Alumni Bulletin - Fall 2008 - (Page 41)

spArks progrAm ties fAmily pAssion to philAnthropy The philanthropic program that is perhaps closest to the heart of Arthur Tauck Jr. and his family is Sparks, founded in 2006. The program’s mission is encapsulated in a line from the Irish poet William Butler Yeats: Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire. As Bruce Springsteen almost said years later, you can’t light a fire without a Sparks. The program engages disadvantaged middle-school students in four to six weeks of preparation, culminating in a six-day tour of U.S. sites away from home. The first Sparks outing was to the Washington, D.C., and Annapolis, Md., areas and included sightseeing, learning, college and career exploration, and recreation. Participants, under the care of four chaperones and a tour director, traveled by motor coach, stayed at hotels, dined in local restaurants, and listened to expert guides—including midshipmen at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis. “What excites the family is that, with this program, we’re giving more than just dollars,” says Tauck’s daughter, Elizabeth Walters, managing director of the Tauck Foundation. “We’re using our knowledge, our background, our expertise, our contacts, and our passion for travel.” Tauck also learned from the experience. “The interesting thing is that the kids are very easy to handle, but the parents are very concerned,” Tauck says. “I see a few trips off each year and talk to the parents more than to the kids. They’re worried about the kids because they’ve never left home before. “I remember the very first one, we realized what it meant to the parents when this young guy, who you would think was in complete control of everything, stood up almost with tears in his eyes, and said, ‘I’m scared. My child has never been away, and I don’t know who you are.’ So we grasped that immediately and tried to put together programs that would keep the parents at ease.” WINTER 2008 29 He has also found ways, beyond the travel business, to make a contribution to others’ lives: He has remained a dynamic supporter of Lehigh University, and he has become an active philanthropist. At Lehigh, he has funded a chair in international marketing and a classroom in the Rauch Business Center, as well as the Arthur C. Tauck Scholarship and the Tauck Scholars Program, which provides opportunities for students during their junior and senior years to take international summer internships and other learning opportunities in foreign cultural settings. He pursues his philanthropic interests through the Tauck Foundation (www.tauckfoundation.org), established in 1994. Although he originally used the fund as a vehicle for his own private giving, it has since expanded its mission under the stewardship of his daughter Elizabeth Walters, the foundation’s managing director. The Tauck Foundation helps others in many ways, including: • Destination grants, which fund historical, cultural, and environmental preservation projects at sites where Tauck World Discovery currently takes visitors • Youth funding, which supports after-school and summer programs for disadvantaged youths ages 12 to 18 • Community giving, which supports community organizations primarily in southwestern Connecticut • Special community grants, which support one-time project needs of local organizations in Connecticut that have received past funding from the Tauck Foundation • Discretionary giving, which matches the charitable donations of family members With all of his philanthropic and alumni activities, as well as a current avocation of managing four investment portfolios, Tauck still has to deal with one old challenge that has hounded him all of his life. “My waking hours at night—you know, we all wake sometimes in the middle of the night and can’t get back to sleep as something roams through our head—they have something to do with the travel business all the time. I just can’t get away from it.” But that’s what happens when you love something. It’s always on your mind. LU http://www.tauckfoundation.org

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Alumni Bulletin - Fall 2008 Contents From the President's Desk Mailbox On Campus Research Arts & Culture Sports Cover Story: The Dalai Lama at Lehigh Heart of a Champion Around the World in 80 Years Fighting for Children wth Autism Keepers of the Flame From the Publisher's Desk Alumni News The Last Word

Alumni Bulletin - Fall 2008

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