EF Education First has announced EF Explore America, an educational travel partner for teachers and students across America, has entered into an exclusive partnership with the Honor Flight Network, a non-profit organization dedicated to honoring American veterans by transporting them to visit their memorials in Washington, DC, the company said.
The partnership builds on a collaboration under which more than a thousand students traveling with EF Explore America in 2019 have had the opportunity to welcome veterans arriving at the World War II, Korean War, and Vietnam War memorials, thanking them for their service in moving ceremonies and one-on-one interactions. As a result of this exclusive relationship, many thousands of students, educators, and veterans will be able to share this experience in 2020 and beyond. Moreover, for every student that participates EF will make a donation to the Honor Flight Network to support its activities at both the national and local level.
This partnership builds upon EF´s longstanding commitment to creating opportunities for student travelers to experience history and culture firsthand. Past programs that have made connections between veterans and students have included tours to commemorate significant anniversaries of D-Day, Victory in Europe, The Battle of Vimy Ridge, and The Battle of Beaumont-Hamel.
EF Explore America is the domestic educational travel division of EF Education First, a family-owned global education company. Explore America partners with educators and their communities to create supportive, long-term relationships and safe, memorable experiential learning opportunities. With a mission of opening the world through education, more than one million people experience EF Education First´s programs every year.
Honor Flight Network began as a group of volunteer pilots flying World War II veterans to see the new national World War II Memorial in Washington, DC. The Network has since expanded to more than 130 hubs across the country. In addition to World War II veterans, the organization transports those who served in the Korean War, Vietnam War, intermediary operations, and in special cases of terminal illness or injury, veterans from the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Since 2005, the Honor Flight Network has taken more than 225,000 veterans to Washington DC to visit memorials dedicated to honoring the sacrifices of those who served.
