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News • Virginia • United States • 2011-12-15

DoubleTree by Hilton Teaches Thousands of Kids Worldwide This Holiday Season to CARE About Their Local Communities One Cookie at a Time

Caring Community Cookie Project Converts Hotelier’s Sweet Hospitality Symbol

Into a Teaching Tool for Community Service

McLean, Va., (December 15, 2011) – If you had 2,500 cookies to honor a deserving group of people in your community, to whom would you give them and why? That’s a question being posed to thousands of grade school students in more than 100 cities around the world this holiday season. DoubleTree by Hilton hotels are empowering students to help make their communities a little sweeter through its award-winning Teaching Kids to CARE social responsibility program.

As the brand continues the 25th anniversary celebration of its signature chocolate chip cookie, DoubleTree by Hilton hotel volunteers are creatively using the cookie as a teaching tool to show kids how they can make a positive difference with simple acts of kindness in their own neighborhoods through an initiative appropriately titled the Caring Community Cookie Project. From Costa Rica to China, Turkey to the United Kingdom, and across North America, DoubleTree by Hilton’s Teaching Kids to CARE initiative embraces the positive impact that an individual act of caring can collectively make a world of difference.

Each participating DoubleTree by Hilton hotel adopted classes at their local elementary schools this fall and pledged 2,500 of the brand’s signature chocolate chip cookies to their team of “kid volunteers,” so they could present them to the group they voted for most. As a result, a total of more than 250,000 cookies will be presented to various community groups and organizations by the students through cookie donations by their local DoubleTree by Hilton hotels. From now through the end of the year, thousands of young children will have the opportunity to experience the joy of giving and the value of caring about others.

“Creating positive connections and experiences with the communities we proudly serve is a key component of our CARE Culture at DoubleTree by Hilton hotels that is embraced by more than 65,000 team members in 23 countries around the world,” said John Greenleaf, vice president – brand marketing, DoubleTree by Hilton. “During the past 10 years, we’ve worked with more than five million grade school students through our Teaching Kids to CARE initiative to share one simple lesson -- caring and giving back to our communities can be rewarding and fun. And with our Caring Community Cookie Project this holiday season, a gesture as simple as sharing a fresh baked chocolate chip cookie to someone unexpectedly is sure to make them smile.”

At the core of the Caring Community Cookie Project is a thematic lesson plan developed in line with National Education Standards designed to encourage kids to begin making conscious decisions and educate grade school students on the positive experience of caring and helping others. One of the main activities in the lesson plan is based on a “caring cookie.” Each student is encouraged to write a short essay on their “caring cookie” that was shared with their classmates. The essay on the “caring cookie” expresses which group of people the student wants to share the 2,500 cookies. Each student then decorates their “caring cookie” and places it on a “Caring Community Cookie Jar” poster in their classroom. Students then put their caring choices into action by planning a “Caring Community Cookie Celebration” in which they give chocolate chip cookies to their top vote-getting chosen organization or charity partner.

Launched in 2002, Teaching Kids to CARE was created by DoubleTree by Hilton as a mentorship program focused on teaching kids about the importance of caring through engaging lesson plans tailored to elementary students. The program pairs team members from DoubleTree by Hilton properties across the country with local schools, with a shared goal of demonstrating to kids how they can impact their own communities through simple and meaningful acts of kindness.

As a result of efforts, the DoubleTree by Hilton Teaching Kids to CARE community outreach program has been recognized with more than 40 awards from prominent hospitality and marketing associations for developing one of the most successful community outreach efforts undertaken by a worldwide travel company.

To follow the Teaching Kids to CARE progress and experiences of participating schools and DoubleTree by Hilton hotels visit our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/DoubleTree. For more information about the DoubleTree by Hilton Teaching Kids to CARE program, visit www.doubletree.com/teachingkidstocare.

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