IHG® Foundation marks ‘Giving Tuesday’ with new grants to charities across the world

Latest beneficiaries include the American Red Cross, The Prince’s Trust, Clean the World and Unseen

The IHG^® Foundation is marking ‘Giving Tuesday’ (#GivingTuesday) by issuing grants to a further four charities around the world.

The IHG Foundation’s latest wave of funding will provide support to the American Red Cross, The Prince’s Trust, Clean the World^® and Unseen. It will support charity projects aligned to the IHG Foundation’s key areas of focus: hospitality skills development, disaster relief, local community investment and environmental sustainability.

Kate Gibson a Trustee of the IHG^® Foundation, commented: “The IHG Foundation is proud to be celebrating Giving Tuesday with new grants for four charities, each of which has a strong track record of driving positive change. Since launching in February 2016, the IHG Foundation has issued almost 30 grants to organisations around the world and the latest beneficiaries are another powerful example of how we are continuing to facilitate stronger, healthier, and more prosperous communities.”

IHG^® Foundation’s ‘Giving Tuesday’ Beneficiaries

The American Red Cross

• The American Red Cross prevents and alleviates human suffering in the face of emergencies by mobilising the power of volunteers and the generosity of donors.
  
• Through its grant, the IHG Foundation will become a member of the American Red Cross Disaster Responder Program, which enables the charity to respond quickly when disaster strikes.
• This pre-investment in disaster relief will allow the American Red Cross to stock warehouses with lifesaving supplies, secure shelters, train disaster-response volunteers nationwide and maintain emergency response vehicles.
• It will ensure that food and supplies are delivered quickly to people in need whenever and wherever, and that the Red Cross can remain on hand to assist people as they recover and to help communities be better prepared for the next disaster.

The Prince’s Trust

• The Prince’s Trust supports disadvantaged young people in the UK, who are facing significant difficulties in their lives. It provides practical and financial support to help them develop skills and confidence through education and training schemes.
• The IHG Foundation will provide funding for 40 participants to take part in a ‘Get into Hospitality’ programme, a sector-specific training course for those who are ready to work, but lack the relevant professional experience.
• The programme gives participants the opportunity to develop a variety of skills, with a view to them obtaining a job in the hospitality industry.

Clean the World^®

• Clean the World addresses issues of environmental sustainability and global health. The charity partners with hotels to collect their amenity waste, transport it to local recycling facilities and convert it into fresh products.
• Recycled soap and hygiene kits are then distributed to vulnerable communities, through hand-washing education and humanitarian programmes, resulting in a significant reduction of hygiene-related illnesses.
• The grant from the IHG Foundation will enable Clean the World to expand its presence by launching hotel amenity recycling programmes in mainland China.
• The funds will be used to acquire recycling machinery, lease new warehouse space, hire and train new staff, and develop new hygiene programmes throughout mainland China.

Unseen

• Unseen is devoted to tackling systemic issues around modern slavery and supporting exploited individuals. It provides access to specialist services, including 24-hour safe houses, resettlement options and support. It also equips local and national stakeholders to enable the identification and support of potential victims, and works to influence systemic change through legislation, policy and society.
• The grant from the IHG Foundation will fund training sessions for people working in the hospitality sector in the UK. This will include education on modern slavery, the different forms it takes and the actions required to prevent and address it.
• The funds will also support Unseen to engage organisations in the hospitality industry to provide work experience to those who have been subject to modern slavery, increasing their employability in the sector.

The IHG Foundation is an independent charity, which launched in February 2016 and builds on InterContinental Hotels Group’s (IHG’s) long-standing commitment to Responsible Business practices. Its initial beneficiaries included CARE International UK, Goodwill Industries International, Youth Career Initiative, British Red Cross, The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust, Rede Cidadã and Sichuan Province Foundation for Poverty Alleviation. The charity has since issued a further 22 grants to organisations globally and in September more than 120,000 colleagues from IHG’s hotels and corporate offices worldwide joined a week of global awareness and fundraising activities, to raise more than $350,000 for the IHG^® Foundation.