Message 1: Elderhostel
is the worldwide leader among education and travel organizations for adults
age 55 and older.
• Elderhostel is the nation's first
and the world's largest educational and travel organization for older adults.
• Elderhostel serves nearly
170,000 program attendees each year; 22,000 of whom go on overseas programs.
• Elderhostel has enrollments four
times larger than all other not-for-profit educational travel providers
combined.
• Elderhostel's first commitment is
to providing a quality educational experience; exciting and diverse travel
opportunities are an added benefit.
• Elderhostel has 30 years of experience
developing lifelong learning opportunities for older adults.
• Elderhostel is affiliated with over
500 of the world's leading colleges, universities, conference centers,
museums and many other educational and cultural institutions
Message 2: Elderhostel enhances
the lives of its participants.
• Elderhostel is not for everyone.
It is for older adults who are excited by and committed to furthering their
education, experiencing new activities and visiting new places.
• Elderhostel 's participants grow
and learn through new experiences and the active exploration of subjects
and interests around the world.
• Studies such as the research conducted
by the MacArthur Foundation confirm that individuals who maintain an active
mind and body live longer and fuller lives.
• Elderhostel creates communities of
likeminded individuals learning about subjects of joint interest.
Message 3: Elderhostel makes the world its classroom.
• Elderhostel's
multidimensional approach to learning encourages participants to explore
and experience a subject from many different angles. "Boys of Summer:
Spring Training" - With the Florida Grapefruit and Arizona Cactus
Leagues' Spring Training games as the backdrop, participants attend lectures,
presentations and discussions by professional players, coaches and historians
on baseballs myths and legends; the history and times of the LA Dodgers
and the Cleveland Indians; sports medicine and women in baseball.
• Elderhostel
participants bring a wealth of knowledge, life experience and varied perspectives
to every Elderhostel program, providing a rich and more fulfilling learning
environment.
• Elderhostel
also offers a range of programs designed to appeal to participants with
more specialized interests or who are interested in trying something new.
Costa Rica to Panama: Cultural and Natural History (Adventures
Afloat), Harry Potter and Friends (Intergenerational); Hiking the National
Parks and Monuments of the Four Corners (Exploring North America)
• Elderhostel
offers nearly 8,000 educational programs on a vast array of subjects,
in over 90 countries.
• Elderhostel
is education the way you always wanted it to be - no pre-requisites, prior
education, homework or tests are required.
Message 4: Elderhostel's
participants get excellent value for their money.
• Elderhostel's mission
is to deliver the highest quality education programs at excellent value.
•
Elderhostel offers programs for a wide range of interests
and tuition levels, and also offers scholarship programs for those in
need.
• As a
not-for-profit organization, Elderhostel's mission is to set tuition as
low as possible. Tuition is not driven by profit margin.
• Elderhostel's
international and domestic programs are distinguished in the market by
their superior value.
• All of Elderhostel's domestic programs
are all-inclusive and average about $115 per day.
• More than 90 percent of Elderhostel's
international programs are all-inclusive, including round-trip airfare,
and average about $250 per day.
• Elderhostel
offers a wide range of accommodations to appeal to its growing range of
participants. For example:
• Well-appointed hotels with a variety of
amenities
• Barges
• Retreat centers
• Country inns
• Berths aboard trains
• Dormitories
Message 5: As a not-for-profit organization, Elderhostel
relies on your donations to continue to create lifelong experiences for
older adults.
•
Elderhostel relies on contributions to keep programs affordable and available
to adults 55 and older.
•
Elderhostel provides an immeasurable value to the lives of its participants
that will continue only with the support of contributions. Contributions
also help fund scholarships, making programs accessible to larger number
of individuals.
• To
remain true to its mission, Elderhostel conducts fund raising aimed at
maintaining the low tuition rates associated with its programs.
• Over
80,000 donors made contributions to Elderhostel in 2004; 50% were repeat
donors to Elderhostel. 71% of the donors were also Elderhostel participants.
• Elderhostel's
management is committed to keeping operating costs at a minimum while
running an efficient organization that is accountable to its donors and
participants.
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