Legacy Room at National PTA Headquarters

Dear State Leaders,   It gives me great pleasure to announce that we are opening the doors to the brand-new Legacy Room at our headquarters in Alexandria, Va., tonight. We will celebrate the opening with a private viewing and ribbon-cutting ceremony for our board members.    The opening ceremony this evening marks the culmination of an idea that began many years ago. As you may know, a capital campaign, "Our Home, Our Legacy, Our Future," was enacted from 2011 to 2013 to raise funds to establish a new, permanent home for our incredible history.   The proceeds from that campaign were earmarked to establish a living legacy that memorializes our past and preserves important historic items. Volunteers and staff have been working to create an inventory of artifacts and documents, as well as archive them for future access. A design plan was created during the campaign for a room to introduce visitors to our history, but it was set aside in 2015 while the association made some decisions about our property in the metro Washington, DC area and whether to refinance the building or pursue other options. I am happy to say we decided to stay in our current location, and construction on the Legacy Room began early this year.    Now complete, the Legacy Room is a modern and multi-use space that blends seamlessly into the existing building. It features a dynamic wall timeline, which includes our historic milestones, beginning with the founding of our association in 1897. The room also features unique memorabilia and PTA artifacts from all over the country.   The Legacy Room will be used as a meeting area, which showcases our rich history and allows us to reflect as we explore our future with partners, sponsors and PTA leaders. We are very proud of the board for their financial commitment and oversight throughout this process, our officers for their recommendations and feedback, and our staff for their execution to make this space a reality. National PTA remains committed to preserving and sharing our history with our present and future members and partners in education and child welfare. We are indebted to volunteer leaders—past and present—who saw the need for creating a home for our artifacts, and took the initiative to raise and designate funds to support this project. We trust this work will anchor our future in a permanent, physical appreciation of our history.   Look out for images of the ribbon-cutting ceremony on social media in the coming weeks. We hope you will have the opportunity to visit this beautiful space.    Best wishes,   Laura Bay, National PTA President