SAN DIEGO, Aug. 5, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- When travel expert Stephanie Abrams, host of the nationally syndicated coast-to-coast radio talk show "Travel WITH Stephanie Abrams!" on the Business Talk Radio Network, which broadcasts weekly from the Berkshire Mountains of Western Massachusetts, offered a prize stay at the Kensington Park Hotel in San Francisco to "lucky caller number five," Abrams had no idea of the events to follow that would rally Woodfin Suites Hotels, Thrifty Car Rental, Choice Hotels and other travel suppliers around the prize winner, Libby Wright, who listens to Abrams' show on KJLL AM 1330 in Tucson, Arizona. After the show, Wright explained how thrilled she was to win this prize because she "could use a rest" from the demanding role as Executive Director of The Giving Tree Outreach Program, an organization Wright founded whose mission is to rescue homeless children from the streets of Tucson.
"Libby described what her organization does," Abrams explains, "and told me she promised the eleven children living at Grace Home, a 7-bedroom house the organization operates, that they would go to California to stand on a beach and see the ocean for the first time. She told me that, on the April day she won her travel prize on my show, one of the volunteers at The Giving Tree expressed concern over the commitment since there seemed to be no chance of raising the funds to send eleven children and five chaperones from Tucson to California. I told Libby that I was certain she was the 'lucky caller' for a reason and that I could and would make the trip a reality for the children," Abrams states.
Abrams' efforts resulted in Woodfin Suites of Cypress, California, and Woodfin Suites of San Diego, each providing four suites for 4 nights for the group. "That's a company with a heart as big as their suites!" Abrams states. "They offer all the comforts of home including a huge daily buffet breakfast that looks like a banquet. Their suites seem large enough to land a helicopter in, and they serve an included light meal most evenings. Penny Burich, Woodfin's National Sales Director, assisted in getting them admissions to the San Diego Zoo and Animal Park as well," Abrams explains. For the one night on the way to California, Abrams negotiated "super-preferential rates" for the four rooms needed for the group at the Hampton Inn in Blythe, California, and an additional four rooms for one night in the Los Angeles area which Choice Hotels provided complimentary.
When the organization's 15-passenger van did not pass inspection for the trip just 8 days before their July 30, 2004 departure, Wright called Abrams in a panic. "Facing the dilemma, I contacted Thrifty Car Rental. Within 24 hours, Bob Tunnel at their Tulsa headquarters confirmed 2 seven-passenger vans with all charges pre-paid by Thrifty. The group only needs to put in gas! With that and one chaperone taking an additional car, they were almost all set," Abrams notes.
Missing was cash to pay for travel expenses they would incur. To cover those costs, Abrams turned to Renee Werbin, publisher of Travelgirl magazine who made the introduction to the Morris Family Foundation. With a generous contribution from them and $500 the organization raised from the eBay auction of a 7-night-stay for two at the Ti-Kaye Village Resort in St. Lucia that Abrams donated to them in memory of Desmond Skeete, former Chairman of Tourism for St. Lucia, they now had what they needed to make the trip.
"On August 2, I got a call from Libby extolling the glories of the Woodfin Suites in Cypress and telling me that Justin, 10 years old, didn't sleep a wink the night before. She put Justin on the phone who explained to me that he was, 'too excited to sleep because we are going to the beach today.' It doesn't get better than that!" Abrams states.
As Abrams spread the word of the needs of the children for travel gear, contributions were sent to Tucson from many suppliers. Hertz sent suntan lotion, lip balm, water bottles and teddy bears dressed for the beach. Club Med sent T-shirts and Warren of California, a San Diego based manufacturer of travel security accessorites, sent leather kiddies' fannie packs for each of the children.
"I am going to surprise them along the way! I need to meet this very special group of kids and the wonderful people who care so much about enriching their lives with valuable experiences," Abrams concludes. "Enrichment is what travel is all about!"