The Old Rugged Cross Historic Site

P.O. Box 41 Niles, MI 49120

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                 For more information

                                                                                                269-683-4540

            NILES, Mich., Nov. 26, 2005 "The Old Rugged Cross Foundation" has kicked off a special "Make the Match" fund drive.  The effort's goal is to gather matching funds for a federal "Save America's Treasures" grant application early in 2006. 

            Our supporters have been extremely generous since we began activities at The Old Rugged Cross Historic Site in 1998, said Dr. Melchizedek Ponniah, chairman of the Foundation's Board of Directors.  Donations to date total $304,000, mostly from individual donors.  These donations enabled us to complete the first two phases of restoration.  Those phases saved The Original Old Rugged Cross Church from imminent collapse.  It is time to move ahead with the next step. 

            We need at least $250,000 in matching funds or pledges to apply for a Save America's Treasures grant, he continued.  We currently have about one-third of that amount on hand.  We hope that everyone who wants to see this historic structure restored will step forward and help us make the match. 

            We expect a February 1 deadline for 2006 grant applications, he said. If we can secure enough donations and pledges by about mid-January to reach at least the $250,000 match required for us to apply, we will apply for a grant of that amount.  If our application is successful we will use the resulting $500,000 to build a new foundation and lower level meeting room.  We also would be able to do additional restoration activities.

            If we do not receive enough donations and pledges to apply in 2006, we will use the amount on hand to perform additional restoration work in the spring, Dr. Ponniah added.  Donations and support are welcome any time of year.  However, our current effort to make the match has important time constraints.

            Supporters can send their "Make the Match" financial gifts to (and payable to) The Old Rugged Cross Foundation.  The address is P.O. Box 41, Niles, MI 49120.  Letters with pledges of later donations from individuals, businesses, civic groups or other organizations also can be mailed to the Foundation. Dr. Ponniah urged anyone sending a pledge to be specific about the pledge amount and timing.  The letters will help the Foundation document the pledges in the application. 

            We also will contact some of our regular supporters, Dr. Ponniah said, but we hope that others who are able to help us make the match will step forward on their own initiative.  We do not have a way to identify everyone who could help us.  We hope the potential of gifts being doubled is a strong motivator.

             Save America's Treasures grants are administered by the National Park Service.  The program is in partnership with the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.  Grants usually are for a two- or three-year period.

            The grants support preservation and/or conservation work on nationally significant intellectual and cultural artifacts, and nationally significant historic structures and sites.  The 61 grants in 2005 totaled more than $14 million.   

            The Old Rugged Cross Foundation (ORCF) is managing the historic building's restoration.  The ORCF also will manage the restored building's operation.  The ORCF is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. 

            The ORCF is restoring the facility as closely as possible to its 1913 appearance.  Once restored, the historic building will be a museum and community center for special, scheduled events such as weddings, funerals and community meetings.  It will not be used for regular Sunday worship services.  However, church groups and others will be able to rent the facility for their activities. 

            The Old Rugged Cross Historic Site includes the church where the internationally-beloved hymn, "The Old Rugged Cross" was sung publicly in its entirety for the first time in 1913.  The church is a Registered Michigan Historic Site.  It also is listed on the National Register of Historic Places at the national level of historic significance.  The facility also is an Official Project of Save America's Treasures.

            We hope these important acknowledgements of the site's significance, including from Save America's Treasures, will support our grant application through the evaluation process, Dr. Ponniah said. 

            The Site also includes the half-acre Old Rugged Cross Memorial Garden.  The Garden is available for unscheduled meditation, and for tours, picnics, weddings and other special, scheduled events.    

            The Old Rugged Cross Historic Site is in Pokagon, Mich., one block south of Pokagon Highway, just east of Highway M-51.  Pokagon is half way between Niles and Dowagiac.