Tauck World Discovery Volunteers
Make Pilgrimage To Plimoth Plantation

NORWALK, CT (October 23, 2008) Employees of Tauck World Discovery and their family members made a pilgrimage to Plimoth Plantation in Plymouth, Massachusetts last Friday to work on preservation and beautification projects at the “living history” museum that recreates the first permanent European settlement in southern New England. The 230 Tauck workers were joined by 20 volunteers from Collette Vacations and by staff from Tourism Cares, the travel industry philanthropic group.

The volunteers worked on a number of projects, including restoring the palisade, or wooden barricade, surrounding the recreated 1627 village. Other volunteers worked inside the museum’s Visitors Center, where they painted and completed other beautification projects. A number of children of Tauck employees also participated by decorating the recreated Mayflower II as a “haunted pirate ship” for an upcoming Halloween event.

“We’ve been bringing our guests to iconic attractions and destinations for over 80 years,” said Beth Young, who manages Tauck’s “World of Giving” philanthropic efforts. “It’s entirely appropriate that we take an aggressive and active role in helping preserve them for future generations.” Tauck also used the occasion to provide a $40,000 World of Giving grant to Plimoth Plantation for its junior docent program, which was supplemented by a $10,000 grant from Tourism Cares.

"Plimoth Plantation is thrilled with the highly organized and motivated voluntourism efforts of Tauck World Discovery," said Plimoth Plantation Executive Director, John McDonagh. "Their philanthropy is extraordinarily generous and will make a visible difference to the hundreds of thousands of guests who visit Plimoth Plantation annually... many of whom are Tauck guests. The museum is truly appreciative of their charitable gift, and the contributions made by Tourism Cares and the Collette volunteers."

The participation of Collette Vacations marks the second time this year that Tauck and Collette volunteers have joined together to support a worthy cause. In June more than 50 volunteers from the two companies came together to tackle a wide range of maintenance and beautification projects at the Nuweetooun School in Exeter, Rhode Island, in an effort organized by Collette. “These events demonstrate not only the need for this type of beautification effort to continue, but for the industry to continue supporting them,” said Daniel J. Sullivan, Jr., Collette president and CEO, who was one of the 20 Collette volunteers. “It is gratifying to see what we’re able to accomplish together.”

Tauck has been bringing guests to the Plymouth area for most of its 83-year history, and including Plimoth Plantation on selected New England itineraries for decades. The two-day Tauck effort is the latest in a series of annual employee voluntourism events, which typically support historic and cultural attractions in the northeastern U.S. Past events have included volunteer efforts at Boston’s Old North Church, Ellis Island National Monument in New York harbor, Valley Forge National Historical Park in Pennsylvania, and Minute Man National Historical Park in Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts.

About Plimoth Plantation. Plimoth Plantation is a bicultural, 17th-century living history museum located an hour south of Boston in Plymouth, MA. It is a private, non-profit educational institution supported by admission fees, contributions, memberships, function sales and revenue from varied dining programs/services/special events and museum shops. Plimoth Plantation is a Smithsonian Institution Affiliate and receives support from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, The Federal Institute of Museums and Library Services, The National Endowment for the Humanities, The Massachusetts Endowment for the Humanities, private foundations, corporations, local businesses, and individuals. For more information, visit www.plimoth.org.

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