The rich history of the town of Stafford spans a time period of over 300 years. Throughout our beautiful town, there are many historical locations that go unnoticed by residents and visitors. These locations include various sites that have been associated with events that have made significant contributions to the Town of Stafford. Did you know Stafford is home to the nation’s first health spa or that founding father John Adams visited Stafford?
The Rotary Club of Stafford, CT, in partnership with the Stafford Historical Society, is working on a project to bring awareness to Stafford’s history through the creation of the Stafford Self-Guided Historical Tour. This tour will encourage residents and visitors alike to travel to different sites in town where they can engage in interesting activities at each tour stop. This project is intended to foster collaborative relationships with local government, businesses, residents, and visitors to enhance the Town of Stafford community.
Over the next six years, the creation of the Stafford Self-Guided Historical Tour will be accomplished by placing interactive signs at historic sites around the Town of Stafford. These markers will incorporate interactive components allowing individuals to use their mobile devices to access historical information about the location on a dedicated website maintained by the project organizers. Each year over the six-year period, the project will add new locations to the Stafford Self-Guided Historical Tour.
How can I help?
If you are interested in supporting the project, there are many ways in which you can help or contribute to the project's needs.
Below are several ways you can be a part of the Stafford Self-Guided Historical Tour.
Project Ambassador:
As an Ambassador, you will assist the team in sharing information about the project with the public, recruiting donations, and attending project functions and events. You will receive training and guidance from the project organization committee before becoming an Ambassador. In addition, ambassadors are invited to all committee meetings to provide input to the organization committee. All Ambassadors will be recognized on the project's future Webpage.
Project Contributor:
If you do not have the means to donate monetarily to the project but would like to offer a service to assist the project, you can become a contributor. We are looking for community members with expertise related to physical sign installation, website management, graphic design, event planning, research, etc. In addition, contributors are invited to committee meetings to provide input to the organization committee. All Contributors will be recognized on the project's future Webpage.
Project Donor:
You become a donor by monetarily contributing to the project. There are three ways in which you can donate.
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Individual/family donation
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Business/organization donation
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In memory of an individual
All donors will be acknowledged on the project website. For more information about becoming a donor, see below.
If you are interested in further supporting the project, please contact us at staffordrotaryct@gmail.com. Please make the subject line Stafford Self-Guided Historical Tour-Support, and in the body of your email, indicate how you would like to support the project.
As we embark on this meaningful project, the Rotary Club of Stafford, CT is asking community members to be a part of this endeavor by becoming project sponsors. You can secure a sponsorship status by donating to the project startup fund. We are offering various levels of sponsorship to enable all community members & businesses to participate.
If you have questions or concerns about donating to the project, please contact us at staffordrotaryct@gmail.com. When sending your email, please make the subject line Stafford Self-Guided Historical Tour-Donation.
Individual/Family Donor:
Any individual or family looking to contribute monetarily to the project can submit a donation at this link or by check made out to the Rotary Club of Stafford. The check can be mailed to:
Any individual or family looking to contribute monetarily to the project can submit a donation at this link or by check made out to the Rotary Club of Stafford. The check can be mailed to:
Rotary Club of Stafford, CT
Attn: Stafford Self-Guided Historical Tour
PO Box 277
Stafford Springs, CT 06076
along with the donation form available here. Monetary donors will be listed by name on the project's website page and will receive an invitation to each project phase's debut.
Business/Organization Donors:
Secure a sponsorship as a business or organization. Sponsorship levels include different benefits based on the sponsorship levels outlined above. All sponsors will receive invitations to annual project phase debuting events and will receive exclusive donor stickers to place in their business window.
Secure a sponsorship as a business or organization. Sponsorship levels include different benefits based on the sponsorship levels outlined above. All sponsors will receive invitations to annual project phase debuting events and will receive exclusive donor stickers to place in their business window.
Additional, benefits for business will be based on the level of sponsorship. If you are a business owner or organization looking to contribute monetarily to the project, you can submit a donation at this link or by check made out to the Rotary Club of Stafford, Attn: Stafford Self-Guided Historical Tour Project.
The check can be mailed to:
Rotary Club of Stafford, CT
Attn: Stafford Self-Guided Historical Tour
PO Box 277
Stafford Springs, CT 06076
along with the donation form linked here.
In Memorium Donor:
If you would like to remember a loved one or someone who you believe contributed to the Town of Stafford, have them memorialized via the Stafford Self-Guided Historical Tour. Our team will work with the Memorium Donors to appropriately and respectfully determine a location in which to honor this individual best. Options include a Memorium of an individual historic sign, a Memorium of a project phase, and a Memorium on the project's webpage.
If you would like to remember a loved one or someone who you believe contributed to the Town of Stafford, have them memorialized via the Stafford Self-Guided Historical Tour. Our team will work with the Memorium Donors to appropriately and respectfully determine a location in which to honor this individual best. Options include a Memorium of an individual historic sign, a Memorium of a project phase, and a Memorium on the project's webpage.
If you are interested in donating as a Memorium Donor, we ask that you email us directly, and a project Ambassador will schedule a time to meet with you and discuss options.
Design concept of signage
Special thank you to local artist Jeff Blazejovsky who has provided the cover artwork for the Stafford Self-Guided Historical Tour publications. Visit Jeff's website at https://jeff-blazejovsky.pixels.com/ to view more amazing artwork created by Jeff.
