The IAAPA Board of Directors has committed the organization to charitable undertakings that may well be unprecedented in the world of associations because they involve not one, but three, charitable and public service organizations of a global nature. As recently as last summer, IAAPA initiated or strengthened alliances with Give Kids The World (GKTW), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and the International Institute for Peace Through Tourism (IIPT). Members will be encouraged over the next few years to adopt one or more of these causes, in addition to whatever local charities they may support, in an effort to establish the amusement industry as a world leader in working on behalf of disadvantaged children around the globe and promoting international understanding and peace. IAAPA’s role has and will continue to have immense impact on these charities and on the world’s children as a result of these partnerships. It is often remarked that the amusement industry provides a product—leisure fun—that is vital to human health and well-being. Common sense, supported by reliable studies, tells us that fun improves mental health and, consequently, contributes to a more stable society. This fact imparts greater importance to what most of us consider simply a great way to make a living—running places of amusement. Our products can help heal the world. It has become increasingly evident that businesses and industries operating within free market economies must take a more direct role in contributing to the alleviation of conditions that foment unrest and strife among people. Thomas Friedman, in a remarkable book titled The Lexus and the Olive Tree, provides a penetrating explanation of the globalization of the world’s economy. Friedman makes a strong case for globalization, demonstrating with impressive numbers that the lightning-fast changes in industrial and communications technology that are driving the world economy are greatly increasing the aggregate wealth of the world. Tens of millions of people in what has been referred to as the “third world” are achieving levels of income sufficient to maintain a good standard of living. At the same time, Friedman admits that at present this rapidly growing and spreading economy is widening the gulf between the richest and poorest among humankind. This growing gap must be addressed, he believes, or the process of globalization will eventually generate such resentment as to touch off a worldwide conflagration between the haves and have nots. One reason is that the revolution in communication and information technology makes it possible for most people, regardless of economic or social status, to see what is possible, whether or not they can participate. UNICEF, GKTW, and IIPT all work in various ways to bridge some of these gaps and support children and those in need through the promotion of world peace. The IAAPA Board, with its commitment to support these three organizations, is setting a good example. Each of the programs, in its own way, is making significant contributions to the alleviation of suffering. Give Kids The World Since 1994, IAAPA has cooperated with GKTW in providing entertainment opportunities in our member facilities to tens of thousands of children with life-threatening illnesses and their families. The GKTW Village is in Kissimmee, Fla., where such children from all over the world are provided with an all-expense-paid, three-day vacation visiting many of the parks and attractions in Central Florida. Wish-granting organizations identify children whose dream it is to visit Orlando attractions. These organizations handle the administrative and medial aspects of the trip. GKTW arranges their complete vacations from the moment the families arrive in Florida. Volunteers meet them at the airport and complimentary transportation is provided for the entire visit. Families are put up in one of 96 individual family homes located in the Village for their exclusive use. The Village itself is an amusement facility with a Castle of Miracles, a Gingerbread House restaurant, an ice cream parlor, a waterpark and swimming pool, a wheelchair-accessible nature train, a Screen Dreams Movie Theater, and an Amberville Train Station, where visitors can board an accessible train for a trip through the past. But free access is also provided to Disney World, Sea World, Universal Studios, Nickelodeon Studios, Busch Gardens Tampa, Wet ’N Wild, Cypress Gardens, Gatorland, Jungleland, and Mystery Fun House. IAAPA supports GKTW by introducing it to members, raising awareness of the Village, and thereby increasing the number of children that the Village might reach. IAAPA also encourages its members to join the IAAPA World Passport for Kids program, in which children who have completed their visit to Orlando are presented with complimentary admission to their local amusement park to extend the park experience for these children and their families. To date, 341 IAAPA member parks are participating in the Passport program. GKTW receives hundreds of letters each year from kids and their parents whose lives have been altered by their visits. “We soon came to realize that a child’s world doesn’t get any better than Give Kids The World,” one family wrote. “The contented, peaceful look on Lily’s face said it all. It was perfect.” United Nations Children’s Fund UNICEF was created in 1946 to provide programs in health, nutrition, education, sanitation, and emergency relief for children living in poverty in developing countries. UNICEF helps children get the care and stimulation they need in the early years of life and encourages families to educate girls and boys equally. It strives to reduce childhood diseases and illness and to protect children in the midst of war and natural disaster. Working with national governments, non-government organizations, and private-sector partners, UNICEF protects children and their rights by providing services and supplies and by helping shape public agendas and budgets in the best interest of children. UNICEF claims to save seven million children’s lives each year, achieving an immunization level for children of nearly 80 percent, the near-eradication of polio, and a sharp reduction in iodine deficiency disorders. UNICEF represents all regions of the world. Its 37 national committees are private, nonprofit organizations entirely reliant on contributions for their support. In 2002, IAAPA formed an alliance with UNICEF, one that envisions a voluntary fund-raising program utilizing the theme “Your Change for a Real Change.” Parks wishing to participate will be encouraged to support UNICEF through such programs as donations with ticket purchases, donation boxes at entrances and exits, and/or the distribution of donation envelopes to park guests. International Institute for Peace Through Tourism IIPT is a different type of effort in that its primary appeal is not for money. Instead, it encourages its member organizations—all related somehow to the travel and tourism industry—to recognize and act upon the opportunity they have to promote international understanding and friendship among the hundreds of millions of people who travel the world each year for recreation, entertainment, and business. IIPT, a private nonprofit institution, was created in 1986 in response to concerns about the effect of international terrorism on the travel and tourism industry. Its founder recognized that tourism would be more severely affected by rampant terrorism than many or most other industries. He also believes that because the industry interacts with literally hundreds of millions of travelers and tourists from every country in the world every day of the year, it should be in a strategic position to have a positive impact on promoting friendship, understanding, and cooperation among travelers. IIPT carries on its work through regular global and regional conferences focused on promoting peace through travel and tourism. It is developing an all-volunteer retired executives program that will make valuable consultation services available to those seeking to develop tourism industries in underdeveloped countries. IIPT works through its education committee to develop school curricula that educate students about the potential for creating understanding through travel. It also seeks ways in which the industry can effectively address the issues of poverty and poor health in much of the world. Each of IIPT’s founding partners, one of which is IAAPA, commits itself to the development of a project that will contribute to the vision of “Tourism as a Global Peace Industry.” IAAPA will be developing and providing to its members its own initiatives and programs intended to achieve the organization’s objectives. These may include creating and maintaining awareness of the opportunities both employees and guests have for building bridges of friendship as they meet in our parks. It may be as simple as displaying or distributing the “Credo of the Peaceful Traveler” developed by IIPT, or the fashioning of places or events within the park where different cultures and traditions from around the world can be recognized and celebrated. There may be an annual contest and reward for the park developing the most innovative program for promoting peace and friendship among its guests. None of these appeals is meant to take precedence over the multitude of local charities supported by IAAPA members in their own communities. That support is of critical importance to the well-being of the communities that, in turn, support our members with their patronage. The record of the industry in participating in these local activities for more than 80 years is a source of immense pride to IAAPA. If the marvelous economic systems that make it possible for us to ply our trade and bring joy to the world are to survive, it will be necessary for each of us to look beyond our neighborhoods to the plight of millions who remain trapped in poverty and despair and, consequently, resentment. The IAAPA Board of Directors believes we can be part of the solution to that growing problem. It calls on each of its members—amusement facilities and suppliers alike—to commit themselves to supporting one or more of these activities. In the coming months we will periodically revisit this issue in Funworld articles and other association activities, explaining in more detail what you can do to get involved and what the possibilities are. Meanwhile, if you desire more information or wish to become involved with one of these organizations, please contact John Graff, c/o IAAPA, 1448 Duke Street, Alexandria, Va. 22314, USA. Telephone: 703/425-5276, Fax: 703/836-4801, e-mail: jgraff1@cox.net.