Preserving Heritage: Grant Funds Improvements to Czech Cultural Sites

Czech Heritage Preservation Society Inc. has been awarded a $9,200 South Dakota Fund grant from South Dakota Community Foundation. The funding will support updates to the organization’s park and open-air museum, as it works to preserve and share the rich Czech and Slovak heritage of the Tabor, S.D., area.

“Preserving cultural spaces like these ensures that stories and traditions, important to South Dakota and American history, continue to be shared,” said Ginger Niemann, SDCF Senior Program Officer.

Tabor is home to a small Czech village with several historic structures. The grant funding will help fortify two of the park’s buildings, protecting them and their contents from deterioration.

The memorialization of these structures serves a greater purpose beyond preservation. They help educate visitors about the contributions, ancestry and traditions of the Czech and Slovak people throughout America’s history.

“It has been 50 years since our organization was started,” said Dennis Povondra, CHPSI Treasurer. “It is time our mini-Czech village gets a refresh.”

SDCF’s South Dakota Fund grants approximately $1 million each year to nonprofit organizations across the state. The grants are focused in nine areas and serve to build stronger families and communities.