MINNEAPOLIS—A child fighting a life-threatening disease has the ability to touch hearts through their sheer bravery and determination. Seeking to cultivate hope when an illness makes life seem hopeless is AmericInn through its charitable program, AmericInn Cares. The brand unites as a company to support a single cause twice a year, and for the third year, it has sponsored Give Kids The World’s Scoops of Hope initiative.
“It was before my time here that the company researched a variety of organizations and Give Kids The World was most aligned with our values and our defined DNA to be caring and involved in the community,” said Mark Masuda, VP of marketing, sales and distribution, AmericInn. “While Give Kids The World is based in Florida and it’s where the kids go, we don’t have our hotels there, but the kids that go there are from states and cities where our guests are coming from. We thought it was a good fit and we’re going on our fourth year in 2017.”
Children and their families are welcomed and treated—at no cost—to a weeklong fantasy vacation at Give Kids The World Village, a 70-acre, nonprofit storybook-style resort in Orlando, FL. In late 2016, AmericInn raised $50,000 for Scoops of Hope. Since 1995, AmericInn’s parent company, Northcott Hospitality, has raised more than $820,000 for the organization.
AmericInn has two main objectives for this charitable effort: getting the hotels involved and engaged—the majority are participating in the initiative—and a goal to continually increase fundraising.
“We’ll continue to set the bar higher in terms of getting more involved. In terms of financial goals, we had an increase year over year. The first year, we did in the ballpark of $12,000 and last year we did $50,000,” he said.
Rallying the troops is easy for AmericInn now that it has built a momentum around this nonprofit. Masuda explained that the hotels are waiting for this effort every year.
“We do this in the fall and we prepare them with things like webinars and send out a kit to hotels. The big thing is that each hotel has its own personality and they approach it in their own way,” he said. “They’ll do cut-outs to support Give Kids The World, some have done raffles or ice cream socials. We give them a broad outline of what we want to accomplish and who will benefit, and many put their own stamp on the fundraising initiative. It’s just been fantastic.”
Hospitality work is centered on meeting the needs of others; AmericInn’s charitable philosophy rests on that foundation. On visits to properties, Masuda has witnessed AmericInn’s culture of caring and a strong sense of pride among the employees.
“Give Kids The World is something we all can get behind, but many of our hotels also do things for their own community that has an impact locally. Over and beyond the brand’s initiatives, there are many things they do on a local basis such as sponsoring a little league team to supporting cancer fundraisers—all kinds of things go on throughout our hotel network. This particular opportunity is where all of the hotels come together for a common cause,” he said.
“I travel around to see our hotels every year and they’re very engaged with this effort, from the GM to breakfast attendants to front desk staff. They feel they are part of something bigger and something our brand supports. Representatives from Give Kids The World came to our annual convention to speak and we’ve seen people become very energized by this worthy cause. It’s very emotional and tugs on your heartstrings. I had the opportunity to volunteer there, seeing the impact it has on families who are going through a lot in their lives—to be away from doctors and have ice cream for breakfast. It’s just a special place.”