Central Virginia Battlefields Trust Offers Extra History Through Their New Online Program

During this COVID-19 Crisis, we have been highlighting the efforts of various organizations to offer or re-work Civil War history programs. Here’s the official latest from Central Virginia Battlefields Trust:

Recognizing that social distancing has cancelled or altered many plans to explore and experience history and battlefields, Central Virginia Battlefields Trust (CVBT) launched a new, interactive online program called “At Ease” in the spring of 2020. Due to the program’s popularity, CVBT’s staff is thrilled to expand and extend the free program.

Every Thursday, subscribers receive an email spotlighting Civil War history from Central Virginia, typically including lesser-known, local stories and accounts. Participants have the option to vote in weekly surveys which influence the content and themes for the next week’s inbox surprises. Take a look at some of the previous weekly emails at CVBT’s “At Ease” webpage: www.cvbt.org/at-ease then sign up to receive the new releases, learn, and have some fun!

Executive Director, Terry Rensel, explained how the idea started: “As we were forced to close our office doors and continue our mission and work from home, the staff wanted to find a way to connect with our preservation partners and make new friends in the history field. This weekly email ‘club’ allows us to reach out and share many historic facts and stories that we had hoped to share through in-person events. We’re so pleased that the “At Ease” Program is delivering history and preservation ideas. . .”

CVBT’s President, Tom Van Winkle, added: “So many of us are “at ease” and sheltering in our own ‘camps’ these days. We can still press forward and continue learning about history and finding new ways to preserve endangered ground. I feel this free program compliments that mission and offers a weekly surprise for the program subscribers.”

Central Virginia Battlefields Trust is a grassroots, regionally-focused preservation organization. Since 1996, CVBT has preserved over 1,300 acres of threatened hallowed ground at Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, The Wilderness, and Spotsylvania Court House battlefields. Operating with a small staff and volunteer Board of Directors, CVBT keeps the focus on saving historic sites with the help of our preservation partners and sharing the stories of courage from these battlefields, ruins, and historic roads.

To learn more about Central Virginia Battlefields Trust, please visit their website: www.cvbt.org