FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Cara Tocci
cara.tocci@aetn.com (212) 210-9083
THE HERSHEY- DERRY TOWNSHIP HISTORICAL SOCIETY AND HERSHEY HIGH SCHOOL RECEIVES
SAVE OUR HISTORY GRANT FROM History®
HISTORY and Comcast Cablevision Support Preservation Initiative That Links The Hershey- Derry Township Historical Society and Hershey High School
Hershey, August 7, 2009—HISTORY today awarded the Hershey-Derry Township Historical Society in Hershey, PA a $9,216 Save Our History grant to partner with Hershey High School for “Hershey Before Hershey: A Web Museum of Early Central Pennsylvania Life.” The web resources proposed will focus upon the ethnicity of the Township’s inhabitants, specifically from the time of European contact to the dawn of the 20th century. The resource will include digitized and “zoomable” documents from the period, and 3D models of buildings, cemeteries, and artifacts. The transformative effect of Milton S. Hershey’s establishment of a planned industrial town is already well-represented through museums and other outlets. The vast majority of our citizens, particularly our students, are unaware of the complex history of “pre-Hershey” Hershey. This project is not intended to overshadow the incredible achievements of Milton S. Hershey, but in fact serves to achieve one of the founder’s primary visions; that the residents of Derry Township, often transplanted from other locales, should appreciate the history of the Township reaching back to its original Native American inhabitants.
The Hershey-Derry Township Historical Society is one of 11 history organizations nationwide that received Save Our History community preservation grants. These grants fund innovative preservation projects designed to bring communities together, actively engage children in the preservation of their local history and communicate the importance of saving local history for future generations.
HISTORY, with the counsel of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors (RPA) and American Association of State and Local History (AASLH), created the Save Our History Grant Program as an extension of the Save Our History philanthropic initiative and is committed to inspiring and motivating local communities to learn about and take an active role in the preservation of their past through projects involving artifacts, oral histories, sites, museums or landmarks that exist in their own neighborhoods. In four years, nearly 2,000 historic organizations, representing all 50 states and the District of Columbia have applied for funding through the Save Our History Grant Program. To date, HISTORY and its cable partners have given over $1 million dollars to fund community preservation projects across the country.
In order to give focus and a deep understanding of the pre-Hershey inhabitants of the Township, the project’s web resources will be organized by their geographic locations in an interactive map of the township. Interestingly, this interactive map is based on one of the more popular resources in the Hershey-Derry Township Historical Society library, a large map of colonial landholders with a clear plastic overlay that denotes present-day roads. Many Township residents who are curious about the original owners of their property use the map for basic information. The interactive map will serve the same purpose, but will add several other overlays, including the location of churches and cemeteries, links to zoomable primary documents related to specific sites, and 3D models of prominent structures.
The proposed project will draw upon the already significant technological skills of Hershey High School students, and the Derry Township School District’s commitment to the integration of technology in its classrooms. Jeff Mummert, a Social Studies teacher at Hershey High School, will direct the students involved in the project. Mummert’s History and Technology Club has experience in the digitization and transcription of documents, the development of web resources, and the construction of 3D models of both artifacts and structures. The History and Technology Club Blog (http://dtsdapache.hershey.k12.pa.us/wpmu/hs_htclub/) provides many examples of student work in these areas, based on artifacts and documents owned by the students themselves. The blog was also recently honored by winning first place at the Regional High School Computer Fair, and has been featured in other blogs by historians and teachers. Work on the project will also involve students in Mummert’s World Cultures II classes, who will focus on the ethnicity of early Derry Township inhabitants, and students in Mummert’s Advanced Placement Human Geography classes, who will focus on developing the graphical and statistical representations of human habitation in the Township.
In addition to this project, HISTORY is also awarding Save Our History grants to historic organizations in Alaska, Alabama, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, New York, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.
“HISTORY receives stacks of applications for Save Our History grants,” said Dr. Libby O’Connell, SVP, Corporate Outreach and Chief Historian, HISTORY. “The Hershey-Derry Township Historical Society and Hershey High School demonstrated the creativity and commitment to preservation and education that we believe is fundamental to giving our past a bright future.”
Historic organizations interested in receiving funding for preservation projects developed with local schools or youth groups are encouraged to apply for a 2010/2011 Save Our History Grant. Applications will be available in January 2010, online at saveourhistory.com.
About Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors
Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors helps donors create thoughtful, effective philanthropy throughout the world. Originally developed as the private philanthropy service of the Rockefeller family, RPA is now an independent, nonprofit service that represents the cumulative knowledge and experience of more than a century of high-quality professional service to America’s most philanthropic family. Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors provides research and counsel on charitable giving, develops philanthropy programs, and offers complete program, administrative and management services for foundations and trusts. Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors currently serves more than 160 clients in facilitating over $200 million in annual gifts/grants to more than 60 countries.
About AASLH
AASLH was born in 1904 as a part of the American Historical Association. Over one hundred years later, AASLH is the only national association dedicated to the people and organizations that practice state and local history in order to make the past more meaningful to all Americans. These history organizations are American leaders in preserving, researching, and interpreting traces of the past to connect the people, thoughts, and events of yesterday with the creative memories and abiding concerns of people, communities, and our nation today. History organizations are foremost education institutions, and they excel in creating the enlightened, engaged citizenry that the founders envisioned. From its headquarters in Nashville, Tennessee, AASLH provides a variety of programs and services, as well as leadership in the national arena.
About Save Our History Educational Materials
The History Channel, in collaboration with leading educators from the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS), developed a comprehensive Educator’s Manual containing standards-based lesson plans, enrichment activities, and resources that help elementary, middle and high school teachers connect American History content to their local history. The manual guides teachers to engage students in hands-on, experiential preservation projects. The Educator’s Manual is supplemented by monthly Save Our History lesson plans available to educators who register online to receive them at www.saveourhistory.com. To date, more than 60,000 educators at schools, youth groups, history museums, and historic sites have used the educational materials to teach over 1.8 million students about their local history and the importance of preserving it.
About Save Our History
Save Our History is an Emmy® Award-winning strategic philanthropic initiative of History that launched in 1998, designed to further historic preservation and history education. The program supplements the teaching of history in America’s classrooms, educates the public on the importance of historical preservation and motivates communities across the country to help save endangered local historic treasures. The Save Our History campaign includes original documentaries, special teachers materials, national promotion on The History Channel, broadband activities in schools, and has worked with The Smithsonian Institution, National Park Service, National Trust for Historic Preservation, National World War II Memorial, American Rivers and The White House 200th Anniversary.
Additional information about the grassroots Save Our History program, including a comprehensive school manual containing suggested lesson plans for grades two through 12 and details about working with local preservation organizations can also be found at www.saveourhistory.com.
About History
HISTORY™ and HISTORY HD™ are the leading destinations for revealing, award-winning original non-fiction series and event-driven specials that connect history with viewers in an informative, immersive and entertaining manner across multiple platforms. Programming covers a diverse variety of historical genres ranging from military history to contemporary history, technology to natural history, as well as science, archaeology and pop culture. Among the network’s program offerings are hit series such as How The Earth Was Made, Ax Men, Battle 360, The Universe, and Ice Road Truckers, as well as acclaimed specials including 102 Minutes That Changed America, King, Life After People, 1968 with Tom Brokaw, Nostradamus: 2012 and Star Wars: The Legacy Revealed. HISTORY has earned four Peabody Awards, four Primetime Emmy® Awards, 12 News & Documentary Emmy® Awards and received the prestigious Governor’s Award from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for the network’s Save Our History® campaign dedicated to historic preservation and history education. Take a Veteran to School Day is the network’s latest initiative connecting America’s schools and communities with veterans from all wars. The HISTORY web site, located at www.history.com, is the definitive historical online source that delivers entertaining and informative content featuring broadband video, interactive timelines, maps, games, podcasts and more.