February 25, 2010 - Miami, FL - Cruise Planners/American Express, one of the nation's largest travel agent franchise networks, donated $18,000 to the Fisher House Foundation as part of its CP Cares initiative.  The funds were raised during the company's annual convention in November, 2009.

“Cruise Planners has shown their commitment to improving the quality of life both locally and nationally by donating such an impressive gift,” said Mary Berrocal, director of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Miami VA Healthcare System, who accepted the donation on behalf of the Fisher House Foundation. “We are most grateful for Cruise Planners’ donation and their support for America’s military. The Miami VA Fisher House is in the final stages of construction and these dollars will not only trickle down locally, but assist the foundation as a whole.”    

CP Cares is an outreach program created by Cruise Planners to support charitable organizations throughout the U.S. and around the world. Cruise Planners is committed to raising and donating funds to various charities as well as providing hands-on service to the community. Through CP Cares, Cruise Planners has shown support to US troops and veterans and assisted entrepreneurial veterans with opportunities to be a franchise owner.

Along with sending a New Year’s care package to a unit recently deployed to Afghanistan, Cruise Planners has donated more than $20,000 to the Fisher House Foundation and approximately $62,000 in incentives to help veterans transition into franchise ownership. In addition, Cruise Planners teamed up with Royal Caribbean International for the Voyages for Veterans program, where Royal Caribbean will donate $50 to the Fisher House Foundation for every cabin booked through a Cruise Planners agent on one of 12 select sailings throughout 2010.

Fisher House Foundation, founded in 1990, currently operates 43 purpose-built “comfort homes” providing free accommodations to the families of U.S. military service members and U.S. veterans who undergo treatment at a military or VA medical facility. Fisher House serves more than 12,000 families annually, and allows America’s military and veteran families to be together in a home-like atmosphere through extended recovery periods.

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