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January, 2010
2009 - What a year!
You can interpret that whichever way you'd like, but for Tourism Cares, 2009 was a busy year giving back on behalf of the tourism industry and it looks as if 2010 will be even busier. As we reflect on the past year, we want to thank those of you who were involved and encourage you and your friends to do the same in 2010.
We asked some of our readers to help us tell our story through their stories. It's a quick and interesting read, so please read on.
Sincerely,
Bruce Beckham, Executive Director |
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Tourism Cares for America |
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The difference we made in Gettysburg
Contributed by Paul Decker, President, Valley Forge Convention & Visitors Bureau
We all learned the bloody facts in school, but few know how the hallowed ground on which that nation-changing conflict has changed over nearly 150 years since the battle took place. There are rows of buildings where none stood then and tree lines on formerly wide-open expanses, making it difficult for today's visitor or student to conceptualize the fluid, fast-moving chain of events of July 3rd and 4th,1863.
Enter Tourism Cares, a now legendary high-spirited corps of volunteers well-armed with rakes, hoes, hand-saws, and pruning tools, and poised to accomplish a critical battlefield mission.
Rusty on Civil War history? The George Spangler Farm was the setting for some of the most significant battle support functions that contributed to the Union victory in tactically significant Gettysburg. The farmhouse also became a Union field hospital treating wounded from both sides, where Rebel Brigadier General Lewis A. Armistead shuffled off this mortal coil.
Tourism Cares' clean-up mission was a formidable one, as the vols veered valiantly through dense thickets of briar and bramble, not-at-all flexible tree trunks and roots...and ubiquitous pockets of poison ivy and oak.
At day's end, much of the 80-acre farmland was laid bare of underbrush, thickets, tree-choking vines, and weeds and shrubs that almost obliterated stone field boundaries. All that was left of the Tourism Cares battlefield was large trees to be removed later by the National Park Service.
I've participated in four Tourism Cares clean-up projects (Mount Vernon; Virginia City; New Orleans and Gettysburg) over the past five years, and I can attest there's no greater, if not oxymoronic reward than the exhilarating exhaustion of a day of hard physical labor for a purposeful cause.
Volunteer Mary Kiely was in Gettysburg after having attended the 2008 post-Katrina clean-up of New Orleans' Louis Armstrong Park with a travel industry significant other. She put it this way: "You looked around the city and saw the hurricane's devastation and thought, 'one of those homes under water could have been mine, or a family member's.' And all of a sudden, it wasn't just something you saw on TV a thousand miles away. It was something very personal and compelling, and being there as part of that one small effort to restore a degree of normalcy to life in New Orleans became very important to me."
Kiely's 'hooked' on Tourism Cares and its mission, as you will be, too, once you make the first commitment to giving thanks and giving back.
Join us at Angel Island in San Francisco Bay on June 4, 2010 to volunteer your time and make a difference.
 American Express goes wild at the Philadelphia Zoo
Contributed by Ellen Bettridge, Vice President,
US Representative Travel Network, American Express
On Sunday, October 4, 2009, members of the American Express (AMEX)
Retail Travel Network attended their National Conference in Philadelphia and
arranged with Tourism Cares a volunteer restoration project at the Philadelphia
Zoo, America's oldest. The project was sponsored by the South African
Tourism Board.
"What a wonderful morning we spent at the Philadelphia Zoo," said
Ellen Bettridge, Vice President U.S. Representative Network, American Express.
"Our members are looking for ways to help, and we're delighted that the
Representative Network was able to give back through an organization like
Tourism Cares that shares our belief in supporting and preserving
tourism around the globe." More than 50 travel professionals
volunteered their time.
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How you can make a difference...
Eco-tip of the month |
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Life is too short
to drink bad coffee. And life is also too precious to drink
unsustainable coffee - grown using pesticides and harvested by people
around the world who aren't paid a fair, living wage for their work.
Do your part and when shopping for coffee in the grocery store, look
for beans that are organically grown and "fair trade
certified".
-Courtesy of The Nature Conservancy
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Save Our Sites Spotlight |
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Tourism Cares and Fairmont Save Our Parks
Contributed by Michelle Heston, Regional Director of Western U.S. and Hawaii Public Relations, Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa
Further supporting Fairmont Hotels & Resorts' commitment to sustainable
tourism and environmental stewardship, the brand's California collection
which includes, the Fairmont San Francisco, Fairmont San Jose, Fairmont
Heritage Place Ghirardelli Square, Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa,
Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows, Santa Monica and the Fairmont
Newport Beach successfully raised more than $17,000 via guest and
colleagues' donations between September 1, 2009 and November 30, 2009
for California's Save Our Parks campaign. We commend our long
time partners at Tourism Cares for their invaluable partnership in this
initiative. Both organizations share the mindset that by
collectively raising much needed funds and promoting the campaign traveler
and colleague attention was focused on the California State Parks
Foundation and the Save Our Parks Campaign.
The Fairmont California State Parks Special Grant, as part of the Tourism Cares Save Our Sites program, will help protect
state parks and keep them open for today and for future generations. Investment
in the preservation and protection of the state's ecological and historical
gems ensures that future generations of children and adults will be able to
experience the same sense of awe and serenity and education that those who
currently visit the parks enjoy. The success of this campaign
supports the preservation and enhancement of California's state parks for
future generations. |
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Volunteer Q&A
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Tourism Cares asked Derek Hydon, President of MaCher, to share some of his thoughts and feelings about our organization. Below is what Derek had to say.
TC: Why did you first become involved with the organization?
DH: I love to travel, experiencing different cultures, meeting wonderful people and experiencing the most amazing sights. Preserving these sites is critical so that future generations have a reason to travel. Getting involved was simply a no-brainer.
TC: You recently became a member of Tourism Cares' Board of Directors. What is your vision for Tourism Cares as you embark on this new role?
DH: Tourism Cares has many areas of expertise including grants and scholarships. However, I believe the preservation / clean up events can be scaled up to help more companies develop their own private events in partnership with Tourism Cares, not just in the travel industry, but in other industries as well. Corporations can achieve far greater awareness of their conservation & volunteer efforts by engaging Tourism Cares to actively promote their partnership.
TC: As a Corporate Partner and volunteer for Tourism Cares, what would you say are some of the business and personal benefits you've experienced in your involvement with the organization?
DH: One core value at MaCher is to provide an environment of personal & professional growth for all our staff. Every MaCher employee who has ever attended a Tourism Cares event raves about the experience. They not only make new friends and learn new skills from working with groups of other passionate people, they bring those skills right back into MaCher's business.
The business benefits are powerful. A typical example: we're in our third year of being a valuable partner for The Walt Disney Company. Our work there continues to expand, directly as a result of meeting people at a Tourism Cares event.
I think the most tangible benefit is building relationships with some of the smartest, funniest and most caring people I know - it's made "giving back" so worthwhile.
TC: I know you have been to many of our Tourism Cares for America volunteer events. What is one of your fondest memories?
DH: There are so many - no question my fondest memory was the first Tourism Cares clean up event Ellis Island in 2003.
I remember being at the "kick off" in the Great Hall, under a huge American flag and being completely in awe of the importance of this building for just about every American citizen, yet much of Ellis Island was in complete disrepair.
As I had only just become a U.S. citizen the previous week, I was thinking how quintessentially American to be "giving back" in this manner. I knew it was going to be an awesome day.
All day we worked like an army of ants, the camaraderie and teamwork, in spite of the rain, was spectacular, as it has been at every single Tourism Cares event since then.
At the end of the day, a National Park Service ranger explained that what we achieved in one day would take his team over two years, if he had the staff. From that moment, I wanted to participate in every event.
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How your contribution helps... |
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...Protect historic sites
Tou rism Cares awards a grant to Key West
Contributed by Carolann Sharkey, Executive Director, Key West Botanical Garden Society
The Tourism Cares grant
funding aided the Key West Botanical Garden Society to realize their
vision. The award helped us to match and complete the final phase
of a $2 million dollar restoration of a freshwater tropical lake. The
viewing station at the lake allows our tourists an opportunity to
observe the plants and wildlife of Key West.
The Key West Tropical Forest
and Garden has been designated as the Southernmost Trail Head for the
Florida Keys National Byway, which also received "All American
Road" status by Congress in October 2009. The Garden will soon be
welcoming thousands of visitors who travel the 108 mile highway, bike
trail and paddle trail.
Tourism Cares gave our 501-c-3
organization a real boost! Having a national organization support
our vision for not only protection of a historical environmental site,
but for eco-tourism has attracted many more partners. We are so grateful
for this! |
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...Educate the future In 2009, thanks to the generous donors who contributed to establish the American Society of Travel Agents and National Tour Association Scholarship Funds, Tourism Cares awarded a total of 66 scholarships totaling more than $76,800 to undergraduate students, 18 to graduate level students, and 6 to professional development students. The impact of these scholarships has had a wide reach as these students, who are primarily studying travel and tourism, or hospitality, represent 46 different schools across the United States and Canada.
 Jasmine Dottin of Temple University gets an introduction to the industry at NTA
Contributed by Jasmine Dottin, Southern California Chapter Pleasant Holidays Scholarship winner
Like many other college students who need help financing their college education, I have turned to scholarships for help. I decided to apply for a Tourism Cares scholarship in order to decrease the amount of loans I currently have funding my education and because of the Tourism Cares Experience the Industry program, I could participate in, if selected as a winner. I saw the program as a great opportunity for me as a student pursuing a tourism and hospitality management degree. I wanted to observe the inner workings of the tourism and hospitality industry at the National Tour Association Annual Convention and speak with professionals with careers similar to the career I am pursuing.
I gained a better understanding of different aspects of the tourism and hospitality industry through the mentoring program I took part in at the convention. During the mentoring program, I attended business appointments with two different mentors from Convention and Visitor Bureaus (CVB) and two different mentors from tour operator companies for a portion of the day. While sitting with the CVB mentors, I learned about the different sales techniques CVBs use to sell their destination's features to tour operators. The tour operator companies' appointments highlighted how all segments of the tourism and hospitality industry become connected through tour packaging.
I could not be more grateful for being chosen as a scholarship
winner and asked to participate in this program. I hope that other
students pursuing hospitality and tourism degrees will apply for a Tourism
Cares scholarship and partake in the Tourism Cares Experience the Industry
Program.
Click here to learn more about the Tourism Cares scholarship program
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Reaching out to Haiti
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 All
of us at Tourism Cares are deeply saddened by the tragic loss of life
that continues to mount in Haiti in the wake of the devastating
earthquakes. We offer our most heartfelt condolences to the people of
Haiti and those around the world whose families are affected by this
terrible disaster. Tourism Cares' mission, which is to preserve the
travel experience for future generations, makes us acutely aware of the
need that this natural disaster has created. As the relief agencies
continue with their urgent mission of saving lives, we will assess how
we can best assist the people of Haiti according to our mission. In
the meantime, we encourage the travel and tourism industry to heed the
call for humanitarian assistance in Haiti through appropriate disaster
relief organizations such as The Red Cross, and make personal and
corporate donations as the Tourism Cares board of directors and staff
are doing.
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Look for Tourism Cares in 2010
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Silent Auction at the New York Times Travel Show
February 26-28
Jacob Javits Convention Center, NYC
Travel South Showcase
April 10-14
Birmingham, AL
National Tour Association MoNTAge
April 14-17
Seville, Spain
Tourism Cares for America Volunteer Project
June 4
Angel Island, San Francisco Bay, CA
Tourism Cares Volunteer Day
September, day TBD
National Mall, Washington, DC
THE TRADE SHOW
September 12-14
Orlando, FL
NTA Annual Convention
November 13-17
Montreal, QC, Canada
USTOA Annual Convention
December 10-12
New Orleans, LA
More to be announced throughout the year. Check the Tourism Cares calendar for an up to date listing.
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Special thanks to our Corporate Partners
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Tourism Cares could not do what it does without it's Corporate Partners. For a full listing of our partners, click here.
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Let us know what you think!
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Have something to say?
We want your voice to be heard! Send your thoughts, comments and suggestions to Jessica Ahern. We will publish your ideas in our next Because You Care newsletter! | |
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