The History Channel(R) Save Our History Program Awards 27 Communities Across the Country With Grants to Preserve Local History

The History Channel(R) Save Our History Program Awards 27 Communities Across the Country With Grants to Preserve Local History

Lowe's Home Improvement, American Express and Local Cable Affiliates Team with The History Channel Save Our History Program to Support Third Year of Innovative Educational Projects

NEW YORK, Aug. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Building on two successful years of nationwide efforts to help communities preserve their local history, The History Channel today announced that 27 organizations across the country will receive Save Our History preservation grants (www.saveourhistory.com). With the support of national sponsors Lowe's and American Express, as well as cable affiliates in each community, the grants will fund innovative, educational 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.

The History Channel, with the counsel of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors (RPA), 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.

Since founding the National Grant Program, The History Channel has received funding requests exceeding $13.4 million from history organizations representing 50 states and the District of Columbia. To date, The History Channel, together with its sponsors, has contributed nearly $750,000 in grant funding toward this cause.

The 2006-2007 grant recipients represent the many diverse and historically significant events, sites and people that make up more than four centuries of American history in 27 communities. Projects range from tracing local immigration and contributions to the civil rights movement to protests at the White House and preservation of a Revolutionary War forge used by officers and soldiers under George Washington. A few of the projects include:

* Living History: Lessons from the Children's Movement - Middle School
students at Banks Middle School in Birmingham, Ala., will collaborate
with the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute to study and research the
Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham, and the specific role of children
and students in the Movement. Students will conduct and interpret oral
history interviews with adults who were children and students during the
Movement. Their research will be used as the basis for a booklet with
interview summaries, essays, poems and short stories that reflect on the
experience. The students' experience as researchers will also be
recorded and edited into a 30-minute program that will be aired on a
local cable broadcast.

* Building on History: A Child's View of the Architecture of the Gaslamp
Quarter of San Diego - The Gaslamp Quarter Historical Foundation will
partner with the San Diego School District to involve all students in
grades 2 - 5 in a study of the San Diego downtown historical area known
as the Gaslamp Quarter. Students will be introduced to the concepts of
the creativity of architecture and its relationship to historical eras
and will design model buildings of significance in the Gaslamp Quarter
to create their own model "historic district," which will be placed on
display at the William Heath Davis House Museum, a focal point of the
Gaslamp Quarter.

* President's Park/Citizen's Soapbox: A History of Protest at the White
House - Seniors from the School Without Walls High School in Washington,
DC, will work with the White House Historical Association to explore
more than a century of public expression in Lafayette Park, the front
yard of the President. Students will research the history of protests
and events in this park and conduct interviews with political
scientists, historians, journalists and participants in former protests
to create an audio tour and a website tracing the history of Lafayette
Park.

* In Our Own Words: Immigration in the US -Students from Indiana Public
Schools will participate in an exploration of the history of immigration
in the United States, with a specific focus on immigration within
Indianapolis. Working with experts from the Indiana State Museum, the
students will conduct oral histories with elder Indianapolis residents
with personal immigration stories. From their research and interviews,
students will work with museum staff to create a script, culminating in
a performance of a play.

* Unlocking Secrets in the Soil - Middle School students in Laramie, Wyo.,
will work with University of Wyoming Department of Anthropology
volunteers and a professional archeologist to excavate a building within
the Wyoming Territorial Prison site. Students will analyze excavation
data, artifacts and artifact distribution for historic, cultural and
economic implications and to better understand the surrounding community
and greater historic context. They will also produce two videos about
their project and the site, develop outdoor text panels for visitors to
the site, identify artifacts for display and help to create an exhibit
highlighting their findings during the excavation.

The History Channel is also awarding Save Our History grants to historic organizations in Allentown, Pa.; Atlanta, Ga; Austin, Texas; Baltimore, Md.;Birmingham, Ala.; Deadwood, S.D.; Glasco, Kan.; Holyoke, Mass.; Hunt Valley, Md.; Jefferson, Ga.; Kampsville, Ill.; Lake Orion, Mich.; Madison, N.J.; Manzanola, Colo.; Orono, Maine; Pensacola, Fla.; Princeton, Ky.; San Diego, Calif.; Sharpsburg, Md.; Woodstock, Vt.; two separate organizations in St. Paul, Minn.; and two separate organizations in Seattle, Wash.

"Going into our third year with the Save Our History grant program, it never fails to amaze me the dedication and creativity that these students, their teachers and the great partner organizations bring to the act of learning about and preserving history," said Dan Davids, President of The History Channel - USA. "Together with our sponsors, Lowe's and American Express, as well as our cable affiliates, it makes us proud to assist in the efforts to bring local history to life in these communities and to make it relevant to kids across the country that participate. These 27 grant projects are among the most promising and the most important we've had the good fortune to fund. Over the next year, we're eager to follow the students along on their path to the past and have them teach us a thing or two about who we are and from where we come."

"For over a decade, American Express has supported the work of leading historic preservation groups across the United States through our philanthropic program," said Jim Hedleston, Vice President of Global Media and Content Distribution at American Express. "Sponsoring The History Channel Save Our History programs is another great opportunity for us to expand our longstanding commitment to preservation by supporting programs that engage children and their schools in the exploration of the past in our local communities."

Since its inception in 2004, Save Our History educational grant projects made lasting impressions on thousands of participating students. Achieving a goal of instilling a sense of responsibility and pride in their communities, many students have not only expressed great excitement about their involvement, but some students have even volunteered for project-related initiatives outside the scope and timeline of the program. In its inaugural year, a Save Our History project in Cleveland saw student attendance during this program increase to nearly 100% each day. In 2006, projects in Miami, New York, Phoenix and Augusta, GA received commendations from the mayors of each respective city, and still other projects, such as The Black Damask Project in Baltimore, will extend indefinitely, apart from the Save Our History program.

Historic organizations that are interested in funding for preservation projects developed with local schools or youth groups are encouraged to apply for a 2007/2008 Save Our History Grant. Applications will be available beginning in early 2007.

Each year, The History Channel also seeks to honor teachers and students across the country who have demonstrated an exceptional commitment to local history through their preservation or history education efforts. Applications for the Save Our History National Honors for Teachers and Students are due by March 2007. A creative lesson plan, activity and/or project could win up to $5,000 in Cash Prizes. For additional information on the Save Our History Grant Program or Save Our History National Honors Program please log onto www.saveourhistory.com.

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 Educators' 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 sent via email 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.

Program Sponsors

For 2006-2007, Lowe's continues as one of the primary sponsors of Save Our History, as the official home improvement sponsor. American Express joins the Save Our History program in this third year as the official financial sponsor.

About Lowe's

With fiscal year 2005 sales of $36.5 billion, Lowe's Companies, Inc. is a FORTUNE(R) 50 company that serves approximately 11 million customers a week at more than 1,100 home improvement stores in 48 states. Based in Mooresville, N.C., the 59-year old company is the second-largest home improvement retailer in the world. For more information, visit Lowes.com.

About American Express

American Express Company (www.americanexpress.com) is a leading global payments, network and travel company founded in 1850.

About Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors

Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors (www.rockpa.org) is an independent, nonprofit service that develops and manages effective giving programs throughout the world. In 2005 Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors advised on and managed more than $130 million in giving to more than 30 countries. Headquartered in New York City with offices in San Francisco and Los Angeles, it traces its antecedents to John D. Rockefeller, Sr., who in 1891 began to professionally manage philanthropy "as if it were a business." He set the style of family giving by specifying that grants would be used "for the well- being of people throughout the world." Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors also includes The Philanthropic Collaborative, a special donor-advised fund for international giving and special projects.

About AASLH

AASLH was born in 1904 as a department within the American Historical Association. Now, 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. 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

Save Our History is an Emmy(R) Award-winning strategic philanthropic initiative of The History Channel 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.

THE HISTORY CHANNEL

The History Channel(R) is one of the leading cable television networks featuring compelling original, non-fiction specials and series that bring history to life in a powerful and entertaining manner across multiple platforms. The network provides an inviting place where people experience history in new and exciting ways enabling them to connect their lives today to the great lives and events of the past that provide a blueprint for the future. The History Channel has earned six News and Documentary Emmy(R) Awards and received the prestigious Governor's Award from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for the network's Save Our History(R) campaign dedicated to historic preservation and history education. The History Channel reaches more than 89 million Nielsen subscribers. The website is located at www.History.com.

Contact: Stephanie Figura
Edelman Entertainment for The History Channel
212.704.4533
Stephanie.Figura@edelman.com

NOTE TO EDITORS: For more information and photography please visit us on
the web at www.historychannelpress.com.

Source: The History Channel

CONTACT: Stephanie Figura of Edelman Entertainment, +1-212-704-4533,
Stephanie.Figura@edelman.com, for The History Channel

Web site: http://www.history.com/
http://www.saveourhistory.com/

-------
Profile: intent