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PRESERVATION VOLUNTEERS

Welcome to Preservation Volunteers



History, architecture, and the technologies of the past come alive this summer for volunteers ready to spend two weeks working on historic structures, reviving them for new community uses.

Since 2002, Preservation Volunteers has brought French and American volunteers together for two weeks of hard work and great fun.  Our volunteers rejuvenate valuable pieces of history and help to revitalize communities, all while forming inter-cultural friendships.  

Past locations have included woodworking at the Byrdcliffe arts colony in Woodstock, NY, restoration work at the Green-Wood cemetery in Brooklyn, NY, masonry and carpentry at the Huguenot Historical Society in New Paltz, NY, as well as an intensive three week conservation experience at the Historic House Trust of New York City.  In France, sites have included a former quarantine on the Mediterranean coast, a redoubt in Normandy, and a Medieval Chateau with a Romanesque chapel. Visit our picture gallery from past years!

This summer, our volunteers will be working at historic Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, NY, as well as renovating the Bartow-Pell Mansion in the Bronx.  Our volunteers can also choose to work in Gothic, Colorado renovating historical structures in a National Forest and mining-era ghost town! 


Click GET INVOLVED to find out more about volunteer opportunities!

PV is a non-profit 501-c-3 organization dedicated to linking volunteers to historic sites in need of repair. PV volunteers may be any age over 18 and offer a variety of skills.


Call (212) 769-2900 for details.


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Visit our Fundraising Page!

Donating through this website is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to support our fundraising efforts.Many thanks for your support -- and don't forget to forward this to anyone who you think might want to donate too! Please check with your employer, many corporations offer gift matching programs which could more than double the monetary value of your generous gift.

Preservation Volunteers is a a 501(c)(3) registered charity. Contributions are tax-deductable in the United States as prescribed by law. Contributions and grants go towards the operations of our program, including staff, office, marketing, travel, conference attendance, educational programs, and scholarships to pre-selected volunteers. When warranted, we also provide assistance to preservation supervisors and to developing long-term relationships with local communities in support of their heritage preservation projects.

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Tribute to Evelyn Ortner

Please visit our Tribute to Evelyn page, a place for friends to exchange their memories and thoughts about Evelyn Ortner's remarkable life and achievements.


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We're now on Facebook!
Current News...



2011 PRESERVATION VOLUNTEERS IN THE NEWS!




On August 2, 2011 the Preservation Volunteers were featured in a story on NY1! A news crew taped them at the Bartown-Pell mansion as they worked on repainting the mansion and replacing fixtures. Click here to view the story and watch the video clip!

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2010 PRESERVATION VOLUNTEERS IN THE NEWS!

On July 27, 2010 the Preservation Volunteers were featured in a story on NY1! A news crew taped them at the Green-Wood Cemetery as they scrubbed, washed and polished the statue of Minerva, the Goddess of War. Click here to view the story and watch the video clip!



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2010 PRESERVATION VOLUNTEERS IN THE NEWS!

Waxing with the Goddess Minerva: Volunteers Clean Famed Brooklyn Statue

Tuesday, July 27, 2010 - 06:32 PM

WNYC BLOG: Story and Photos by Stephen Nessen


Perched at Brooklyn's highest natural point (200 ft. above sea level) in Green-Wood cemetery, the Roman Goddess Minerva received a fresh waxing Tuesday morning, courtesy of a few French volunteers (and one American).


"I know that when I'm back in France I'll tell everybody that I know that there's this great cemetery and this great statue," said Ines Reulet, 21 from France, one of six volunteers in New York for the next two weeks with the Preservation Volunteers of America program.


Reulet says she wanted to discover something other than France's castles this summer. She and the other volunteers spent the morning applying fresh coats of wax to Minerva and will be tidying up some granite tombstones for the rest of the afternoon.   


Richard Moylan, president of Green-Wood Cemetery, says the statue was placed there by the local businessman Charles Higgins in 1920 to commemorate the Battle of Brooklyn. "She is saluting the Statue of Liberty. And that's especially important with our French volunteers, since the statue was a gift from France and France helped us with the Revolutionary War," Moylan says. "And Liberty is actually, we think, looking right at us, so Minerva is saluting her."


Minerva sits near the grave sites of Charles Ebbets, of Brooklyn Dodger fame, and the composer Leonard Bernstein.


The volunteers are headed to the Bartow-Pell Mansion in the Bronx next week. Green-Wood cemetery is currently lobbying the Bloomberg administration to pass legislation that would prevent the construction of buildings that block the view from Minerva to Lady Liberty.



 

Preservation Volunteers is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit tax-exempt corporation


Preservation Volunteers
1995 Broadway, Suite 605
New York, New York 10023
(212) 769-2900
contact@preservationvolunteers.org