At IHG® Army Hotels, our mission to provide a Higher Rank of Hospitality doesn’t end at our front door; we’re committed to giving back to our military communities however possible. To that end, this September we once again celebrated our Giving for Good month at IHG, a time where all hotel and corporate colleagues globally work together to improve the lives of 30 million people, and IHG Army Hotels was honored to contribute and serve.
At our numerous locations, our hotel teams worked hard to raise funds, collect donations, and serve worthy organizations in their posts and beyond. Some of these incredible efforts included:
- Participation in Denim Days, raising funds for the Fisher House Network of Homes
- Team members at IHG Army Hotels on Fort Lee raised $1,768 to help a charity called Holiday Helper, which helps all junior soldiers on post go holiday shopping for their children, in addition to providing school supplies
- Donation of used linens for local animal shelters and military dog facilities on post from Fort Leonard Wood
- Clothing Drives, Diaper Collections, and other item/food donations from Fort Riley, Joint Base San Antonio, Fort Gordon, and Fort Knox
- Volunteering at local Food Banks and packing 645 bags for children facing hunger in Kentucky through Feeding America
In addition to these local hotel efforts, the entire IHG Army Hotels portfolio, including the teens participating in our summer internship program, Teen Academy participated in fundraising for Tunnel to Towers from July through September. Through numerous activities and events such as bake sales, car washes, raffles, and hotel furnishing sales, we were able to raise $35,442 for this incredible organization, and we’re exceptionally proud of the efforts from across the IHG Army Hotels brand.
Earlier this month, we ran our annual Veterans Day sweepstakes to remind us to proudly serve those who serve and who have served, so that we can give back to Veterans and their families. We asked our followers to send us photos of things they are grateful to Veterans for beyond serving their country; like being a great dad, encouraging our goals, and even making silly jokes!
We had some amazing entries this year and even more are over on our Instagram page where you can see the other messages shared as a powerful way to convey gratitude to our Veteran community.
Finally, as we inch closer to the holiday season, we’d like to take this time to remind our guests of a couple important points as they make their travel plans: first, we continue to adhere to the highest standards in cleanliness with IHG’s Clean Promise, doing our part to ensure everyone’s health over the holidays. And secondly, whenever you’re ready to travel, we’re ready to welcome you, and we highly encourage you to take advantage of our special holiday rates at select locations for a budget-friendly trip this holiday season.
As always, it is an honor and a privilege to serve our military community through IHG Army Hotels, and we’re looking forward to continuing to do so. We thank all of our military families for their service and sacrifice this Veterans Day, and wish you all the best as we head toward the holidays.
Charles “Chuck” Sourbeer is Vice President of Operations for IHG® Army Hotels. He has been with IHG® since 1994 and part of the IHG® Army Hotels estate since its inception in 2009.