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Team Members from Hilton Hotels in Prague Celebrate Second Annual Hilton Worldwide Global Week of Service

Local Volunteers Join Thousands of Team Members Across 90 Countries and Territories by Serving Projekt Šance, Tereza Maxová Dětem Foundation and Cystic Fibrosis Club.

In celebration of Hilton Worldwide’s second annual Global Week of Service, October 6 – 12, more than 320 volunteers from Hilton Prague and Hilton Prague Old Town were supporting local charities. Community service is a tradition embedded in Hilton Worldwide’s culture, and acts of volunteerism occur year-round across the six distinct brands and more than 250 properties in Europe.  The efforts of Hilton Prague and Hilton Prague Old Town hotels are a part of Hilton Worldwide’s week-long celebration of the company’s commitment to serving the communities where we live, work and travel, which this year includes hundreds of hands-on service projects globally. 

“This is a fantastic initiative to be involved in. I would like to express my gratitude to the whole team for their great commitment be it organization of a sports day for kids from orphanages, a garage sale in support of the Projekt Šance or sales of cakes in aid of the Cystic Fibrosis Club, to name just a few of the activities of this week,” said Michael Specking, cluster general manager of Hilton Prague and Hilton Prague Old Town.

A wide range of activities have taken place during the Global Week of Service at Hilton Hotels in Prague. On Sunday, Hilton volunteers organized a sports day for more than 50 children in need from orphanages. On Monday, another group of volunteers cleaned and painted a hotel terrace facing the Vltava river cyclo trail. On Tuesday, Team Members brought their homemade cakes to raise money through their sale, with proceeds benefiting the Cystic Fibrosis Club. Guests were involved as well, with small cakes prepared by the Hilton pastry team were sold to them in the lobby. Wednesday activities focused on sustainability and all team members were encouraged to come to work on foot or by bike, led by example by Michael Specking, cluster general manager.

On Thursday, Vice President Eastern Europe, Russia and Turkey Essam Abouda joined the Prague teams and participated in all activities, starting with a kick off of the Garage Sale. Essam Abouda made a festive opening of event taking place in the hotel underground garage. Proceeds from sales of the items donated by Team Members will benefit Projekt Šance. Furthermore, a group of volunteers including Essam Abouda visited the children’s department of the Hospital Na Vinohradech to make their stay in the hospital more enjoyable. Last activity of the day was a visit to the Street Centre of Projekt Šance, where hotel management headed by Essam Abouda were serving soup to Centre clients living in the streets.

On Friday, the Garage Sale was officially closed, together with the Global Week of Service.
In total, the proceeds gained through all of the activities reached more than 130,000 Czech Crowns and they will be shared amongst the community partners to support their great causes.

László Sümegh, founder of the Projekt Šance commented, “Funds raised by Hilton Hotels in Prague will be used to assist us with organization of workshops enhancing basic skills of our clients, enabling them to compete on the job market. Half of the raised funds will support our Workshop Centre activities, such as professional psychotherapy, art therapy, animal assisted therapy, computers and internet skills. The other half will be used as an emergency assistance in the Street Centre supporting our Emergency Assistance Programme including clothes and shoes replacement, basic refreshments, drink programme, non-prescription medication and HIV tests.”

Global Week of Service is Hilton Worldwide’s largest annual volunteer service initiative and brings together Team Members from across Hilton Worldwide's corporate offices and hotel properties, helping to strengthen the company’s connections with its communities and bringing it closer together as a global team. Follow this link to watch a short video on Global Week of Service: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAGjV-6MJZA7hd=1.

Essam Abouda, Hilton Worldwide, area vice president, Eastern Europe, Russia and Turkey said, “By hosting events on the same week, Team Members are able to unite around the world through service and make a significant collective impact, share an experience and together demonstrate Hilton Worldwide’s commitment to spreading the light and warmth of hospitality. Extending hospitality beyond our hotel walls comes naturally to our Team Members and is just one of the ways we collaborate with our communities to address local and global challenges.”

During Global Week of Service, Team Members were encouraged to share their personal stories of service and hospitality through a variety of channels. Photos and stories from Hilton Worldwide’s Global Week of Service events have been posted at www.hiltonworldwide.com/serve, on the Hilton Worldwide Facebook page and on the @HiltonWorldwide Twitter account throughout the week.

In 2012, during Hilton Worldwide’s inaugural Global Week of Service, Team Members at more than 600 properties and offices completed more than 800 volunteer projects in 401 cities across the company’s global footprint. The projects focused on engaging Team Members and delivering on Hilton Worldwide’s commitment to Travel with Purpose by creating opportunities, strengthening communities, celebrating cultures and living sustainably. This year, the company aims to build upon this community engagement and is striving to complete more than 1,200 service projects.