We want to share our “Why” with you. I prefer to have other peoples perspectives but I’ll share a couple of my own first.
- 20 years ago, a volunteer group of people concerned with saving the history of Cochrane started the Cochrane Historical & Archival Preservation Society.
- 5 years ago, CHAPS opened the Cochrane Historical Museum. This scope of this one project amazes and motivates me. CHAPS saved a historic building, fund raised, co-ordinated with several levels of government , had it moved to a wonderful location and had the building restored as a Museum. Truly Inspiring.
- A dedicated, core group of volunteers has been keeping CHAPS active for 20 years. We are in need of help. We need to expand our membership, our influence and our volunteers.
In the next year, I want to interview a number of our volunteers and get their perspective on being involved in CHAPS. Stay tuned.
I hope you are asking yourself how I can help. I have a few ideas that don’t cost a lot of your time or money.
- share and comment on our social media posts with your friends. We want to share our core message of saving and educating about our history to be spread widely. We’re seeing a massive swing lately. Help us keep it going!
- Like our pages. CHAPS Cochrane and Cochrane Historical Museum have pages on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram & Youtube. I’ll be adding social media icons to our webpage soon to help you find and like our feeds.
- Become a member. It’s super inexpensive. $10.00 a year for an individual, $15.00 for a family. Here’s a link to our Member page.
- Attend one of our meetings. We are having more and more educational meetings. Stay tuned to our events webpage for updates.
- Donate to CHAPS to help us fund our projects. We have a Donate button on the top right side and bottom of our webpages. Our CHAPS Facebook page is running a fundraising campaign until the end of March. They have been hugely successful so far and we can always go over the top.
- Lastly, most importantly, become a volunteer. We have a core group but they can’t do it forever. We can use your help however you want to become involved. A couple of my own ideas are:
- Membership. Help us find new members and stay in touch with existing members.
- Become a Director. Volunteer now and let your name stand at the September A.G.M. I did, scared me to death but I’m sure glad I did.
- Research. Get in touch to hear the topics we’re planning.
- Volunteer at the museum during the summer.
- Attend or help with our summer time guided tours of Historic Cochrane.
5 years ago, CHAPS opened the Cochrane Historical Museum. This scope of this one project amazes and motivates me. CHAPS saved a historic building, fund raised, co-ordinated with several levels of government , had it moved to a wonderful location and had the building restored as a Museum. Truly Inspiring.
We have to say thanks:
- to everyone that came out to our Photo Archive opening. Both members who shared stories and 15 excited, interested guests.
- the support of the local media who have helped us share our message.
- local admins of Facebook pages who provide a means for us to share.
- everyone that has shared our message on any of our social media feeds.
- to our existing members and volunteers.
Those other perspectives I spoke of:
- an editorial in the Cochrane Eagle about maintaining our Heritage.
- an article on CochraneNow about our Photo Archive.
- an article in the Cochrane Times about a new exhibit in the Cochrane Historical Museum
