SHOP AND MAKE A CHARITABLE DONATION AT THE SAME TIME
SHOP AND MAKE A CHARITABLE DONATION AT THE SAME TIME
CLIFFORD TOWNSHIP PA — Are you among the millions who shop online? If so, did you know you can make a charitable donation at the same time without spending another cent?
The next time you make an online purchase at Amazon, do it with a Smile and make a donation to the Clifford Township Historical Society (CTHS) while you shop.
“Apparently someone had done just that and initiated a new fundraising opportunity for us,” said CTHS President Sandy Wilmot. “But it wasn’t until I received a letter asking me to register a CTHS account with AmazonSmile.com and verify our 501(c)(3) status that we became aware of this painless fundraising opportunity. It’s so easy, and it can help raise money for all of our projects!”
As Wilmot recently learned, AmazonSmile.com is a website operated by Amazon that lets shoppers enjoy the same wide selection of products, low prices, and convenient shopping features as found on Amazon.com. The difference is that when you shop on Smile.Amazon.com, the AmazonSmile Foundation will automatically donate 0.5% of the purchase price to the eligible charitable organization of your choice.
“It’s simple and so easy,” said Wilmot. “We’re now officially registered with this program. So, the first time you visit Smile.Aazon.com, just select CTHS and then proceed with your shopping. Every eligible purchase made through this site results in a donation back to CTHS. You shop, and Amazon gives back to CTHS, with all donations electronically paid quarterly.
“Every little bit helps,” Wilmot added. “And it costs nothing … so why not!” To learn more about this fundraising opportunity, go to http://smile.amazon.com.
Among the newest displays at the museum is a mannequin in memory of local Civil War hero Owen Phillips. “Phillips was a private in Company B, 143rd regiment during the Civil War,” Wilmot explained. “He was one of our own from Clifford Township, and his fully dressed mannequin stands in a place of honor in the museum hallway. Phillips was promoted to Color Sergeant after saving his regiment’s colors at Gettysburg.”
As history relates regarding the battlefields of the American Civil War, perhaps no other symbol matched the influence of ‘the colors.’ Often, the colors were the only indication of the success or failure of a battlefield movement visible to a soldier. Contemporary letters and official reports tell us that every man in the ranks kept a close watch on those magnificent banners that were carried by a special few. Phillips went on to carry his colors and proudly represented his regiment until he was killed by a sniper in the Battle of the Wilderness.
The CTHS’s Museum of Local History will be open on Sunday, April 17th, from 1:00pm-4:00pm. “The new General Store is open and is fully stocked with lots of items for sale,” Wilmot added. “We’re selling homemade jams, jellies, and apple butter that society members make from local area fruits. We’re also selling CTHS memorabilia to help benefit our many projects. The General Store will also be open during the upcoming primary elections on April 26th, from 8:00am-7:00pm.”
The CTHS continually benefits from local area residents and its dedicated volunteers who share their time, countless talents and skills, as well as their own ancestral memorabilia to help further the group’s works and enhance the community’s education of area history. Anyone who has any historical items that they would like to donate to or lend to the museum is invited to contact them at 570-679-2723 or www.cliffordtownshiphistoricalsociety.org. The museum is open monthly on the third Sunday from 1:00pm-4:00pm.
Written by Union Dale freelance feature writer Karen Bernhardt Toolan for the Clifford Township Historical Society, with thanks to the Susquehanna County Room Tax Grant Fund through the Endless Mountains Visitors Bureau.
