
Login or Register

Search by Destination: Search by Travel Type:

Press Releases

Tauck Wins U.S. Dept. Of The Interior Award For Yellowstone Volunteer Program

Connecticut Company Honored At Washington, DC Ceremony

Norwalk, CT (October 3, 2005) Tauck World Discovery has won the United States Department of the Interior’s 2005 “Take Pride In America” national award in the Corporate category for its innovative Yellowstone guest-volunteer program. The award was formally presented to company president Robin Tauck by Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton at an Interior Department ceremony last week in Washington, DC.

Tauck was honored for the unique volunteer program it operates in Yellowstone National Park. Throughout the summer, guests traveling on either of Tauck’s two trips that visit Yellowstone are given the opportunity to donate a ½ day of labor to various projects during their stay in the Park. Tauck organizes the volunteers, pays for a full-time, seasonal volunteer coordinator, and underwrites the cost for all supplies (including a souvenir t-shirt for each participant).

5,000 Volunteers Donate 15,000 Hours of Labor Worth $200.000

In the three years that Tauck has operated the Yellowstone program (and a sister program in Glacier National Park), nearly 5,000 on-tour volunteers have donated approximately 15,000 hours of labor worth $200,000+ to over 75 Parks projects. Projects completed by Tauck’s volunteer-guests include light landscaping, maintenance work, rain runoff control, flood damage repair and general beautification within the Parks.

Most of these preservation and conservation projects are on the Parks’ “deferred maintenance” backlog, and otherwise wouldn’t be completed due to insufficient funding/staffing levels. Tauck’s volunteer program also allows the Parks’ professional staff to focus on other crucial projects requiring their advanced training and more specialized expertise.

Besides helping the Parks, the volunteer program also pays dividends to the program’s participants as well. An online survey of participating guests indicated that 86% felt that volunteering enhanced their experience, and 94% said they would choose to volunteer again if given the opportunity.

Marti Allbright, Executive Director of Take Pride In America, said the Tauck Yellowstone program perfectly underscores the win-win dynamic of volunteerism. “Tauck World Discovery’s volunteer program provides a great opportunity to help maintain and enhance a national treasure,” observed Allbright, “but it also does more. It presents a great opportunity for many people to experience the joy and enrichment of volunteering for the first time. Our National Parks win and Tauck’s guests win. It’s really what volunteerism is all about.”

Along with the Department of the Interior award, Tauck’s Yellowstone program has also been recognized with the TIA’s “Public & Community Service Odyssey Award.” What’s more, the volunteer program is just one example of Tauck’s efforts to “give something back” to America’s National Parks, which have been featured in the company’s North American tour itineraries since 1926.

In 2000, the Tauck family made a $250,000 grant to Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado that was matched by an equal grant from the Save America’s Treasures program. All told, through Tauck World Discovery’s corporate giving programs and the Tauck family foundation, the company has provided over $1,000,000 in grants to the U.S. National Parks. Since 2000, the company has also organized volunteerism efforts among its staff at Mesa Verde and ten other National Parks and national historic sites.

About the "Take Pride In America" Awards

An initiative of the Department of the Interior, Take Pride In America is a national partnership promoting volunteer efforts to improve America’s public spaces, including forests, wildlife refuges, cultural and historic sites, and other recreation areas. The Take Pride in America national awards are presented annually, and recognize specific volunteer projects in a variety of categories. Along with Tauck, Toyota, USA was the only other company selected to win in the Corporate category this year.

The awards were presented by Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton at a ceremony in Washington, DC on September 30th at the Department of the Interior.

Note: Available photography includes images of Robin Tauck, Tauck World Discovery President, accepting the award from Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton, and photos of Tauck guests performing volunteer work in Yellowstone National Park.

Email Tauck's marketing communications manager, Tom Armstrong, for more information or to schedule an interview.

Write to us at
Tauck World Discovery
10 Norden Place
Norwalk, CT 06855
P.O. Box 5020