CHART Restaurant and Hotel Training Professionals Give Back to San Francisco Community During Conference
Attendees donate teddy bears to firefighters to share with local children, and distribute restaurant gift cards to Ronald McDonald House
Attendees at the Council of Hotel and Restaurant Trainers (CHART, www.chart.org) conference, in partnership with the Grand Hyatt San Francisco, donated more than 300 teddy bears to the San Francisco Fire Department and Emergency Services. The presentation was made on Monday, March 8, 2010 outside the Grand Hyatt, where more than 120 training professionals gathered for CHART's 79th Semi-annual Hospitality Training Conference.
“It was heartwarming to hear Section Chief Wong describe the many ways the bears are used with local children in time of need. This is our way of giving back to our conference’s host community.”
"It is amazing how something so simple can mean so much to a child in a traumatic situation,” says Kate Shehan, CHART president. "It was heartwarming to hear Section Chief Wong describe the many ways the bears are used with local children in time of need. This is our way of giving back to our conference’s host community.”
“Service projects like this one touch the heart of the community directly,” says Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White. “It gives us one more tool to make a frightening situation a little less traumatic. We’re very appreciative of this gift.”
David Nadelman, General Manager at the Grand Hyatt San Francisco says, “We are committed to social responsibility and making a lasting and positive impact in the lives of others in our community.”
Many companies represented at CHART brought bears from across the country to donate to San Francisco agencies during the conference. Attendees were also asked to bring restaurant gift cards. More than $500 in restaurant gift cards were donated to the Ronald McDonald House of San Francisco.
“The families staying at the San Francisco Ronald McDonald House traveled here urgently seeking treatment for their critically ill child, and the hospital stays can be long. An opportunity to dine out is a perfect gift that lifts their spirits,” says Lois Moore, Executive Director of the Ronald McDonald House of San Francisco.
Community service projects have been incorporated into CHART conferences since 2002 as a way to give back to and help improve lives in the local community. In the past 2 years, CHART has collected and donated more than 1000 teddy bears to local fire departments.
During 2010, CHART is celebrating 40 years of advancing hospitality training professionals and their organizations. The 80th Semi-annual CHART Hospitality Training Conference will be held in New Orleans, July 24-27, 2010. For more information, please call 312-405-2634, email [email protected], or visit www.chart.org.
CHART, a non-profit professional association founded in 1970, is the leading resource for the development and advancement of hospitality training professionals and their organizations. With more than 400 members from more than 300 multi-unit restaurant and hotel companies, CHART represents a workforce of almost three million. CHART includes all facets of hospitality training, learning and performance professionals; from entry level to senior executive. CHART’s mission is to develop hospitality training professionals to advance industry training practices and improve operational results by providing access to education, tools and resources.
