SPREADING THE LOVE THROUGH GIVING ALL YEAR ROUND

African Pride Crystal Towers Hotel & Spa

The African Pride Crystal Towers Hotel & Spa in Cape Town led the way in caring and compassion last year, with their social investment efforts garnering them the Protea Hospitality Group’s prestigious 2011 CSI Award.

The award is made annually to the property among the 120+ Protea Hotels and African Pride Hotels in Africa that demonstrates a broad-based commitment to improving the lives of those in need, whether it be through providing meals to primary school children or prize vouchers to NPOs.

As per the Protea Hospitality Group model, different departments in the hotel chose charities to support; raising funds and donating time to the various organisations.

The hotel as a whole also undertook several projects. Among those supported by the departments and hotel were:

  1. The Reach for a Dream Foundation (Hotel).
  2. St Luke’s Hospice (Hotel).
  3. 10 Million Steps Walk for Cancer (Hotel).
  4. SALT (Reservations, Marketing and Guest Relations Department), that included fund raising and collecting donations for the organisation’s child welfare projects, food parcels and disaster management relief.
  5. Marconi Beam Primary School (the Kitchen Departments) assisting with purchasing of books, stationary and uniforms, as well as providing nutritious soup once a week.
  6. Boucher Safe House (Accounts Department), which provides emergency housing for children in danger, raising funds and assisting with on-site maintenance.
  7. Thornton SOS Children’s Village (Maintenance and Security Departments), raising funds for a vegetable garden, doing a clothes drive and providing much-needed painting and maintenance work.
  8. Blouberg Beach (Housekeeping and Front Office Departments) performed a full clean-up of the beach and transported all the rubbish collected back to the hotel for proper recycling.

 

    Protea Hospitality Group Marketing and Advertising Manager Nicholas Barenblatt said the staff and management at African Pride Crystal Towers Hotel & Spa were a fantastic example of what those in the hospitality industry could achieve if they set their minds to helping those in need around them.
    “It’s a minimum requirement in Protea Hotels that each and every hotel, our regional offices and head office all support at least one charity per year. Most do far more than this.
    “Our head office, for instance, supports a host of NPOs including Reach for a Dream, Afrika Tikkun, Groote Schuur Cancer Ward, iLitha Labantu, Uthando, the Carthorse Association and the South African Medical and Education Foundation.
    “All hotels in the Protea Hospitality Group are immovable parts of their local communities and as such had a responsibility towards them, which is why we consider social investment to be one of the cornerstones of our business.” Barenblatt said.