Coggeshall Museum seeks to raise $50K for mobile living history program

BRISTOL – About a week into its 50-day education fundraising campaign, the Coggeshall Museum has raised $8,225 on its way to matching a $50,000 grant from philanthropist H.F. “Gerry” Lenfest.
The “Send Coggeshall to School” campaign is sourcing funds through online crowdfunding as well as traditional giving and has already connected with 24 new donors online, said Executive Director Cindy Elder. In three cases, first-time gifts were for $500, she said.
“We’re using these funds to build something pretty amazing – a mobile living history program that puts the story back into history,” said Elder.
Last year, 3,000 students came to Coggeshall for field trips, but many schools find it difficult to afford field trips, she explained, noting, “We’re sending our educators from the farm yard to the school yard to get kids excited about history.”
Coggeshall is using the crowdfunding platform, Indiegogo.com, to generate the matching funds. The theme is “Send Coggeshall to School: $50K in 50 Days.” Donors access Coggeshall’s Indiegogo site at http://igg.me/at/coggeshall and can make gifts of any size.
“Perks” for giving range from memberships to hearth-cooking classes to naming rights for Coggeshall’s next newborn farm animal. Donations made on the museum’s website or by mail also count toward the match.
The museum honors the lives of 18th-century tenant farm families and brings to life the daily struggles, joys and tasks experienced by working people of this time period. Elder feels it’s critical to bring this perspective into the classroom, because it helps children connect to history through stories that more closely resemble their own.
Coggeshall’s education program sheds light on an era when the United States was brand new, just after the American Revolution. The museum’s educators explore issues such as farming, traditional hand skills, politics, class, gender roles, the slave trade, the role of government, voting rights and other issues affecting working people of the time.
“We all remember the names of the powerful people who filled our history books,” she says. “But what about the everyday people who built this country from the ground up? The tenant farmers we represent didn’t own their land. They rented. And they had no voting rights. Through their own sweat and determination, they helped to build the American dream. That’s something today’s kids can understand.”
Funds will go toward development of a class-based living history curriculum, in collaboration with a team of K-12 educators and the Rhode Island Historical Society and a prototype living history app for the classroom, developed in partnership with MuseumTrek, as well as educational materials and other efforts to enhance learning.
For more information, visit www.coggeshallfarm.org, call 401-253-9062 or email Elder at c.elder@coggeshallfarm.org.