Maddux NewsWire

SARASOTA, Fla. (Dec. 23, 2009) – This holiday season, the Sarasota-based All Faiths Food Bank will continue to spread goodwill, thanks in part to a $15,000 grant from Hyatt Community, a company-wide, philanthropic effort that allows Hyatt to support positive agents of change in the communities where its employees live and work. Hyatt Regency Sarasota, one of the food bank’s community partners, nominated the non-profit organization for the grant after seeing first-hand the significant impact All Faiths Food Bank has made in the Sarasota area.

“Hyatt Community exists to assist organizations that help build vibrant, healthy communities, and from the minute we began working with All Faiths Food Bank, it was clear what an important role the organization plays in the lives of those less fortunate,” said Hyatt Regency Sarasota General Manager Mark Becker. “The food bank has a solid and caring team in place that is passionate about what they do, and we are grateful that we were able to help contribute to their mission.”

All Faiths Food Bank solicits, warehouses, and distributes food to more than 160 agency partners offering hunger relief to more than 50,000 people in Sarasota and DeSoto counties. The food bank provides outreach through a number of initiatives including the BackPack Kids Program, which provides nutritional support to children over the weekend and during school holidays when they may otherwise go without a meal. Participating homeless and low-income children in grades K-5 are sent home with a backpack of healthy, kid-friendly food and nutrition information on Fridays.

“One of the reasons we selected All Faiths Food Bank as our nominee for the Hyatt Community grant was that we’ve seen first hand how the BackPack Kids Program has made a difference within our community, particularly within our partner school Gocio Elementary,” said Director of Human Resources Michelle Tarullo.

According to Dan Dunn, the food bank’s executive director, the grant came at just the right time as the number of people seeking help in 2009 has doubled from just two years ago.

“With the fragile state of the economy and high unemployment rates, more and more people in Southwest Florida need our assistance than ever before,” said Dunn. “The Hyatt Community grant will help support our operational expenses so we can continue to serve those who need it most. We are privileged to have a community partner like Hyatt Regency Sarasota that has helped the grant come to fruition.”

Hyatt Regency Sarasota began its partnership with All Faiths Food Bank in November 2008 through its “Fighting Hunger” program. The program was designed so that 10 percent of the daily room rate booked through Hyatt.com during the holiday season went toward the purchase of food for the food bank. Once purchased, the food was personally delivered to the food bank by members of the hotel’s Family of Responsible and Caring Employees (F.O.R.C.E.) volunteer organization.

This holiday season, volunteers have already delivered $1,200 worth of food to the food bank, and a second visit is planned for January. The hotel is also encouraging its associates to become involved by incorporating food collections into company events such as holiday parties and awards ceremonies.

For more information on the All Faiths Food Bank, including how you can make a donation or become a volunteer, please visit www.allfaithsfoodbank.org. To book a room through Hyatt Regency Sarasota’s “Fighting Hunger” program, available through
December 30, 2009, please visit http://sarasota.hyatt.com.

About Hyatt Regency Sarasota
Hyatt Regency Sarasota is located on Sarasota Bay in the heart of the cultural arts district of Florida’s Gulf Coast. The 294-room resort has a casually sophisticated “Florida chic” feel and offers 20,000 feet of event space, a 32-slip private marina, fresh Floribbean cuisine at Currents restaurant and easy access to nearby outdoor and cultural activities. Hyatt Regency Sarasota completed a $22 million renovation in 2008 and is now Sarasota’s only AAA Four Diamond hotel. For more information please visit http://sarasota.hyatt.com or call (941) 953-1234

About All Faiths Food Bank
The mission at All Faiths Food Bank is to solicit, warehouse, process and distribute food to not-for-profit agency partners offering hunger relief. The Food Bank reduces food waste by reclaiming the food that might otherwise go into our landfills. It also provides community leadership and education to the community on issues related to food, nutrition and hunger.

Volunteers process and store food solicited from the community at the Food Bank’s 20,000 square-foot warehouse on Blaikie Ct. in Sarasota. Every can and box of food is sorted and checked by experienced volunteers. Using food bank trucks, All Faiths Food Bank then distributes supplies to not for profit agencies offering hunger relief in Sarasota and DeSoto counties. For more information, visit www.allfaithsfoodbank.org.

About Hyatt Hotels Corporation
Hyatt Hotels Corporation, headquartered in Chicago, is a leading global hospitality company with a proud heritage of making guests feel more than welcome. Thousands of members of the Hyatt family in 45 countries strive to make a difference in the lives of the guests they encounter every day by providing authentic hospitality. The company’s subsidiaries manage, franchise, own and develop hotels and resorts under the Hyatt®, Park Hyatt®, Andaz™, Grand Hyatt®, Hyatt Regency®, Hyatt Place® and Hyatt Summerfield Suites™ brand names and have locations under development on five continents. Hyatt Vacation Ownership, Inc., a Hyatt Hotels Corporation subsidiary, develops and operates vacation ownership properties under the Hyatt Vacation Club® brand. As of September 30, 2009, the company’s worldwide portfolio consisted of 415 properties. For more information, please visit www.hyatt.com

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