My Nonprofit Reviews

South Mountain Heritage Society makes its home in a former German Reformed church built in 1829 in the tiny, historic town of Burkittsville. The unspoiled 19th Century village sits amidst rolling farmland and the Appalachian Trail is just one mile uphill.
The Heritage Society has restored the old church's sanctuary, which now looks as it did in the 1890s and is a glorious venue for weddings, renewals of vows, memorials, Scout award ceremonies, and other occasions. The former Sunday School room has been made into a lovely little museum of the history of this corner of Maryland, and holds a library of documents about local families and history that are available to the public for research.
The SMHS Board is made up of local citizens. Various fundraising activities keep the Society's doors open and its educational programs alive (e.g. an annual sale of used books every Saturday in October and an annual race, the Spook Hill Cider & Wine 5K run, which circles through the local vineyard and cider orchard).

This is an organization run on a shoestring by volunteers (with just one essential staff member). Our tutors work one-on-one to teach English skills both to adult immigrants who need help learning English, and to native English speakers who have poor literacy skills. Learning English, or how to read and write, is essential for all the other parts of our students' lives as workers, parents, and citizens. Every dollar or hour contributed to this organization helps someone in a very direct and important way.

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One of the best overseas aid programs one could support! Amazing U.S. midwives go to Haiti to train midwives there. They in turn help women who would otherwise have no prenatal care and no help with their deliveries. I have a midwife friend who goes to Haiti every year, and she shares her experiences and photographs with the rest of us in our Quaker meeting. This is the real deal.

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