Source: missioninn.com

The City of Riverside offers an unmatched array of nationally recognized and regionally distinctive destinations and cultural opportunities for residents and visitors to explore. The Mission Inn Hotel & Spa is one of these distinct destinations and The Mission Inn Foundation, a nonprofit organization, was created to preserve, interpret, and promote the cultural heritage of the Historic Mission Inn for the community through educational programs, outreach activities, and the services of the Mission Inn Museum.

On July 19, 2012 The Mission Inn Foundation was awarded a $127,000 grant through the federal Institute of Museum and Library Service’s “Museums for America program” to continue to promote the unique history of the Mission Inn and engage Riverside youth with their community.

The following is reproduced from an article by the Press Enterprise on August 2, 2012:

The two-year Museums for America grant period will begin in October, and was awarded to 18 California institutions. The Mission Inn Foundation, the only recipient in the inland region, will utilize grant funding to develop its StoryShare program.

“The IMLS grant is intended to broaden efforts to engage and serve the community, and we will fulfill that goal through the creation of StoryShare,” said John Worden, executive director of the Mission Inn Foundation. “We need to make a new generation aware of the relevance of arts and cultural heritage, and StoryShare is designed to do that.”

StoryShare is a three-pronged initiative. First, regional workshops will train teachers to use the Foundation’s existing “Hands on History” website (funded by a previous IMLS grant), with lesson plans linked to history and social science, as well as language arts standards for students in grades 3 through 12.

Second, StoryShare will develop a “Young Ambassadors” docent program that will train high school students to conduct abbreviated history tours of the Historic Mission Inn for their peers.

Finally, the grant will help the Foundation continue a program that has been piloted in the Eastside and Arlanza neighborhoods of Riverside. The program links youths with photographers and figures of local historic interest to explore, document and share the history of their own neighborhoods. It is in partnership with the City’s PrimeTime afterschool programs and funded by the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation and The Community Foundation Serving Riverside and San Bernardino County.

The Mission Inn Hotel & Spa and the Mission Inn Foundation create a location of choice in Riverside for residents and visitors to enjoy both the luxurious hotel amenities and the connection to the local history and rich culture of the City. The Mission Inn Foundation reflects the qualities of a unified city through its commitment to connecting Riverside youth with  opportunities to explore the history of their community.

For more information regarding the Mission Inn Foundation and its programs, visit their website.