The Berger Foundation surprises Coachella Valley History Museum with $10,000

CBS Local Two and the H.N. & Frances C. Berger Foundation partnered Monday to present the Coachella Valley History Museum with a surprise grant for $10,000.

The museum’s Junior Historian program is what grabbed the Berger Foundation’s attention.

“We want our children to gain a pride in their history and a sense of belonging, and the Junior Historian Program helps them get actively involved and hands on work here at the museum,” said Priscilla Porter the program director.

The museum is making a special effort to educate the valley’s younger generation through their Junior Historian program, which has kids coming back year after year.

“I’ve been coming here for the past three years and I’ve learned so much since I’ve been here,” said fifth grader Liam McCarthy.

For years, the museum has been sharing our desert’s unique history with people young and old, near and far.

“We’ve had visitors from the Middle East. We have a young lady coming from Saudi Arabia who’s writing a book on dates for children. So internationally, we’re kind of known for our history of the dates here. We have two working date gardens, where we grow and harvest the dates,” said Patricia Korzec, executive director.

They even have an old school house where kids get to step back in time. And now they have an additional $10,000 to put back into the program.