The National Trust for Historic Preservation has awarded the Lawnside Historical Society a $1,000 matching grant from the William Short Fund for New Jersey. The grant will be used to fund training for caretakers of African-American cemeteries on proper repair of headstones, grounds maintenance and other challenges.

Mount Peace Cemetery Association in Lawnside and the Society are working to have the 12-acre burial ground placed on the National Register of Historic Places and to map out its the restoration and preservation. Experts and other grassroots preservations will lead the sessions.

The Society was among several grant recipients selected in a competitive application process from applicants across New England and Delaware, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. The terms of the grant require a dollar for dollar match, so tax-deductible contributions are being requested. They can be earmarked for Cemetery Preservation Training and sent to the Society at P.O. Box 608, Lawnside NJ 08045-0608.

In announcing the grant, National Trust Northeast Regional Office Director Wendy Nicholas said, "With these start-up dollars, Lawnside, New Jersey, joins the hundreds of other communities across the country actively ensuring that America's architectural and cultural heritage is preserved."

Through its Preservation Services Fund program, the National Trust offers small matching grants to nonprofit groups and public agencies to support a wide range of local historic preservation projects across the nation.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation, chartered by Congress in 1949, is a nonprofit organization with more than 270,000 members. As the leader of the national preservation movement, it is committed to saving America's diverse historic environments and to preserving and revitalizing the livability of communities nationwide. The Northeast Office coordinates the programs of the National Trust within the ten northeastern states and provides a wide range of services adapted to the needs of the region.