Ritz-Carlton launches VolunTeaming

Ritz-Carlton is now offering groups a new opportunity at teambuilding where it's a win-win for everyone including the local community. VolunTeaming as the concept is called, is now being offered to group guests staying at Ritz-Carlton's hotels and resorts around the world.

Groups can select from as little as two-hour activities to a full day of working together, depending upon their schedules and interests. VolunTeaming choices are as varied as working with The Chef's Garden, in the heart of Ohio farm country, for a day of agricultural education and harvesting of the organic crops for donation to a local food bank, to preserving the once beautiful gardens and wildlife habitats of Alcatraz Island, now in disrepair following the closing of the famous prison located in the middle of San Francisco Bay. Lending a hand to improve the facilities at the Carpenter's Shelter, supporting local homeless families, is one of a number of meaningful options for group guests at The Ritz-Carlton, Pentagon City.

"Each of the VolunTeaming activities offered by our hotels has a strong connection to the local community," explained Sue Stephenson, vice president of the Community Footprints program. No need to travel to Africa for a safari experience when The Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota escorts groups to Big Cat Habitat and Gulf Coast Sanctuary. Working alongside professional staffers, groups bring home valuable lessons about habitat preservation and the care for abused and neglected lions, tigers and other animals. Group guests can partner with the Greater New Orleans Habit for Humanity to rebuild homes in the city neighborhoods most devastated in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, join Park Rangers in Boston Harbor Islands National Park on stewardship projects to protect the islands' fragile eco-system, or become Turtle Guardians in Cancun, assisting mother turtles during nesting, safely recovering eggs for relocation to a nearby turtle camp and learning about marine life conservation.

For groups with limited time but still wanting the VolunTeaming experience, two-hour on-property program options are also available. In "Bike Build for Charity", group participants will compete in fast-paced activities practicing communication and teamwork as they build children's bikes for presentation to a local children's charity. In "Welcome Home for Habitat", teams practice time-management and skills analysis to build housewarming gifts for local families who will be moving into their first Habitat homes. Local school children are the beneficiaries of the solar cars built during the VolunTeaming "Go Green Racing". Teams design, build and race solar and recycled racecars to see who takes home the checkered flag, while making an invaluable donation to local schools by emphasizing the importance of energy conservation within the classroom.

VolunTeaming is the third program to emerge from the Community Footprints initiative of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company. Through "Meaningful Meetings", The Ritz-Carlton will donate 10% of a group's room expenditure, evenly divided between a charity of the groups choosing and the Community Footprints charitable fund. "Give Back Getaways" offers hotel guests a wide array of half-day activities in the local community or region they are visiting, to include working at food banks, preserving natural habitats and painting murals to brighten facilities for local children in need.

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