located in Center City. A $7,000 award is given to an organization with a successful record of accomplishment in the field, and a $3,000 award for a non-profit newer to women’s history. With these grants, the Trust continues its founders' philanthropic mission of enhancing the economic and social development of women and girls.

HSP was pleased to receive the 2015 Willing Hands Award with fellow honoree Ebenezer Maxwell Mansion.