Seafarers' House Launches $1 Million Legacy League Endowment

Hollywood, FL, February 9, 2015 (Newswire.com) - Seafarers’ House is pleased to announce the launch of its Legacy League Endowment with a goal to reach $1 million.

The Fort Lauderdale-based nonprofit organization began its fundraising efforts in mid-October with gifts from Charter Members of its Legacy League totaling more than $150,000. This first permanent endowment is aimed at ensuring the long-term financial viability of Seafarers’ House so that it can continue to fulfill its mission of providing critically needed support and services to the tens of thousands of mariners whose ships berth at Port Everglades each year.

"For hundreds of years, mariners have been crossing the globe in the name of trade and exploration. The work of Seafarers' House goes beyond the practical and provides mariners with invaluable support and services that make their lives better each and every day.

Captain Richard Phillips, Charter member, Legacy League

“For hundreds of years, mariners have been crossing the globe in the name of trade and exploration. The work of Seafarers' House goes beyond the practical and provides mariners with invaluable support and services that make their lives better each and every day,” said Captain Richard Phillips, a Charter Member of the Legacy League, and international seafaring hero whose kidnapping by Somali pirates inspired a major motion picture. “My wife, Andrea, and I know how much this organization means to the mariners who visit it and want to make sure that Seafarers' House continues caring for mariners as long as they are crossing the oceans,” he added.

Last year, Seafarers’ House celebrated its silver anniversary, and each year its mission continues to expand as it addresses the ever-growing needs of the world’s mariners.

“For more than 25 years Seafarers' House has welcomed mariners to the shores of South Florida,” said Seafarers’ House Board Member William Baumgartner, Senior Vice President, Royal Caribbean, Miami. “Those mariners are an integral part of our economy, bringing 90 percent of the goods we use every day into our lives.”

Baumgartner, a Charter Member of the Legacy League, is a retired Rear Admiral who served as Commander of the Seventh Coast Guard District and Director of Homeland Security Task Force Southeast, with responsibility for more than 40 ships.

The Community Foundation of Broward will manage the endowment, which will provide Seafarers’ House with a valuable source of ongoing annual support, while at the same time allow donors to create a lasting legacy for themselves and their families.

“The building of an endowment for Seafarers' House tells those mariners that our community cares for their well-being, and that we intend to welcome them for decades to come,” said Jim Hampel, immediate Past President of Seafarers’ House Board of Directors and a Legacy League Charter Member.

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ABOUT SEAFARERS’ HOUSE

Seafarers' House at Port Everglades is a non-profit organization supported by the faith-based community as well as by labor, business and civic leaders with a mission "to offer refuge, resources, renewal and respect to the maritime community through multi-faith service." Open throughout the year, Seafarers' House is a safe, friendly place where mariners can connect with their families, relax, or get emergency assistance if needed. With the help of its supporters and volunteers, Seafarers' House offers many services including low cost international phone calls, free transportation, Internet access, counseling services, liaison with authorities as well as recreational facilities. Seafarers' House was honored as the 2012 Seafarers' Center of the Year by the International Committee on Seafarers' Welfare - the first American agency to receive this international honor. Seafarers' House annually hosts more than 150,000 visits by cruise and cargo ship crewmembers. For additional information visit www.seafarershouse.org.