Did You Know?
Matching Fund Campaign
Stay Tuned
In trying to forget the heatwave in the Washington area, we present a new feature: a summer stroll to learn about some lesser known examples of French-American ties.
Did you know that there is a Carnegie Library in Reims?
Today Reims in the Champagne area is a thriving city and much is forgotten from the destruction it endured during WWI, due in great part thanks to the generosity of American benefactors.
The best-known reconstruction is that of the 13th century cathedral which was the site of the coronations of French Kings for 500 years. It was extensively damaged by German shelling in 1914, and rebuilt in 1919 thanks to a donation from John D. Rockefeller.
What is less well known is the grant made by Andrew Carnegie. More than 85% of Reims’ buildings had been destroyed, among which were its libraries. The Carnegie Endowment Fund for International Peace donated $200,000 to build a new place to house the documents that had been saved, among which are three thousand manuscripts, many of them from medieval times and dating to as early as the 9th century.
Built in the 1920’s at the time of the rise of a new decorative movement, the library is notable for its Art Deco architecture with stunning windows, chandeliers and mosaics. Its design is also remarkable in terms of organization and access to the books and manuscripts, as well as the beauty of the reading room, with its oak floors and paneled walls.
For more information you can take a Virtual Tour of the Library.
Matching Fund Campaign
For more than three months now the Comité Tricolore has worked hard to answer the needs of the French-American community. It would be great if we could say that the crisis is over, but we have to keep our focus as the recovery will be gradual at best.
We are now faced with increasing requests for help from individuals who have been adversely impacted by health or financial hardship due to the crisis.
Through the generosity of our members we are able to launch a Matching Fund campaign to answer those needs.
Several of our members have generously donated close to $2,000.00 with the hope that their donation will be Doubled by your donations and we ask you to Help Us, Help Others.
The Comité Tricolore is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization run by volunteers and your donation is tax deductible.
Those of you who have been following us are already aware of the projects we have worked on such as:
The Solidarité France Covid-19 Project
The Restaurant and Food Industry Forum
The DC hospitals support program
We were very touched by the thanks we received from La Casa/Friendship Place in DC!
Stay Tuned!
Stay Tuned for our video mini-series interviews on Facebook
Follow us on Facebook @ComiteTricolore.org for up-to-date information on our programs and projects and to view our mini-series of interviews with DC area French chef and find out how they are coping with the Covid-19 crisis.
