Tourism Cares for Ellis Island
On June 13, 2003, more than 300 tourism industry volunteers spent a combined 1,120 hours raking leaves, painting and cleaning up derelict areas on Ellis Island. The project was the first annual national project of the Tourism Cares for America program, which was founded to preserve, conserve and protect America’s tourism related sites that are in need of care, clean up and rejuvenation.
Ellis Island key facts:
- The rundown buildings, broken windows, rampant overgrowth of weeds, weed trees and vines, landscapes covered with overgrowth and leaves were visible to the visitors as well as passengers on passing sightseeing boats and cruise ships.
- The volunteers performed an estimated $300,000 worth of work at the National Park site.
- The work that the volunteers completed in one day would have taken a crew of 45 more than one year to complete.
- In 2001, Ellis Island received a Special Travelers Conservation Foundation (Tourism Cares predecessor) Grant with USTOA Tour Operators for $285,000.
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