During its annual Community Action Month in June 2018, Radisson Hotel Group activated its global partnership with SOS Children’s Villages – carrying out more than 900 activities worldwide to help support children and young people.
Radisson Hotel Group, one of the world’s largest and most dynamic hotel groups, is pleased to share the highlights from its 2018 Community Action Month activities around the world. For the last 15 years, Radisson Hotel Group’s hotels, as well as its corporate and area offices, globally have dedicated one full month to make a difference in the communities they operate in by organizing various activities around its industry-leading Responsible Business program. This year, between them, all business units of the newly rebranded Radisson Hotel Group organized more than 900 activities in their local communities, dedicated more than 32,000 volunteer hours, and raised a total of USD 445,000 in cash and in-kind for SOS Children’s Villages and other local charities.
“One in 10 children worldwide has lost or is at risk of losing their parental care. At Radisson Hotel Group, we are lending a helping hand to give some of these children food, shelter and a better future. Every day, more than 95,000 team members strive to make Every Moment Matter for our guests, owners, talent and for our local communities around the world. This special month of June, our teams engaged in fundraising activities, donations and great volunteering opportunities for SOS Children’s Villages,” said Inge Huijbrechts, Global Senior Vice President, Responsible Business and Safety & Security.
“At SOS Children’s Villages, we greatly value the support of our partners in improving the lives of children, young people and families in countries all over the world,” said Patricia Molano, Head of International Corporate Partnerships and Philanthropy at SOS Children’s Villages International. “We are happy to see the engagement of volunteers, supporters and guests during the Community Action Month and we are looking forward to growing the partnership further in the coming years.”
Some highlights of the 2018 Community Action Month included corporate employees of the group’s Americas HQ step-up/step-out to help the communities in the Midwest and beyond. They packed more than 8,500 meals for the local food banks and provided shelter by volunteering on the construction site, helping build homes for families in need and supporting the local shelter.
During the group’s Asia Pacific Annual Business Conference in Batam, Indonesia, the company’s executive leaders visited the Virant Sejahtera Orphanage which Radisson Golf & Convention Center Batam has been working with for more than a year. Besides donating new mattresses, a computer and a guitar, the group invited the children back to the hotel to enjoy the facilities at the Kids’ Club. At the same time, a commitment was made to fund a scooter helmet swap shop for local children in Batam.
The leadership team also took part in the Soap4Hope (S4H) initiative in Batam. In collaboration with global supplier Diversey, S4H sanitizes and reprocesses used soap bars from hotels, to be distributed to local people in need or sold to the hotel and other companies. This life-changing initiative not only helps reduce hotel waste; it improves hygiene levels and generates much-needed income for people in underprivileged communities.
Some examples from our hotels around the globe include:
Radisson Blu Chittagong in Bangladesh, who has recently received the 2017 Radisson Hotel Group Responsible Business Hotel of the Year Award, Asia Pacific, embarked on and completed 11 projects supporting the Bangladeshi community in 2017. Activities included cleaning local beaches, hosting events for a children’s orphanage and donating water purifying equipment to charitable organizations.
The Radisson Blu Resort Fiji, through their ongoing ‘Adopt a School’ initiative, continued to provide Food.Shelter.Future to 30 local schools. This June, the team visited one of the schools and donated laptop computers and books
The Radisson Blu Mammy Yoko Hotel, Freetown in Sierra Leone is participating in a range of projects, including a youth employment program via the internationally accredited Youth Career Initiative – making the hotel the first-ever nationwide to implement such a program.
The group’s hotels in Tallinn, Estonia, sponsored and visited children of the local SOS Children’s Village, to offer in-kind donations of clothes and shoes.
Radisson Blu Port Elizabeth Hotel in South Africa provided a ‘braai’ feast and a game of football. Throughout the year, Radisson Blu Hotel, Port Elizabeth has committed to support the SOS Children’s Village in maintenance work required on their property and their recycling program.
The Radisson Blu Hotel, Hamburg Airport in Germany has provided SOS Children’s Villages Hamburg with help for a while. After a successful back-to-school support campaign, equipping the children for the new school year, the team provided food and catered for the local SOS Children’s Villages family day.
The Radisson Blu Plaza Hotel, Oslo in Norway ran a successful Responsible Business lottery. The goal was to make everyone a winner, set SOS Children’s Villages on the agenda and allow our guests to win some great prizes. The lottery raised more than EUR 2,200.
Radisson Hotel Group is encouraging each of its 1,100 hotels to sponsor the upbringing and education of at least one child per hotel and to establish meaningful relationships with the SOS Children’s Villages in their respective countries. The business leadership team of the group is contributing by privately sponsoring more than 50 children from SOS Children’s Villages.
The Community Action Month is a core element of Radisson Hotel Group’s overarching Responsible Business program. For more details about the company’s Responsible Business strategy, please visit radissonhotels.com/responsible-business.
