As we head towards the end of the year, I want to say thank you to all of our volunteers, supporters, and members for making this another exciting year of preservation and education at Baltimore Heritage. I also want to ask you to renew your membership (if you haven’t already!).
Membership giving is the largest single source of support for our organization every year. Contributions from members are critical for all that we do, from the Centennial Homes program honoring Baltimore families living in the same house for a century or more to the walking and building tours we organize throughout the year.
Member support also has given us the foundation to launch two major new initiatives in 2015. The first is Baltimore’s Civil Rights Heritage: Looking for Landmarks from the Movement—a partnership with the Maryland Historical Trust to document and preserve places associated with the long history of the Civil Rights movement in Baltimore. Of course, this effort became even more urgent in November with the demolition of Freedom House, the home to Baltimore’s first black City councilman and the long-time headquarters for the NAACP.
The second project is our new Local Preservation School—a unique effort supported by the National Park Service to build an open online educational resource for volunteer preservation advocates around the country. We’re looking forward to offering our first course—Explore Baltimore Heritage 101—in January 2016. This free class will teach people both online and in person how to research and write about historic places.
With your help, the year ahead is full of promise and opportunity. You can count on a full year of walking, biking, and historic building tours. With our community partners in Northeast Baltimore, we are working to bring public archaeology back to Herring Run Park in the spring. And, of course, we are continuing our advocacy to preserve and revitalize irreplaceable historic places from the West Side of downtown to the Hebrew Orphan Asylum.
Membership begins at $35 for individuals and $50 for families and it only takes a few minutes to donate through our website. Thank you again for your support.
P.S. Baltimore Heritage membership makes a great holiday present! With tour and event discounts, it is a gift that keeps on giving throughout the year. Please email me at hopkins@baltimoreheritage.org or call 410-332-9992 for more information.