Sheraton Imperial Kuala Lumpur Hotel awarded ‘Outstanding Care for Community’ Award by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Asia Pacific’s Starwood Cares President Award

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, July 2010 – Sheraton Imperial Kuala Lumpur Hotel was recently the proud recipient of the ‘2009 Outstanding Care for Community’ award presented by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Asia Pacific in its annual Starwood Cares President Award. The hotel’s General Manager, Mr. Wolfgang Boettcher represented the hotel in the glitzy award ceremony which was held in Singapore.

(Director of Human Resources, Nor Ashikin serving the children of LCWHA)

Despite the busy schedules of every day work life, the associates at Sheraton Imperial Kuala Lumpur Hotel have always made time to care and spare a thought for the underprivileged community. The hotel stages various charity and community events annually and in 2009, embarked on a very special project, which earned them the award.

(The Children of Lighthouse Welfare Home together with Dato' Jasani of SJ Grant Thornton and Mr. Boettcher, General Manager of Sheraton Imperial)

Having worked with various organizations on different projects, the hotel team wanted to embark on a plan which would go beyond just provision of food and assistance. As such, the hotel reached out to the Lighthouse Children Welfare Home Association (LCWHA), a safe home for vulnerable children where they can start a new journey away from their difficult backgrounds and environments, with a plan to not only provide the children of LCWHA with essential necessities and food, but also to provide them with skills so that they are able to learn and fend for themselves in the future.

Together with another corporate partner, SJ Grant Thornton, the Sheraton Imperial Kuala Lumpur Hotel provided food, furniture and fixtures to LCWHA to ensure that the children have a comfortable place to live as well as teaching them how to be organized and tidy. Thereafter, the hotel team also planned several separate sessions, volunteering their time to impart knowledge and educate the children on various skills: ranging from grooming and good communications, to learning basic household tasks and cooking. To date, there has been six sessions organized for these children. Each session focused on a different skill – public speaking, cooking, table etiquette, table setting, laundry (folding skills) and how to clean public areas of a hotel.

Another interesting expansion to the project was when Sheraton Imperial Kuala Lumpur Hotel launched a meaningful three-month apprenticeship program for children of its associates along with those from the Lighthouse Children Welfare Home Association. This program was aimed at providing assistance to hotel associates who found it challenging to send their children for further education (due to either financial hardship or the lack of academic qualifications). The apprenticeship program was opened to all applicants within the age of 16 and 27 years old for the first batch, which ran from January to March 2010.

The apprenticeship program is all about training future associates of the hotel and assisting them to discover their potential in the hospitality industry, so they may be equipped with the right tools of trade to build a career in the industry. For the children of LCWHA, this program serves as a stepping stone into a future career with the hospitality industry, specifically in the restaurant, kitchen and housekeeping departments. This program will not only be an introduction to the hotel trade, but also serves as a catalyst for career advancement in Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.

Currently, one individual, Devisri Thambirajah from the Lighthouse Children Welfare Home Association has successfully completed the three-month course in the kitchen department, where she went through the tasks needed at the various kitchens. Upon completing her training, she has been offered a permanent position at Sheraton Imperial Kuala Lumpur Hotel.

“We are deeply honoured to have been awarded this special recognition. It is heartwarming to see our team going way beyond their call of duty to volunteer their time and efforts to support these special children. It is our wish that these children are raised in a comfortable environment and are given the education they need to venture into the working world. Hence, we believe that it is not sufficient just to provide the fish but it’s more important to teach them how to fish as well”, said Wolfgang Boettcher, General Manager of Sheraton Imperial Kuala Lumpur Hotel when he was asked to comment about his team’s win.

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About the Lighthouse Children Welfare Home Association

Lighthouse Children Welfare Home is located in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur. It is a safe home for vulnerable children where they can start a new journey away from their difficult backgrounds and environments. This home is run by Steven and Jacinta with focus on bringing the children up in a loving, family-orientated environment.      
The Lighthouse provides children from underprivileged and difficult backgrounds a new lease on life. Every child under their care is given a chance to develop and grow with self-respect. A new opportunity to reach their full potential.     

Sheraton Hotels & Resorts
Helping guests make connections at more than 400 hotels in 75 countries around the world, Sheraton Hotels & Resorts is currently implementing a $6 billion worldwide, multi-year revitalization program. This effort includes a $4 billion investment in North America, with over $2 billion in new hotels, $1.5 billion in renovations and $400 million in signature brand initiatives around the Sheraton brand.

Sheraton is owned by and is the largest and most global brand of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with 966 properties in more than 100 countries and 145,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. Starwood Hotels is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor of hotels, resorts and residences with the following internationally renowned brands: St. Regis®, The Luxury Collection®, W®, Westin®, Le Méridien®, Sheraton®, Four Points® by Sheraton, and the recently launched Aloft®, and Element SM.  Starwood Hotels also owns Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., one of the premier developers and operators of high quality vacation interval ownership resorts. For more information, please visit www.starwoodhotels.com.

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Press Contact:
Cindy Yoong
Director of Marketing Communications
Sheraton Imperial Kuala Lumpur, P.O Box 50250, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Phone        : +603 2717 9850            
Fax        : +603 2717 9931
Mobile        : +6016 207 9961   

Evelyn Koh
Marketing Communication Coordinator
Sheraton Imperial Kuala Lumpur, P.O Box 50250, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Phone        : +603 2717 9020            
Fax        : +603 2717 9931
Mobile        : +6016 9670577