BETHESDA, Md., May 21 MD-Marriott-service
BETHESDA, Md., May 21 /PRNewswire/ -- With demands on shelters and hunger
relief organizations increasing worldwide, Marriott International, Inc.
(NYSE: MAR) has placed a special emphasis on shelter and food -- one of its
signature social responsibility issues -- during its global Spirit To Serve
Our Communities Day. This annual event engages the company's more than
151,000 employees at more than 3,000 properties in the United States and 66
other countries and territories to volunteer in their local communities.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080521/NEW116 )
In Atlanta, Chairman and CEO J.W. "Bill" Marriott, Jr., City Council
President Lisa Borders and employees from local Marriott hotels will sort
thousands of pounds of food at the Atlanta Community Food Bank. With nearly
70 hotels and approximately 5,000 employees, the Atlanta metro region is one
of the company's top three markets. Last year, Marriott employees in Atlanta
donated 4,000 hours of community service. [For more images of the Atlanta
event, visit http://www.flickr.com/photos/billmarriott/sets/72157605165074831/
"This is the first year I've volunteered in Atlanta, which is an
incredibly important market for our company," said Bill Marriott. "As we
continue to grow globally, we make it a priority to be an active member of
every community where we do business."
Marriott employees across the nation and the globe are participating in
similar events. For example:
-- In the Washington, D.C., metro area, the headquarters of Marriott
International and the community where Marriott got its start as a Hot
Shoppes restaurant more than 80 years ago -- Marriott executives will
join nearly 2,000 employees on 26 different volunteer projects, ranging
from building homes in partnership with Habitat for Humanity to sorting
and packing food at the Capital Area Food Bank. President and Chief
Operating Officer Bill Shaw will visit Food and Friends to prepare
meals to be delivered to people living with HIV/AIDS, cancer and other
life-challenging illnesses.
-- In Phoenix, Ariz., hotel employees are donating tuna, peanut butter,
soap, powdered milk, cereal, pasta, dried beans, rice and canned fruit
to their local food bank, as well as over 1,000 new children's
toothbrushes for the Children's Dental Clinic. They are also serving
over 1,000 meals to the homeless at St. Vincent de Paul of Phoenix.
-- In Dubai, Marriott hotels are supporting the United Nation's World Food
Program, which feeds and educates 70 million people in 80 of the
world's poorest countries. By donating 5 United Arab Emirates dirhams
(AED), the equivalent of just over one U.S. dollar, from every lunch
and dinner check, they plan to raise 100,000 AED (just over $27,000)
this year.
-- Supporting Marriott's 13-year partnership with Habitat for Humanity
International, hotels in Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur and Mumbai organized
teams of associates and guests to help build new homes for local
families in need.
-- In Egypt, Brazil and Malaysia, associates are working with their local
communities to donate and serve food. The Cairo Marriott Hotel is
preparing boxed lunches for more than 140 children who live at their
local SOS Children's Village, a home for neglected and orphaned
children The Renaissance Sao Paulo established a soup kitchen for the
homeless, and at the Renaissance in Kota Bharu, 35 employees donated
meals to a nearby home for underprivileged senior citizens.
Marriott has a long history of Community Engagement and Social
Responsibility. Last year, the company branded and focused its "Spirit To
Serve Our Communities" program to address these signature issues, which spell
"SERVE": Shelter and Food, Environment, Readiness for Hotel Careers, Vitality
of Children, and Embracing Diversity and People with Disabilities.
For the Marriott Corporate Profile, please visit:
http://creativeservices.0catch.com/boilerplate/
Editor's Note: For more information and video footage from Marriott's
Spirit To Serve Our Communities Day, visit:
http://www.marriott.com/news/default.mi . To read Bill Marriott's blog about
the topic visit: http://www.blogs.marriott.com/default.asp?item=2204880 .
SOURCE Marriott International, Inc.
