The FCCA Teams Up with Two Local Charities for the Holiday Gift Project

Dec. 21, 2011 - PRLog -- For 16 years, the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) Foundation’s annual Holiday Gift Project has delivered presents and smiles to thousands of underprivileged children throughout the Caribbean and Latin America with the help of the FCCA Member Lines and their crews that fill in for Santa and use their ships as sleighs. Now, for the first time, the annual Holiday Gift Project included Ft. Lauderdale, Florida as one of the recipients of the project’s goodwill.

To do so, the FCCA Foundation partnered with Fort Lauderdale resident, Essie Reed, known to all as "Big Mama,” and her Team of Life organization, along with the Broward Schools Head Start Program. As part of the Holiday Gift Project, the FCCA and the crews of Crown Princess and Grand Princess ensured that close to 300 children in Ft. Lauderdale received holiday gifts that, for some, were the only presents they unwrapped this year.

“We are pleased to extend the good work that the FCCA Foundation has been doing for the past 16 years to our very own community of South Florida,” said Kevin Sheehan, CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line and chairman of the FCCA. “It’s important to take care of those children in need here in our local community, as well as the hundreds in the Caribbean. It’s gratifying to see the Foundation continue to grow and partner with local charities who have children that are counting on them for some holiday cheer.”

“On behalf of all the officers and crew onboard Crown Princess and Grand Princess, as well as all of us at Princess Cruises, we are honored and privileged to bring a little holiday cheer into the lives of some of those who could use a little cheer, especially at this special time of the year,” said Stephen Nielsen, vice president, Caribbean & Atlantic shore operations, Princess Cruises.

“I’m glad that we were able to extend the scope of the Holiday Gift Project this year and include children from an area that we have not done so previously,” shared Michele Paige, president of the FCCA. “This brought some happiness to children who really deserve it.”

In its 18th year, the FCCA Foundation continues to improve the lives of citizens in the Caribbean and Latin America through projects such as this. The Foundation has impacted the lives of thousands and provided $3 million in funding to a variety of organizations and causes.

The following destinations will participate in this special project:

Antigua
Aruba
Belize
Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
Cartagena, Colombia
Colon, Panama
Costa Maya, Mexico
Cozumel, Mexico
Curacao
Dominica
Eleuthera, Bahamas
Ensenada, Mexico
Falmouth, Jamaica
Freeport, Bahamas
Grand Cayman. Cayman Islands
Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos Islands
Grenada
Montego Bay, Jamaica
Nassau, Bahamas
Ocho Rios, Jamaica
Port Everglades, Florida
Progreso, Mexico
Roatan, Honduras
Samana, Dominican Republic
San Juan, Puerto Rico
St. Kitts
St. Lucia
St. Maarten
St. Thomas, U.S.V.I.
Tortola, BVI

The FCCA Member Lines are committed to working with our destination partners to deliver holiday cheer.

Carnival Cruise Lines, Celebrity Cruises, Disney Cruise Line, Holland America Line, Norwegian Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Royal Caribbean International

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FCCA is a trade association composed of 14 Member Cruise Lines operating more than 100 vessels in Floridian, Caribbean and Latin American waters.