Spruce up a haunted lighthouse or green up a bayou
“Tourism Cares” is inviting interested members of the travel industry to “unleash their inner gardener and the painter in them” at the 2012 Tourism Cares for America volunteer project in Pensacola on Florida’s Panhandle, scheduled for March 29 – 30.
Volunteers can choose from two different projects: helping with much-needed repairs of an historic, and said-to-be haunted lighthouse; or helping to restore a 233-acre bayou by planting native vegetation.
“Thirty-eight painting projects both inside and outside of the lighthouse – which sees 100,000 visitors a year– and eight landscaping projects spread over eight acres will keep Tourism Cares volunteers busy for eight hours and will make a dramatic difference to tourists’ experience there,” the group says in a press release.
“As anyone who has participated in our previous volunteer efforts knows, we are not all work and no play,” said Bruce Beckham, Executive Director, Tourism Cares. “In addition to giving back to an industry from which we have all profited, our Tourism Cares projects provide plenty of opportunity to network and socialize with other members of the tourism industry.”
Registration costs $99 per person and includes admission to a welcome reception, full day of work projects, breakfast, lunch, barbeque, and after-work party. Discounted accommodations at The Crowne Plaza Pensacola Grand Hotel are available for $105 nightly.
The Pensacola Give-Back is Tourism Cares’ fourth volunteer project in helping to restore the Gulf both before and after Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005.
One of America’s first settlements, Pensacola is rich in history and culture, as well as being known for its beautiful white sand beaches. Archaeological sites, one of Florida’s oldest churches, and museums and houses furnished to reflect periods from the early Spanish explorers to the Victorian era afford a glimpse into the past.
To register for the event or support the effort by becoming a sponsor, visit www.tourismcares.org/volunteer.
By David Wilkening
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