These are exciting and challenging times for Tourism Cares.  Now, more than ever, we have to be mindful that the need remains and we must continue our  mission of "preserving the travel experience for future generations". 
 
The exciting part is that these challenges motivate our board and staff to come up with new and innovative ways to raise the funds necessary to do even more giving back.  We have exciting new initiatives being planned for the upcoming fall season. More information is forthcoming, so please check the tourismcares.org website and your email in the next couple of weeks. 
 
Please read on and learn about new programs that provide ways both the travel industry, through our Tourism Caretakers program and the traveling public, through our Save Our Sites initiative, can make a difference - and in the end, that's what we all want to do.
 
Yours in tourism for the future,

Bruce Beckham
Executive Director

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This past April, 300  travel industry professionals, students studying travel, tourism and hospitality and their professors, came together from 27 states to kick off the major restoration of the George Spangler Farm in Gettysburg, PA as part of the 2009 Tourism Cares for America event.

 

On the morning of Friday, April 17, volunteers grabbed gloves, rakes, shovels, hand saws or clippers, broke into groups and began work on the 200-year-old farm. From beginning to end, the George Spangler Farm was completely transformed. Windows appeared where vines had overgrown and even an underground door was unearthed, its purpose and origin unknown.
 
The George Spangler Farm served an important purpose in the Civil War.  It was turned into a field hospital during and after the three-day battle in July of 1863. It was here that thousands of wounded were brought. For the volunteers, the site felt sacred, the restoration and preservation they were doing more than clean-up.  This was history. Without the efforts of the Gettysburg Foundation buying the 80-acre property to save it from residential development and the Tourism Cares volunteers, the story of the George Spangler Farm may never have been told. 
 
In addition to assisting with some important manual labor, Trip Mate, a travel insurance company headquartered in Kansas City, in conjunction with Tourism Cares made a special presentation of $10,000 to the Gettysburg Foundation to assist in further restoration work.
 
"The Spangler Farm is such an important piece of land related to the Battle of Gettysburg," said Dru Anne Neil, director of Marketing and Communications for the Gettysburg Foundation. "This grant will allow us to keep working toward our goal of returning the farm as closely as possible to its battle-era appearance and eventually welcome visitors to the site for educational programming. We are grateful to Tourism Cares for helping us with this vital preservation work, so we can continue to excite and inspire people about their history."

 

Thank you to all the volunteers who helped make a difference that day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Contributed by Mike Valentino, President & CEO, Valentino Hotels

 

The Tourism Cares for America projects in St. Louis Cemetery #1 and in Armstrong Park were and will forever be milestones of the short and long-term recovery of the New Orleans hospitality industry and community.  The improvements made to St. Louis Cemetery #1 are still fresh and vivid, preserving the area for future
generations and materially enhancing the experience for almost 1000 visitors every day.  The improvements made to Armstrong Park were the precursors to a vigorous restoration effort by the City of New Orleans which resulted in the grand re-opening of the park in January; resplendent with fountains, lighting, lagoons, and a state-of-the-art renovated Mahalia Jackson Theatre, home to the city's symphony, opera and ballet.
 
Even though it's likely that the volunteers assessed their impact merely by the work they were able to perform in 8 hours, they may be surprised to learn the most valuable part of their contribution wasn't related to their physical work at all.  It was really about the personal commitment they made to a damaged community, the energy and spirit they injected for their weary hospitality brethren, the hands-up they offered when the rest of the country appeared to have forgotten, or avoided, the plight of New Orleans.
 
The value of the work performed in New Orleans can't be captured in man hours or in painted fence posts. The value resides in the hearts and minds of those who gave, those who received, and in the investment made in city's recovery.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In 2008, Tourism Cares awarded more than $100,000 in scholarships to 65 students who will be future leaders of the travel and tourism and hospitality industry.
 
An example of a recent scholarship recipient is Stefania Cambarau, a graduate of Florida International University in Miami, FL. She came from Italy to pursue a master's degree in Tourism Management.
 
"It is a honor for me to be the recipient of both the Princess Cruises and Tours Scholarship (part of the American Society of Travel Agents Scholarship Fund) and the Travel Leaders Scholarship (part of the National Tour Association Scholarship Fund)," said Cambarau. "It's a privilege to know that my profile and accomplishments were deemed as deserving of these prestigious scholarships."


 

 

We want your voice to be heard! Send your thoughts, comments, suggestions to Jessica Ahern. We will publish your ideas in our next Because You Care newsletter!