Pearl S. Buck has a truly rich legacy that continues to live on through Pearl S. Buck International, the Perkasie-based foundation that is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, writes Samantha Freise for the Pennsylvania Heritage.
Buck won the Pulitzer Prize for The Good Earth, published in 1931. At the time, it was surprising for a novel set outside of the United States to win the prestigious award. The famous author is also a Nobel laureate in literature. When she was notified that she would be the first American woman to be recognized with the Nobel Prize for Literature, her first reaction was complete shock.
“I don’t believe it,” she said.
However, her reach extended far beyond writing.
Buck was the founder of a child adoption agency and a civil rights activist, as well as a humanitarian.
Buck founded the Pearl S. Buck Foundation in 1964. Since then, it has helped many children in the local community as well as millions of children worldwide.
To this day, the foundation’s headquarters is located at Buck’s former home of Green Hills Farm.
Read more about Pearl S. Buck International and the celebration of its 60th anniversary this year in the Pennsylvania Heritage.
