Over 200 Tauck Volunteers

Pitch In At Old North Church

Volunteer Effort And $100,000 Grant Benefit Historic Site

NORWALK, CT (11/1/07) Over 200 employees and employee family members from Tauck World Discovery descended on Boston’s Old North Church on Friday to perform preservation and beautification work in the church, in other parish buildings, and on surrounding grounds. The Tauck workers tackled a variety of tasks, from clearing debris out of the church’s steeple, to painting, landscaping, resetting brick pavers and more.

“My father brought six guests to the Old North Church on our company’s very first tour in 1925,” said company chairman Arthur Tauck, Jr, “and we’ve been bringing people here ever since. The Old North Church has a very important place in our nation’s history, and in our company’s history, so we’re happy to help preserve it for future generations.”

The day’s labor was highlighted by a “bucket brigade” of 45 workers who removed an estimated three tons of scrap lumber and debris from the highest reaches of the church’s steeple. The debris was passed hand-to-hand down 12 stories of cramped, narrow stairways, out the front door of the church, and into a dumpster on the street below.

$100,000 GRANT TO AID ON-SITE, ONLINE EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS
The substantial work of the Tauck volunteers will be supplemented by a $100,000 grant from the Tauck Foundation to the church’s Old North Foundation. Announced during Friday’s clean-up, the grant will help researchers improve the various interpretive programs used to educate the one-half million visitors to the Old North Church each year, with special focus on programs for the site's 70,000 student visitors annually. The funds will also be used for other initiatives, including expanding research of the church’s extensive archives and enhancing the church’s online educational programs.

"It is magnificent to have Tauck, a leader in the tourism industry, take a leadership role in preserving the Old North Church and improving its educational efforts,” said Ed Pignone, Executive Director of the Old North Foundation. “Tauck’s support makes an extraordinary difference, not only in enhancing the visitor experience, but in ensuring that the Old North continues to be one of our nation's most enduring symbols of liberty."

Friday’s volunteer event and grant mark the second time that Tauck has assisted the Old North Church. In the early 1970s the company helped underwrite a major restoration project at the church. Friday’s effort at the Old North Church is Tauck’s 7th annual employee volunteer event. Past events have benefited Mesa Verde National Park, Valley Forge and Minute Man National Historical Parks, and Ellis Island National Monument.

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