Freedoms Foundation

{{Short description|Non-profit, non-partisan, non-sectarian educational organization}}
{{more citations needed|date=May 2021}}
The '''Freedoms Foundation''' is an American non-profit, non-partisan, non-sectarian educational organization, founded in 1949. The foundation is located adjacent to the [[Valley Forge National Historical Park]], near [[Valley Forge, Pennsylvania]].

[[Image:Bill of Responsibilities.png|thumb|Bill of Responsibilities at the Freedoms Foundation]]

==Bill of Responsibilities==
In 1985, the foundation developed a "Bill of Responsibilities"<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.freedomsfoundation.org/File/cc25939e-e65c-4fa7-b780-a98cc05d4b4d |title=Archived copy |website=www.freedomsfoundation.org |access-date=19 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208112346/http://www.freedomsfoundation.org/File/cc25939e-e65c-4fa7-b780-a98cc05d4b4d |archive-date=8 December 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref> as part of its worldwide educational efforts. It was meant to be a corollary to the [[United States Bill of Rights|Bill of Rights]].

==Medal of Honor Grove==
As part of its mission to promote responsible citizenship, character and freedom, the foundation maintains a grove dedicated to recipients of the [[Medal of Honor]], the nation's highest award for valor. The Medal of Honor Grove consists of forty-two acres of woodland. Within the grove, each area is dedicated to one of the fifty [[U.S. state|states]], the [[District of Columbia]], or the Commonwealth of [[Puerto Rico]].<ref name=MedalOfHonorGrove>[http://www.freedomsfoundation.org/MedalOfHonor.cfm Medal Of Honor Grove] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111102144141/http://www.freedomsfoundation.org/MedalOfHonor.cfm |date=November 2, 2011 }}. Freedoms Foundation of Valley Forge. Retrieved 2011-10-25.</ref> Each acre contains an obelisk that features a dedication plaque, plus the seal of that state, the District of Columbia, or Puerto Rico, plus a list of Medal of Honor recipients from that state, D.C., or Puerto Rico.<ref name=MedalOfHonorGrove/> In most cases, a tree has been planted for each recipient, along with a tree marker that contains the name, rank, unit, and date and place of action for the recipient.<ref name=MedalOfHonorGrove/> "America's Walk of Honor" was dedicated in April 1997, to allow visitors an opportunity to walk the grounds of the Medal of Honor Grove.<ref name=MedalOfHonorGrove/> American artist [[Peter Max]] designed the first stone on the [[Walk of fame|Walk of Honor]].<ref name=MedalOfHonorGrove/>

At the foundation are ninety volumes of research on Medal of Honor recipients, including photographs, sketches, biographies, and handwritten citations.<ref>{{cite news|first=Martha|last=Woodall|title=Honors for a nun who lauded heroes|date=October 23, 2011|newspaper=[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]]|url=http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/20111023_Honors_for_a_nun_who_lauded_heroes.html|access-date=2011-10-26|quote=Sister Maria Veronica Keane of the [[Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary]] (IHM). As a volunteer archivist at the Freedoms Foundation ..., 'Sister Veronica,' spent 17 years researching the lives of every person who had received the nation's highest military honor. .... She had turned down burial at Arlington National Cemetery ....}}</ref>

The grove is supported by the Friends of the Medal of Honor Grove, a nonprofit organization which seeks to maintain and upgrade the fifty-two acres of the woodland park, in honor of Medal of Honor recipients.<ref>{{cite news|first=Martha|last=Woodall|title=Honors for a nun who lauded heroes|date=October 23, 2011|newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer|url=http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/20111023_Honors_for_a_nun_who_lauded_heroes.html|access-date=2011-10-26|quote=A few hours after the graveside ceremony, 140 people attended a $500-a-plate dinner at the Freedoms Foundation to raise money for the Friends of the Medal of Honor Grove for grove maintenance and improvements}}.</ref>

===Gallery===
<gallery>
Image:Medal of Honor Grove (California).png| California Section of the Medal of Honor Grove
Image:Medal of Honor Grove.png| Directory of the Medal of Honor Grove
Image:Medal of Honor Grove (Individual).png| Medal of Honor Grove Individual Tree
</gallery>

==Involvement with the Boy Scouts of America==
[[File:George Washington Medal 1952 (Boy Scouts of America).png|thumb|George Washington Medal issued in 1952 as part of the BSA theme Forward on Liberty's Team]]
Since 1949, Freedoms Foundation and the [[Boy Scouts of America]] have worked together, including with the creation of the "Price of Freedom" conference, a four-day residential program where participants interact with experts on current issues of citizenship, patriotism, leadership, and heroism.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/03-118.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2020-07-24 |archive-date=2020-07-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200724104642/https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/03-118.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>
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==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
*[http://www.freedomsfoundation.org/ Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge]

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[[Category:Valley Forge]]
[[Category:Non-profit organizations based in Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Organizations established in 1949]]
[[Category:1949 establishments in Pennsylvania]]