Travel Insured Helps 150 Tourism Cares Volunteers Clear Foliage, Erect Fences & Reforest Land at Valley Forge National Park to Commemorate 9/11 Events

    EAST HARTFORD, CT, September 20, 2011 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Travel Insured International was proud to participate in the second Tourism Cares event of 2011, when it helped sponsor the Volunteer Day that drew 150 travel industry participants to Valley Forge National Park, 20 miles northwest of downtown Philadelphia, on Friday, Sept. 9. The day marked the industry's observation of the Sept. 11 National Day of Service and Remembrance for America's victims and heroes of the terrorist attacks of 2001.

Arriving in King of Prussia, PA, the site of Valley Forge National Park, despite severe Pennsylvania flooding following two weeks of rainstorms spawned by Tropical Storm Lee and Hurricane Irene, travel industry volunteers came ready to work under the guidance of National Park Service employees who directed the day's park maintenance and improvement projects. Tourism Day volunteers came from 13 states and approximately 100 travel industry companies, according to Tourism Cares executive director Bruce Beckham. Along with Travel Insured, over 40 industry companies helped co-sponsor the day.

Valley Forge National Park was the site of the U.S. Continental army's encampment of 1777-78 under the command of General George Washington, during which the troops survived a brutal winter and intensely trained to become the force that would take on the British army in the war of independence. "Valley Forge is the birthplace of the American Army," said Valley Forge National Park deputy superintendent Barbara Pollarine. "It represents triumph over adversity and is set aside for everyone." Praising the tenacity of industry volunteers who reached Valley Forge despite threats of more rain that, thankfully, dispersed as the turned sunny, Beckham added, "We're here in the spirit of George Washington, who hung around here in some pretty bad weather himself."

Valley Forge Mission Accomplished

Jessica Hern, the Tourism Cares events manager, said the day's volunteer work was primarily targeted at removing invasive plant species killing some of the native plants of the park, erecting fences to restrict access of a rapidly expanding deer population to vulnerable park foliage, and planting a small forest of 300 trees on the edge of the park as a flood barrier against water runoff from the park's transecting Schuykill River. One team of 32 volunteers, including this writer, worked on reforestation work urgently needed, according to Pollarine, due to impending state projects to widen the Pennsylvania Turnpike bordering the park that will involve removal of dozens of mature trees along park boundaries that have served as a flood barricade for decades.

"Ten years ago this park had 80 staff members and now it has 57," said Pollarine. "Part of that is due to funding cuts, and part is due to a newer sustainability approach that calls for a more natural habitat with less mowing and cutting. But volunteer programs like Tourism Cares allow us to implement projects that would otherwise take years to manage."

Beckham congratulated the volunteers at a post work-day picnic, noting that approximately $22,000 worth of maintenance work had been accomplished during the volunteer day. Tourism Cares volunteer day in Valley Forge was the organization's second event of 2011, following the "Tourism Cares for America" day on May 6th that helped restore the historic whaling village of Mystic Seaport in Mystic, CT. According to Beckham, Tourism Cares will announce before the end of this year its spring 2012 project continuing the organization's mission "to preserve the travel experience for future generations."

About Travel Insured International

Travel Insured International, based in E. Hartford, CT, was founded in 1994 by the foresight of insurance industry executive Peter Gehris when he acquired the travel protection division of the Travelers Insurance Company. Coverage is underwritten by Arch Insurance Company (a Missouri corporation, NAIC #11150) with executive offices located in Jersey City, NJ. Arch Insurance is rated A ("Excellent") for financial strength by the insurance rating service A.M. Best. Not all insurance products or coverage is available in all jurisdictions. Coverage is subject to actual policy language.

Travel Insured International
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E. Hartford, CT 06128-0568
Contact: John Stone
Media Relations Manager
http://www.travelinsured.com

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