Today, Starwood Hotels & Resorts will begin its third Road to Awareness campaign with UNICEF, the United Nations’ children’s agency, to raise money so that children in South Africa can realize their right to a basic, quality education, with a special emphasis on helping the most disadvantaged young people to stay in school.
This year’s Road to Awareness campaign, which runs until November, revolves around a fund-raising bike-ride climbing the Dolomites, a section of the Italian Alps, and features three representatives from Starwood hotels in the Middle Eastern region.
Guido De Wilde, Vice President & Regional Director, Starwood Middle East, one of the pioneers of the Road to Awareness initiative, and two other Middle East representatives, Bojan Kalodjera, Sports and Leisure Manager, Le Royal Méridien Beach Resort and Spa, Dubai and Shivakumar Vaman, Recreation and Spa Manager, Sheraton Jumeirah Beach Resort, will join a team of 24 cyclists and fundraisers for the arduous journey, which begins on August 26th and lasts for three days. During the trip, the avid cyclists will cover a total of 360km (225 miles), racking up between 120km and 150km per day while spending an average of six hours in the saddle, and traversing some seriously steep gradients over the course of the campaign.
“Road to Awareness further highlights Starwood’s continued commitment to the Check Out for Children programme and the partnership with UNICEF. We want to do all we can – as individuals and as a company – to continue to fund UNICEF projects around the world,” says De Wilde.
“We are extremely proud of our Starwood associates who work so hard to support the success of Road to Awareness. The money raised from this year’s campaign will make a real difference to the lives of children in South Africa,” added De Wilde.
The funds raised from this year’s Road to Awareness campaign will help UNICEF support 1,500 orphans and vulnerable children in five rural schools in South Africa, allowing them to complete their primary education and realise their potential. It will also help improve the quality of schooling by training 70 teachers in child-friendly education methods and fund the implementation of sports programmes in 18 schools to enhance children’s physical and psychological development.
In addition to the cycle ride, Starwood properties in the Middle East will participate in Road to Awareness by running fund-raising activities such as a soccer tournament, fishing for charity, and a swimming competition. Sheraton Abu Dhabi will also run its own Summer Olympics.
Each year Starwood’s Road to Awareness campaign raises money for a different area of UNICEF’s work. In 2009, the initiative raised over US$200,000 for UNICEF’s efforts to protect and improve the lives of children living and working on the streets of Egypt. Last year, Starwood properties in the Middle East raised approximately $100,000 for the project.
The Road to Awareness cycle ride is in addition to Starwood’s on-going fundraising efforts for UNICEF through the ‘Check Out for Children’ programme. Check Out for Children, which was launched in 1995, is a partnership between Starwood Hotels & Resorts and UNICEF whereby guests at participating Starwood hotels around the world agree to the addition of US$1 (or local currency equivalent) to their bills when they check out. To date Starwood guests and associates have raised over US$22 million for UNICEF making a huge difference to the lives of vulnerable children across the globe.
