2008 Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 6, 2008

Contact:
Cruise Industry Charitable Foundation Cynthia Colenda, (703) 522-3160

Cruise Industry Supports Bay Area Charities

San Francisco, CA – The Cruise Industry Charitable Foundation (CICF) is pleased to announce that $50,000 in total grants was recently awarded to five San Francisco Bay Area charities. CICF and the Cruise Line International Association (CLIA) in partnership with the Port of San Francisco hosted an October 3rd luncheon aboard Celebrity Cruises’ Infinity. Charitable grants were presented at a special ceremony by Terry Dale, President & CEO of CLIA, John Fox, Vice President, Royal Caribbean International and a CICF Board member, and Cynthia Colenda, Executive Director of CICF. Grant recipients were: Save The Bay, Bay Area Law Enforcement Assistance Fund, Mercy Housing California, The Nature Conservancy, and the Asian Pacific American Community Center (APACC).

Special guests attending the luncheon included: Michael Hardeman, San Francisco Port Commission; Monique Moyer, Executive Director, Port of San Francisco; Peter Dailey, Maritime Director, Port of San Francisco; Leonard Hoops, Executive Vice President, San Francisco Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, and other important Bay area business and community leaders.

CICF presented a $10,000 grant to David Lewis, Executive Director, Save the Bay, for programs to educate community members about the health, history, and ecology of San Francisco Bay and its watershed.

Marilyn Rosekind, President of the Board of Directors, of the Bay Area Law Enforcement Assistance Fund accepted a $10,000 grant to support law enforcement families who have had members killed in the line of duty, have been seriously injured, or have experienced a catastrophic event.

Mercy Housing California President Jane Graf, accepted a $10,000 grant which will assist in the development of program-enriched housing for a variety of low-income populations, including families, seniors and people with special needs.

CICF presented a $10,000 grant to Erin Steel, Associate Director of Philanthropy, The Nature Conservancy to help fund their 17 large, landscape-scale projects that fall into 12 ecoregions throughout the state of California.

Finally, CICF presented a $10,000 grant to James Lim, President, Asian Pacific American Community Center (APACC), whose mission is to develop, implement, and evaluate programs and services in response to the changing and various needs of the community. “As CICF celebrates its 10-year anniversary, we are proud to demonstrate the industry’s continued commitment to the communities where we conduct business,” said James R. Border, Chairman of the Cruise Industry Charitable Foundation. “We are pleased to support the initiatives being carried out by all five Bay Area charities and hope our donation will provide much needed assistance with their outreach efforts.” The cruise industry continues to have a significant economic impact in the State of California. The four major California ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach, San Diego, and San Francisco embark over a million passengers annually. Cruise lines spent nearly $2 billion in California in 2006, and supported almost 45,000 jobs paying nearly $2.2 billion in wages for California workers. According to statistics compiled by the Port of San Francisco, over 73,000 cruise passengers embarked from the port in 2007.

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The Cruise Industry Charitable Foundation (CICF), founded in 1998 by the members of the International Council of Cruise Lines, focuses its efforts on programs designed to strengthen and improve the quality of life in communities served by our industry. The Foundation supports civic and community development, educational assistance and training programs, and environmental preservation initiatives.