Hilton Naples Awards Travel with Purpose® Action Grant to Collier County School District

May 4, 2014 - PRLog -- Naples, Fla., USA – May 4, 2014 – On behalf ofthe Hilton Naples,Hilton Worldwide has awarded a $5,000 Travel with Purpose^® Action Grant to three of Collier County’s Title One Schools. Title One schools have a high percentage of students from low-income families and funding for educational activities is extremely limited.

The funds will be used to allow students to participate in The 10,000 Islands Dolphin Project's Environmental Studies Program. It is the only on-going study of wild dolphins in Southwest Florida and the only one in the United States that engages, and is supported by, the general public.

The Travel with Purpose Action Grant program, launched in 2013, is part of Hilton Worldwide’s global effort to support the development of local solutions and strengthen the quality of life in the communities Hilton Worldwide hotels and corporate offices serve. More than $150,000 was awarded this year to 62 Hilton Worldwide properties and community organizations around the world as part of the Travel with Purpose Action Grant program.

According to Hilton Naples general manager Clark Hill, “We are proud to be part of this global initiative and we are excited to have been awarded these funds for distribution to three Collier County schools. Our Team Members continually look for creative ways to extend our impact in our community, and this grant will enable us to do just that.”

“The Hilton Naples has been a supporter of local schools for many years, and we are thrilled to be a 2014 recipient of a Travel with Purpose Action Grant,” noted Curt Witthoff, the school district’s coordination of K-12 science and environmental education. “This is a unique program and we know these children would probably never would have been able to experience something like this without the Hilton Naples securing Hilton Worldwide’s financial assistance on our behalf.”

The 10,000 Islands Dolphin Project program is comprised of up to 20 lesson plans. Themes of the program include conservation, relationships in the ecosystem, science and research, habitats and water properties. The class is provided a program calendar with a schedule of live online broadcasts of The Dolphin Explorer excursions in the Gulf of Mexico, or they can watch archived video. Students can even write questions directly to the Dolphin Explorer survey team. The rest of the lesson content can be taught at any time surrounding the live session. Everything included is easily accessed using the teacher log in on the project Website.

All Travel with Purpose Action Grants support projects that are aligned with Hilton Worldwide’s four corporate responsibility focus areas:

·        Creating Opportunities: includes programs focusing on youth development, career mentoring and workforce development in hospitality training with a focus on disadvantaged populations; promotion of diversity in our workforce, owners, and suppliers;

·        Strengthening Communities: includes projects that support sustainable economic growth by increasing opportunities for emerging local businesses to succeed in the global value chain; disaster preparation and resiliency; critical services including housing and hunger/food insecurity; prevention of child trafficking and support services for survivors;

·        Celebrating Cultures: includes education programs that foster cultural heritage, preservation and restoration of historic or cultural monuments; projects that bridge diverse cultures and foster inclusiveness and diplomacy; support for local sourcing and goods;

·        Living Sustainability: includes projects that assist in the protection, conservation and restoration of natural resources and habitats; projects that educate and inform the public about sustainability; support for sustainable sourcing and purchasing.

About Hilton Worldwide

Hilton Worldwide  is a leading global hospitality company, spanning the lodging sector from luxury and full-service hotels and resorts to extended-stay suites and focused-service hotels. For 94 years, Hilton Worldwide has been dedicated to continuing its tradition of providing exceptional guest experiences. The company’s portfolio of ten world-class global brands is comprised of more than 4,000 managed, franchised, owned and leased hotels and timeshare properties, with more than 678,000 rooms in 91 countries and territories, including Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, Conrad Hotels & Resorts, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, DoubleTree by Hilton, Embassy Suites Hotels, Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton Hotels, Homewood Suites by Hilton, Home2 Suites by Hilton and Hilton Grand Vacations. The company also manages an award-winning customer loyalty program, Hilton HHonors^®.

About Travel with Purpose^®

Travel with Purpose^® is Hilton Worldwide's corporate responsibility commitment to providing shared value to its business and communities in four areas - creating opportunities for individuals to reach their full potential; strengthening communities where Hilton Worldwide operates; celebrating cultures and the power of travel; and living sustainably through the measurement, analysis and improvement of the company's use of natural resources.