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CAMPAIGN TO RE-OPEN STATUE OF LIBERTY RECEIVES GROUNDSWELL OF SUPPORT
Foundation Provides Update on Fundraising and Project Status
February 23, 2004 (New York, NY)
- Today The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, Inc. provided an
update on its Campaign to Re-Open the Statue of Liberty, which has been closed
since September 11, 2001, due to safety and security concerns. The
Foundation announced that with funds collected and pledged since the campaign’s
launch in September 2003, it has passed its original estimated milestone, with
a total of $5.6 million raised. However, it added that the scale for the
project’s plans has broadened during the development phase indicating that the
cost will be approximately $7 million. The Foundation will therefore
continue its fundraising campaign at least until this need is met.
The National Park Service, U. S. Department of the Interior (NPS/DOI), the
steward of the Statue of Liberty, is actively working to design a plan that
protects visitors, employees and the Statue itself. Ultimately, a final
decision for the work at the Statue, which would lead to the re-opening, rests
with the Secretary of Interior.
Major contributors to the campaign have included American Express, the
project’s Principal Partner, which donated $3 million and launched a major
public awareness effort by commissioning a documentary by Martin Scorsese and
promoting the campaign through print and television advertising. Folgers
Coffee, the project’s Official Sponsor, has pledged to help raise $1 million
for the effort primarily through a major promotion to be launched in Spring
2004. The Annenberg Foundation added its support with a $1 million grant
to the project.
In addition, the New York Daily News has pledged $100,000 and has asked its
readers to join the cause by making individual donations, the MetLife
Foundation has contributed $100,000 and individuals across the country have
supported the effort through donations made at the project’s website
www.statueofliberty.org
The Foundation was asked by the NPS/DOI, who runs the Statue of Liberty and is
its sole decision-making body, to raise the funds necessary to make a number of
critical improvements to the Statue including: upgrading safety, fire and
emergency notification systems, creating additional exits from the Statue’s
base and enhancing visitor safety measures throughout the Statue. The
Foundation has engaged architects and engineers to provide a variety of design
solutions for additional egress from the Statue. The NPS/DOI is currently
reviewing the possibilities along with the New York State Historic Preservation
Officer who by law must be consulted on decisions affecting historic
structures. Once a specific plan is selected by the Secretary of Interior,
architectural drawings will be made available.
“We are extremely gratified by the level of support we have received from our
sponsors, generous benefactors and the American people,” said Stephen A.
Briganti, President and CEO of The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island
Foundation. “While we await a final design decision by the NPS/DOI, we
recognize that the costs of the project will be greater than originally
envisioned. The Foundation will therefore continue our campaign until
this new need is met.”
On 9/11, the National Park Service closed the Statue of Liberty National
Monument due to direct terrorists threats. On December 20, 2001 Liberty
Island reopened to the public and since then more than four million people have
enjoyed the park. The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation works in
partnership with the National Park Service to enhance the protection of the
monument and safety of her visitors.
For further information on the Campaign to Re-Open the Statue of Liberty or to
make a donation, visit www.statueofliberty.org
or contact:
The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, Inc.
Campaign to Re-Open Lady Liberty
292 Madison Avenue
Floor 14
New York, NY 10017-7769
(212) 561-4500
About The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation,
Inc.
The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, Inc. is a non-profit
organization founded in 1982 to raise funds for and oversee the historic
restorations of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, working in partnership
with the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. In addition to
restoring the monuments, the Foundation created a museum in the Statue’s base
and the world-class Ellis Island Immigration Museum, The American Immigrant
Wall of Honor® and the American Family Immigration History Center™ and saved
and restored a total of five buildings on Ellis Island. The Foundation promised
to its donors in the 1980s and established in 1993 an endowment under the
auspices of its board of directors that would annually help maintain the work
the Foundation had done on the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island and enhance
the visitor experience for years to come. Since the endowment’s inception,
proceeds from its principal have funded over 200 projects at the islands for a
total of $12.3 million. Currently the Foundation is spearheading a campaign to
fund critical safety improvements at the Statue of Liberty so that she may
again reopen her doors to the public, closed since September 11, 2001.
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