The Future Of Our Past
Accokeek Foundation Receives $20,000 from Maryland Center for History and Culture’s “Miller History Fund”
Maryland Senate President Emeritus Thomas V. “Mike” Miller and his wife, Patty, at the University of Maryland.
Looks like future generations will get a quality look at Maryland history in Prince George’s.
The Miller History Fund—previously the Pathways Grant Program—provides funding to build the capacity of Maryland’s heritage sector.
Laura Ford, President & CEO of the Accokeek Foundation
The Accokeek Foundation will receive $20,000 in funding through the Maryland Center for History and Culture’s (MCHC) Miller History Fund, the foundation announced Feb. 26. One of 11 recipients of a 2021 grant, the award will support the foundation’s efforts to advance a welcoming space in Piscataway Park by funding long-term marketing planning and site improvements.
The tremendous changes brought about in 2020 by the coronavirus pandemic meant a shift for the Accokeek Foundation in the ways that it engages with visitors and students. Since March 2020, the Foundation has seen an increase in the usual number of in-person visitors (over 60,000 in 2020) in Piscataway Park, even while experiencing cancellations to on-site programming and events. This has led to new ways of engaging with visitors and students through virtual tours, webinars, self-guided park adventures and enhanced visitor signage and orientation materials.
The funding from MCHC and the Miller History Fund will support the continuing development of these resources. The project includes expanding the foundation’s digital assets—including videos, blogs, digitized publications and virtual tours—to provide an educational resource for the community and updating Piscataway Park educational signage to integrate the history and culture of this special landscape.
The Miller History Fund—previously the Pathways Grant Program—was recently renamed the “Thomas V. ‘Mike’ Miller, Jr. History Fund” in honor of the late Senate President Emeritus who sponsored the legislation that makes the publicly funded grant program possible. Administered through MCHC, the program works to support projects that may not be eligible for other state funding opportunities such as collections care, marketing, and development initiatives.
The Accokeek Foundation shares the Maryland Center for History and Culture’s excitement about this commemoration of Miller’s service to Marylanders. “Senator Miller was a dedicated supporter of our organization,” said Laura Ford, President & CEO of the Accokeek Foundation. “His passing is a tremendous loss, but his legacy in Piscataway Park will continue to shape our work for generations.”
Information about the Accokeek Foundation’s programming and resources for visitors to Piscataway Park can be found at www.accokeek.org.
