Last week, associates from Marriott hotels around the globe showed their “spirit to serve” by donating one day of their time and talents to
a charitable cause on Spirit to Serve Our Communities Day. Locally, hotels were also participating. The Greenbelt Marriott hotel took “spirit to serve” to a new height by developing charitable events every day of the week, where their associates lent a helping hand to a variety of causes that helped the local community. “With the economy in a slump and unemployment rising, we know there is so much more need today than in the past,” explains Robert M. Allen, general manager of the Greenbelt Marriott. “So this year we expanded our efforts to include daily opportunities to help those in need.” A committee made up of hotel associates began planning months ago how the hotel would give back to its community. The result was a week of opportunities, with the highlight being Wednesday, May, 13, when associates gathered at the Hyattsville SHARE Food Network, a food distribution center, and teamed up with associates from Marriott’s University of Maryland University College Inn and Conference Center to box and bag food to be distributed to needy families throughout the DC area. SHARE Food Network distributes high-quality affordable and nutritious food as a way to build community and strengthen families. In the DC metropolitan area, more than 10,000 food packages are distributed every month, hundreds of volunteer service hours are generated and more than 300 organizations partner with SHARE by donating time and resources. In addition to the SHARE Food Network, associates of the Greenbelt Marriott also donated children’s books, toys, and canned and non-perishable food items that were distributed to various local charities. Associates also donated clothing for Dress for Success, a charity providing clothing for women re-entering the workforce, and supplied and packed care packages for solders in Iraq. Drop-off boxes for these items were stationed in the hotel lobby throughout the week where hotel guests and the public also donated. Also last week, managers joined students at Springhill Lake Elementary School to speak to them about the hospitality industry and the endless career possibilities that exist. Hotel managers described the presentation as “very fun, informative and memorable.” “With 150 associates in our hotel, we are in a unique position to really have an impact on the groups that we are trying to help,” says Mr. Allen. “Our associates traditionally are very generous with their time and resources, but even if every employee only donated one can of food, that’s a total of 150 cans and that makes a difference.” The Greenbelt Marriott received the Marriott 2007 Hotel of the Year award for all of North America’s full-service Marriott hotels. The Greenbelt hotel is conveniently located off I-95 and I-495 and is nearby Washington, DC, Baltimore, MD, and within a two mile radius of the Metro subway system. This hotel in Prince George’s County boasts 14 meeting rooms and 10,000 square feet of event space. The hotel’s 284 guest rooms were recently renovated in August of 2008, offering the latest in-room technology.
erschienen am 18.05.2009 um 11:00 Uhr