WASHINGTON, D.C., Jan. 13, 2012 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — The Gingrich Foundation has recognized the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, Inc. as its January Charity of the Month. The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation cares for two of America’s most iconic historical sites – Lady Liberty and Ellis Island.
In 1982, both the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island were in need of significant restoration when President Ronald Reagan asked Lee Iacocca, Chairman of the Chrysler Corporation, to lead a fundraising effort dedicated to their preservation.
For three decades, the Foundation has worked together with the National Park Service to restore the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Renovations to the Statue of Liberty have included rebuilding its interior structural support as well as the installation of a Statue of Liberty Museum in the statue’s base. At Ellis Island, the Foundation created the Ellis Island Immigration Museum as well as theaters, libraries, exhibits, and an oral history recording studio. The museum has helped educate more than 40 million visitors since it opened in 1990, and its American Family Immigration History Center allows online visitors to search archives of passenger records and ships’ manifests.
“You can’t know who you are unless you know where you came from,” said Stephen A. Briganti, Foundation President. “At ellisisland.org, we help you begin your journey of discovery into your past.”
“The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island are at the heart of what it means to be an American,” said Callista Gingrich, President of the Gingrich Foundation. “The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation has been working for 30 years to save important pieces of our history for future generations.”
To date, the Foundation has raised over $600 million. Its support continues to come from the private sector and from the generosity of individual Americans.
The Gingrich Foundation is a domestic non-profit corporation founded by Callista and Newt Gingrich to support charitable purposes.
Support the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation today: https://www.ellisisland.org/membership/donation.asp .
News Source: Gingrich Foundation
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