The National Trust for Scotland is offering lovers the chance to send anonymous romantic lines of Burns’ poetry, as part of its latest push to raise funds for the ambitious new Robert Burns Birthplace Museum in Alloway.
The National Trust for Scotland is offering lovers the chance to send anonymous romantic lines of Burns’ poetry, as part of its latest push to raise funds for the ambitious new Robert Burns Birthplace Museum in Alloway.
Lucky Valentines who receive a line of poetry via email can find out the identity of the secret admirer who sent the poem – if they donate to the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum.
The donation will also give them an option to have their name put on a donations scroll, which will be displayed in the new museum when it opens in summer 2010.
The romantic gesture is taking place to mark the Trust’s latest direct mail campaign, which is being sent to homes across the UK, offering them the chance to be engaged in fundraising for Burns.
The new £21 million, 1600m² museum building will provide a first class exhibition space for the priceless Burns collections, and will provide visitors of all ages with an opportunity to be inspired by the bard’s life and work.
Budding romantics who want to send a line of poetry should send an email to
LoveBurns@nts.org.uk with the email address they wish to send to and the name of the person who will receive it.
Trust Chairperson, Shonaig Macpherson said:
“Burns wrote some of the most romantic poetry the world has ever seen, so it’s only fitting that we tie in to Valentine’s Day as I’m sure plenty of people will be looking at his work for inspiration over the next few days.
“With the option of finding out who sends a mystery Valentine as well, there’s an opportunity to make a contribution to our wonderful new museum which will honour a man who is well known for his romantic nature. We are pleased with the level of support and interest that our ambitious project in Alloway is attracting and will be taking a range of innovative approaches to our fundraising to get as many people involved as we can.”
Recipients can also choose to make a donation and not learn who made the donation, if they wish to preserve the mystery.
Royal Mail was used to send the direct mailing service and they also recently issued a new Burns’ stamp.
Ian McKay, Director of Scottish Affairs with Royal Mail Group said:
“Royal Mail recently featured the Burns Cottage in the new Burns stamps which were recently issued to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the birth of the Bard. The new stamps have generated considerable interest amongst Burns fans around the world.
“Burns was a prodigious writer of love letters and his poetry will undoubtedly feature in many of the cards which Royal Mail delivers this year. Our mailbags are always extra heavy on Valentine’s Day and our staff work extremely hard to deliver cards and gifts to households all over Scotland.”
Only one email can be sent per email address and any email addresses considered inappropriate will not be forwarded.
A sample of Burns’ letters sent throughout his life can be viewed at
www.burnsletters.wordpress.com
For other fundraising details, please visit
www.nts.org.uk/Burns/CelebrateBurns/