@SheratonAbuja: 4.5m children reached through #Starwood and #UNICEF partnership

4.5 million children reached through Starwood and UNICEF partnership
Starwood Hotels & Resorts and UNICEF today celebrate a 20-year partnership that has helped improve the lives of over 4.5 million children.
Since 1995, Starwood guests and employees have raised nearly $35 million through Check Out for Children™, which enables Starwood guests to add $1, £1 or €1 to their bill to support UNICEF’s work for children.

Money raised through the initiative has helped UNICEF protect children from deadly diseases and provide clean water for hard to reach communities in Africa and the Middle East. Funds raised have also helped UNICEF set up schools for children affected by emergencies and provide psychosocial support for vulnerable children.
UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Sir Roger Moore helped launch the partnership with Starwood 20 years ago. “I’m proud to say that I was there at the very beginning of Check Out for Children™ and even prouder that the partnership is still going strong 20 years later. I have visited UNICEF programmes around the world and have seen first-hand the incredible difference that is being made to children’s lives,” said Sir Roger Moore.
Over 370 hotels across Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia are involved in the Check Out for Children™ partnership.
“Back in 1995 we teamed up with UNICEF and Sir Roger to launch Check Out for Children™ at The Park Tower Knightsbridge, formerly Sheraton Park Tower, where I was general manager. Two decades later, the initiative has expanded across our hotels helping to reach millions of children in more than 40 countries. We are extremely grateful to our guests and employees for sharing our passion to do the right thing and raising nearly $35 million for UNICEF’s work for children,” said Michael Wale, President, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Europe, Africa and Middle East.
“Through this partnership, Starwood’s spirit of hospitality and the generosity of its guests have improved the lives of millions of children caught up in crises or weighed down by poverty,” said UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake. “We look forward to working together to reach even more children with essential support and services, to help give every child a fair chance in life.”
Check Out for Children™ has contributed to UNICEF’s work in:
- Reaching 460,000 Syrian children with education support between 2012 and 2015
- Providing, with support from partners, access to clean water for 1.8 million people across central and southern Somalia in 2011
- Establishing 65 schools in Pakistan to help 10,627 children continue their education following devastating floods in 2011
- Distributing 20,000 bed nets to remote communities in Ethiopia in 2009 to help protect children from malaria
- Immunizing around 1 million children against deadly diseases
In addition to Check Out for Children™, in 2007 Starwood and UNICEF launched the Road to Awareness™ hotel associate fundraising campaign. This year, Starwood associates aim to raise $1 million in aid of UNICEF’s work for children.
About Check Out for Children™

The Check Out for Children™ programme, launched by UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Sir Roger Moore KBE in London in 1995, is the cornerstone of the long-standing partnership between Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. and UNICEF. Through the programme, guests at participating Starwood hotels across Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia are invited to add $1, £1 or €1 to their hotel bill, as a donation to UNICEF’s work for children. In addition to this, in 2008 Starwood and UNICEF launched the annual Road to Awareness™ hotel associate fundraising campaign.

Over the past 20 years, Starwood guests and associates have together raised nearly $35 million for UNICEF to improve the lives of vulnerable children around the world. Building on this, Starwood incorporates UNICEF fundraising throughout hotel programs, including the Make a Green Choice program whereby hotel guests may choose to forgo daily housekeeping services, helping to save water and energy. In Europe, Africa and the Middle East, for every day of participation, guests may opt for Starwood to make a donation on their behalf in support of UNICEF’s work to help children cope with the effects of climate change.

About Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with more than 1,200 properties in some 100 countries and over 180,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. Starwood is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor of hotels, resorts and residences with the following internationally renowned brands: St. Regis®, The Luxury Collection®, W®, Westin®, Le Méridien®, Sheraton®, Four Points® by Sheraton, Aloft®, Element® and the recently introduced Tribute Portfolio™.

The Company boasts one of the industry’s leading loyalty programs, Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG®), allowing members to earn and redeem points for room stays, room upgrades and flights, with no blackout dates. Starwood recently announced plans to spin off its Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc. business, a premier provider of world-class vacation experiences through villa-style resorts and privileged access to Starwood brands, into a standalone public company by the end of 2015. For more information, please visit www.starwoodhotels.com.

About UNICEF

UNICEF promotes the rights and wellbeing of every child, in everything we do. Together with our partners, we work in 190 countries and territories to translate that commitment into practical action, focusing special effort on reaching the most vulnerable and excluded children, to the benefit of all children, everywhere.

For more information about UNICEF and its work for children visit www.unicef.org
Follow UNICEF on Twitter and Facebook

For more information, please contact:
Maria José Crousillat, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Europe, Africa & Middle East, MariaJose.Crousillat@starwoodhotels.com
Claire Blackburn, Unicef UK, Tel: +44207 375 6261, claireb@unicef.org.uk
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