Get excited, preservationists! May is Preservation Month. There is an entire month before you to celebrate, encourage, and advocate historic preservation. While you are probably doing this on a regular basis, knowing that organizations and individuals across the country are taking that extra step for preservation is hopefully added motivation.
What is Preservation Month? From the National Trust’s press release: “Since the National Trust for Historic Preservation created Preservation Week in 1971 to spotlight grassroots preservation efforts in America, it has grown into an annual celebration observed by small towns and big cities with events ranging from architectural and historic tours and award ceremonies to fundraising events, educational programs, and heritage travel opportunities. Due to its overwhelming popularity, in 2005, the National Trust for Historic Preservation extended the celebration to the entire month of May and declared it Preservation Month to provide an even longer opportunity to celebrate the diverse and unique heritage of our country’s cities and states and enable more Americans to become involved in the growing preservation movement.”
Each Preservation Month has a theme and this year it is “This Place Matters”, an effort of the National Trust that is designed to raise awareness about the places that really matter to people.
Provided by the National Trust for Historic Preservation (and adapted for Preservation in Pink), the Preservation Month Proclamation:
WHEREAS, historic preservation is an effective tool for managing growth, revitalizing neighborhoods, fostering local pride and maintaining community character while enhancing livability; and
WHEREAS, historic preservation is relevant for communities across the nation, both urban and rural, and for Americans of all ages, all walks of life and all ethnic backgrounds; and
WHEREAS, it is important to celebrate the role of history in our lives and the contributions made by dedicated individuals in helping to preserve the tangible aspects of the heritage that has shaped us as a people; and
WHEREAS, “This Place Matters” is the theme for National Preservation Month 2009, [encouraged by] Preservation in Pink and sponsored by the National Trust for Historic Preservation
NOW, THEREFORE, [readers of PiP, take action, call upon the people of your town and city to join with] fellow citizens across the United States in recognizing and participating in this special observance.
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What is your organization or town doing? What are you doing? Happy Preservation Month!
Preservation in Pink 