we saw that...: Oak Alley In Trouble....2015©

17 November 2005

Oak Alley In Trouble

oak alley after katrina
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click here for Hi-Res pre-Katrina picture's of Oak Alley from the morning of 20 august 2005

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we received this email from Oak Alley tonight:

URGENT!

Oak Alley Plantation's
Hurricane Katrina Economic Disaster Fund

Oak Alley needs your help and financial assistance. While we were very fortunate the plantation did not suffer extreme physical damage from Hurricane Katrina, we find ourselves trapped in the economic disaster facing the tourism industry that is unfolding throughout the Gulf Coast region.

To that end, we are launching our first-ever major fundraising campaign.

Oak Alley is suffering a catastrophic loss of revenue. Katrina has devastated the tourism industry in and around New Orleans. Because Oak Alley is primarily supported by its admissions revenue, we urgently need help to survive. Prior to Katrina we averaged 736 visitors per day. Post Katrina, during the months of September and October, we averaged only 27 visitors per day.

Although we have reduced our staff from 75 employees to 21 and our operating expenses to a bare minimum, our projected worst case scenario anticipates an average shortfall of $65,000 per month for up to 18 months, while we wait for tourism to rebound. Until then, we will require in excess of one million dollars of financial assistance to keep Oak Alley open and running.

The threat of decreased revenue during this extended period of economic crisis places this National Historic Landmark, one of our nation's international icons for the antebellum south, in a serious financial crisis.

Your help can support the strength of our outstanding core staff, the integrity of our rigorous maintenance program and the preservation of this national treasure that has come to mean so much to so many people. In return, we pledge to maintain the high standards of stewardship our visitors have witnessed over many years. Your support will enable us to keep our doors open and rise against the economic devastation that has affected Oak Alley.

We thank you in advance, from the bottom of our hearts, for considering a donation to the Oak Alley Foundation by becoming a member of our Friends of Oak Alley.

http://www.oakalleyplantation.com
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Oak Alley Plantation
3645 Highway 18
Vacherie, LA 70090
1-800-44 ALLEY
(225) 265-2151
ContactUs@OakAlleyPlantation.com
http://www.OakAlleyPlantation.com
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