Giving in Wenatchee

How we partner to help the community!

As with many regions nationally and abroad, Wenatchee has been hit by economic struggles. Families are affected the hardest. Simple needs of food, bedding, clothing, and shelter are the most vital ones to fulfill, and often the hardest to meet. Thankfully there are many shelters, food banks, ministries, churches, charities, and other outreaches that work diligently to provide for our brothers and sisters nearby. I believe it is the responsibility of a community to provide for its own neighbors, so I wanted to share some recent contributions made by guests that have inspired us as well. Let's read an uplifting story in the news occasionally, shall we? :)

Recently, we were privileged to house a group of outstanding 3rd - 6th grade students competing in Destination Imagination. For those unaware of this enrichment program, it is a volunteer based non-profit organization that seeks to challenge students to think, create, and solve. They compete in many different sections including technical, scientific, fine arts, improvisational, structural and service learning. Of course the students, parents, and leaders needed to eat - so we donated the use of our meeting space for their party. At the end, one group discovered it had a lot of untouched food. One of the leaders brought it to us with the request that we match it up with a local group that can put it to good use.

WOW! How thoughtful of them to help a community they were visiting for just a few days. We were so grateful to hear that kindness so we wanted to share it. At the same time, we were moved to contribute as well. The kitchen manager at this shelter was happy to see many of the goods, specifically saying, "Good! We can always use bread." From what I heard, food continues to be one of the biggest struggles, and is always a great way others can help to contribute. They are also happy to accept bedding supplies and toiletries as well - though you may want to call around to find which locations have which needs, as I discovered they often vary even within a single city.

Throughout each year, our hotels do what we can to be good stewards with resources and share them folks who can really use them. These are things like: a big box of soap we cannot use due to incorrect logo branding; working furniture and equipment when a new service agreement provides us with a different set; leftover supplies; etc.

This particular event coincided with a new brand standard at our hotel perfectly, so we were able to get even more items into the hands of those in need just last week. A change in our franchise standards meant we purchased this month: all new bedding, sheets, pillows, terrycloth towels, bath mats, hand towels, wash cloths and so on. As many guests pointed out - yes, all of our existing towels and linens were in excellent condition; and yes, it is all new from the day of our opening in the 2009-2010 winter season. But sometimes good is not always best. Research indicated this is what guests wanted, and it extended the life of those goods even longer. It also created an opportunity to share good quality products within Wenatchee. Containers left unopened from day 1 in our storage room were sold at fractions of their cost to us, while much of the rest was donated. This means every fabric in the hotel was either donated or new boxes sold for a few dollars per case/set. Now everything in our hotel is the newest in the city, You may even be the first to use much of it!

Marshall Tramp, HOST - Assistant Manager

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Article summary: What is being done to help the community, and how you can help too

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