An announcement from KP Communications:

A new fundraiser called “Green Friday” earned more than $6,000 for four regional environmental organizations, thanks to guests, employees and volunteers of Adventure America Zipline Canopy Tours.

On the day after Thanksgiving, the Asheville-based zipline canopy tour company donated half of fees at its locations in Asheville, Bryson City, N.C., Hartford, Tenn., and Long Creek, S.C., to raise money for tree-planting and other projects across the region.

Each of the following is receiving just over $1,500:
· Asheville GreenWorks (formerly called Quality Forward), an organization working to achieve a “clean and green” Asheville and Buncombe County.
· The Watershed Association of the Tuckasegee River (WATR), a group dedicated to the protection and enhancement of the health and quality of the Tuckasegee River and its watershed.
· TreesGreenville, an organization that has planted more than 2,200 trees in Greenville County, S.C., since its founding in 2005.
· The reforestation project at the National Historic Landmark, the Long Creek Academy in Oconee County, S.C.

“Adventure America Zipline Canopy Tours was happy to provide a meaningful way to spend time with family and friends on the day after Thanksgiving. Almost 200 guests and more 20 employees and volunteers participated, choosing ziplines over shopping lines to raise money and awareness of the need to plant trees and native vegetation in our communities,” said Jeff Greiner, president and co-owner. “We very much appreciate the work of these environmental organizations and are grateful to everyone who helped make Green Friday a success.”

Adventure America Zipline Canopy Tours, one of the largest owner/operator zipline canopy tour companies in the nation, is a family business and an affiliate of Wildwater Adventure Centers, the first outfitter in the Southeast, started in 1971. In 2009, AAZCT opened the first commercial zipline in the region, Nantahala Gorge Canopy Tours, just outside Bryson City. Its other locations are Pigeon River Canopy Tours (less than one hour from Asheville on the Tennessee line, in Hartford), Chattooga Ridge Canopy Tours (upstate South Carolina, in Oconee County, close to Clayton, Ga.), Ocoee River Basin Canopy Tours (Ducktown, Tenn., east of Chattanooga), and the newest and only urban zipline canopy tour, Asheville Zipline Canopy Adventures, one mile from downtown Asheville, adjacent to the Crowne Plaza Resort.

Zipline canopy tours at each location include views and experiences from treetop platforms in oaks, pines, hemlocks, poplars and sycamore trees. The ziplines can be enjoyed by all ages, from 10 and older. Each tour, escorted by canopy rangers, can accommodate up to 10 guests. Asheville Zipline Canopy Adventures is open year round; all other locations have closed for the season and will re-open in March 2012, with the exception of Pigeon River Canopy Tours, which will open for a limited time during the Christmas holidays. For more information about the zipline canopy tours and to make reservations, visit www.adventureamericaziplinecanopytours.com or call (877) 247-5535.