The North American Friends of Chawton House (NAFCH) are encouraging each of the regions of the Jane Austen Society of North America (JASNA) to raise $10,000 or more in order to see their flag flying for a day over Jane Austen’s ‘Great House!'
The first to reach the ambitious 10K goal were the members of the generous North Texas region who saw their own Texas Lone Star flag flying proudly over the house back in September 2017. That flag flying marked the happy results of a fundraising event in Dallas, led by Dr Janine Barchas and Dr Kristina Straub (scholars who have used the Chawton House collections) who helped stir the gathered JASNA crowds to raise over $17,000 in donations.
Members of the New York region of JASNA then took up the flag-flying challenge and contributed around $12,000 to our fundraising campaign. The New York State region of JASNA subsequently had their turn to see their turn to see the ‘Ever Upward’ New York state flag wafting proudly in the fall breeze over the house. Our grateful thanks to the many generous New Yorkers who made this happen!
Did your region miss this opportunity? If you are a JASNA member who would like to see your state flag flying proudly over Jane’s ‘Great House’, why not talk to your region about a fundraising event for Chawton House Library at your next meeting?