Do you Google?
The Lutheran Theological Seminary's Schmucker Hall
Matthew Brady, courtesy of the Library of Congress
This is a little off topic today, but it's for a very good cause as you will soon see...
Which Internet search engine do you routinely use? Do you Google, or do you prefer Yahoo or some other popular search engine? As of July 2006 (the latest data I could find), in a survey of more than 3 million Internet users by a third party watchdog company, (www.searchenginewatch.com), 43.7% of users prefer Google as their primary way of searching the Internet (and they are growing, up from 35% just a few years ago). I always use Yahoo, so I am in the next largest percentage of users at 28.8%. MSN was third at 12.8%, AOL was next at 5.9%, and Ask.com trailed among the Big Five at 5.4%. The remaining 3.4% is a hodge-podge of smaller providers.
Why do I provide this slightly outdated information, and what in the world does it have to do with the Civil War and local history??? Read on, please.
It's time to change your personal search engine for the Internet, and, at the same time, help preserve a little of southern Pennsylvania's heritage! I am a transplanted Buckeye, but have fallen in love with this area - its culture, its natural beauty, its proximity to many of America's most prominent attractions, and, most of all, its history. Another transplanted Ohioan recently informed me about a way to help preserve, protect, and interpret a slice of this region's history.
Wayne Motts is the executive director of the Adams County Historical Society, and he has come up with a clever and painless way to help ACHS raise funds for their massive program to renovate Schumucker Hall (the famed Lutheran Theological Seminary building prominent in the Battle of Gettysburg on Seminary Ridge). This involves no cash from your pocket - only a change in your Internet search habits.
Wayne's message to Cannonball readers...
What if the Adams County Historical Society earned a penny every time you searched the Internet? Or how about if a percentage of every purchase you made online went to support our cause? Well, now it can!
GoodSearch.com is a new Yahoo-powered search engine that donates half its advertising revenue, about a penny per search, to the charities its users designate. Use it just as you would any search engine, get quality search results from Yahoo, and watch the donations add up!
GoodShop.com is a new online shopping mall which donates up to 37 percent of each purchase to your favorite cause! Hundreds of great stores including Target, Gap, Best Buy, Ebay, Macy's and Barnes & Noble have teamed up with GoodShop and every time you place an order, you’ll be supporting your favorite cause.
No here is what all of you can do. Go to www.goodsearch.com. Enter the Adams County Historical Society in the charity box. Make this your home page for all you computers. Download the Goodsearch toolbar. Shop at www.goodshop.com. Pass the email to all your friends. Remember everyone this is powered by Yahoo so the results you will get from your searches will be great.
Thanks!
Wayne Motts
As a Yahoo devotee, I have tried Wayne's idea and it works fine. Since I am working on a major new Civil War book currently, I will be frequenting this search engine and adding pennies each day to ACHS's coffers, all without shortchanging any other charities or organizations I support. It's truly a win-win. Why not help out a good cause and support some Civil War preservation at the same time?? You can even buy my Civil War books from GoodShop.com as Christmas gifts for your friends, and a donation will go to ACHS.
