By Margery Weinstein
Loews Hotels’ Good Neighbor program, recently recognized by Condé Nast, is moving into its third decade as the longest tenured hospitality corporate responsibility program.
In the past, all of Loews’ community outreach efforts were at the sole discretion of its local hotels, but it now partners with a nonprofit organization to support its corporate responsibility branding initiatives. DonorsChoose.org, an organization that helps to support teachers in the classroom by soliciting individuals to fund class projects, is now the focus of Loews’ Good Neighbor efforts. The company says it has long held the belief that what is good for the community is good for business.
Here are a few highlights of this community outreach effort:
- By extending the tenets of the company’s marketing program, Loews Loves Kids, which focuses on encouraging parents to travel with their children in a luxury environment, the partnership with DonorsChoose.org is a natural fit. Loews says it “not only gets the satisfaction of supporting the efforts of unsung heroes—our teachers—by utilizing our resources to fully fund classroom project wish lists, but we also market the culture of Loews Hotels to would-be customers.”
- A golf tournament held at the Loews Lake Las Vegas raised $20,000 for Loews Loves Kids. In the course of sponsoring the tournament, Loews sold food and beverages, rooms, amenities, and created an event that produced working hours for the staff. The company says the event was a win-win for all stakeholders, and creates a model that can be utilized by other businesses.
- At a time when many school districts have lost their funding, Loews says its partnership with DonorsChoose.org has helped to bridge the gap and pinpoint projects that affect the lives of children and teachers.
- From orientation and throughout their career with Loews, the selected team members of each hotel’s Good Neighbor Council weave corporate responsibility into the fabric of the company’s daily culture. They are trained, and then select the appropriate projects for funding. Through almost three quarters of 2011, Loews Hotels raised more than $100,000 for DonorsChoose.org.
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