The Keepers of the Crypt project is sponsored through a grant from the History Channel’s Save Our History grant program. Through this project, students in Mrs. Noel Kendall’s 4th grade class have learned about the importance of preserving the Historic City Cemetery on Madison through interactive activities that will be shared with other students.

As part of the project, a student exhibit of their cemetery research, photos, and grave rubbings will be unveiled. The bilingual cemetery kid’s brochure and web components of the project will also be unveiled on this day.

As part of the day’s activities, students will lead guided tours of the cemetery at 5 p.m. The children will be in costume representing the time periods researched in the project. A brief presentation of the project by BHA and BISD will begin at 6 pm. This will be followed by a presentation of the participants and their teacher Mrs. Noel Kendall. The students involved in the project will discuss their subjects and be presented with certificates of participation.

The evening will conclude with a reception and a chance for visitors to view the exhibit. The Keepers of the Crypt exhibit will be on view at the Old City Cemetery Center through June 30, 2008.

The Brownsville Historical Association was one of 27 history organizations nationwide that received Save Our History community preservation grants. These grants fund innovative preservation 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) and American Association of State and Local History (AASLH), 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. In four years, 1,934 historic organizations, representing all 50 states and the District of Columbia have applied for funding through the Save Our History Grant Program. To date, The History Channel and its cable partners have given $1 million dollars to fund community preservation projects across the country.

The Old City Cemetery Center is located at 600 E. Jackson Street (on the corner of 6th street and Monroe street) in the Mitte Cultural District. If offers free admission from Tuesday through Saturday from 10 am to 4 pm. The Brownsville Historical Association manages the Old City Cemetery Center. For more information on BHA programs and exhibits please call 956-541-5560 or 956-541-1167.

About Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors.
Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors is an independent, nonprofit service that helps donors to create thoughtful, effective philanthropy throughout the world. RPA provides research and counsel on charitable giving, develops philanthropic programs, and offers complete program, administrative and management services for foundations and trusts. In 2006, RPA advised on and managed more than $150 million in annual giving in more than 30 countries. For more information visit www.rockpa.org.

About AASLH
AASLH was born in 1904 as a part of the American Historical Association. Over 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. These history organizations are American leaders in preserving, researching, and interpreting traces of the past to connect the people, thoughts, and events of yesterday with the creative memories and abiding concerns of people, communities, and our nation today. History organizations are foremost education institutions, and they excel in creating the enlightened, engaged citizenry that the founders envisioned. 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 Educational Materials
The History Channel, in collaboration with leading educators from the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS), developed a comprehensive Educator's 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 available 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.

About Save Our History
Save Our History is an Emmy® 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 teacher's 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® is a leading cable television network 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 four Peabody Awards, three Primetime Emmy® Awards, ten News & Documentary Emmy® Awards and received the prestigious Governor's Award from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for the network's Save Our History® campaign dedicated to historic preservation and history education. The History Channel reaches more than 93 million Nielsen subscribers. The website is located at www.History.com.