Fundraising Friday – Two Notable Causes

I generally don’t get into fundraising endeavors, but I’ve seen two projects in the past few days that I believe are worthy of funding by folks interested in history in the country.

Folks who know me well have come to realize that my main historic interest lies in the Colonial and Revolutionary periods of the United States; the projects that I’ve read about this week nicely book-end both of those periods.

The first project, “Save Our Ship”, is an effort to raise funds for the restoration of the ship Mayflower II that is usually docked in Plymouth, Massachusetts as a living-history attraction.  The ship had been scheduled for repairs anyway, but a Coat Guard inspection found major issues that need to be addressed as soon as possible for the ship to be seaworthy for the 2013 season.  As of this writing, only $1,100 of the $380,000 goal have been raised.

To see more about the project, and to make a donation, go to: https://secure3.convio.net/plimot/site/Donation2?1580.donation=form1&df_id=1580&JServSessionIdr004=pnjvmnzr88.app337a

The Mayflower II in the Spring of 2010

The second project interests me on a couple of levels.  Author Maureen Taylor, who put together the books “The Last Muster: Images of the Revolution” and “The Last Muster: Faces of the Revolution”, is putting together a film about the photographs in the books, and the stories behind them.  I love the history of the Revolution, and I really love old photos, so this is one film that I would love to see come to live.  The project needs $27,500 to begin shooting, and, as of this writing, has raised $4,405 of that goal.

To see this project, and to help fund the Kickstarter campaign, visit: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/lastmusterfilm/revolutionary-voices-a-last-muster-film?ref=live

Reenacting the American Revolution at Hubbardton, Vermont, Summer 2012

The world could use more history projects like these.