Marriott International raises $328,000 for China's youth

SHANGHAI - In line with Marriott International's ongoing Spirit to Serve community campaign, Marriott hotels in Shanghai, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Kunshan, Wuxi, Ningbo, Wuhan and Changzhou joined forces to host the 2014 Marriott Charity Black Tie Gala Dinner on 19 September 2014 and raised a net total of USD 328,000 (RMB 2,018,000) for the Yao Foundation, Marriott International's non-profit charity partner in China. The event took place at Shanghai Marriott Hotel Parkview.

The evening was centred on an authentic Spanish flair with flamenco music and performances and a customized menu by all Marriott hotels in Shanghai. Over 630 guests were present at the gala event, which was graced by Yao Ming, founder of Yao Foundation, and Simon Cooper, president and managing director and of Marriott International Asia Pacific.

Prior to the event, Simon Cooper commented: "We are looking forward to hosting this charity gala dinner. Marriott International has a heritage of putting people first and opening doors to a world of opportunity for its guests, partners and associates. The key to making this happen is education, especially for the younger generations. We are delighted to have the opportunity to work with the Yao Foundation and to make a contribution to support children's education in China."

The event was supported by the following key sponsors:
Top level sponsors: Delta Airline, Hong Kong Airlines, Juneyao Airline, Star Cruise China, United Airline, WMF Shanghai, Heineken Asia Pacific Brewery, Marriott Rewards, Rioja Wines

Other sponsors included: Air New Zealand, Danone Premium Brands (Shanghai) Trading Co., Ltd., LG Electronics Inc., Michael Wong (Hong Kong celebrity), Shiji Information Technology (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Precor China, Johnson Health Tech. Co., Ltd., PepsiCo (China) Limited, Ming Fai Group, Qatar Airline, Shenzhen Guest Supply Trading Company Limited, Lu Zhou Lao Jiao, China National Calligraphic Art Association

Yao Foundation is a highly regarded charity organization established in 2008 by Yao Ming under the auspices of The China Youth Development Foundation and aims to promote the all-round development of Chinese youth by providing them the opportunities to improve their education, sports skills, health and self-esteem.

Under the terms of a three-year agreement with Yao Foundation, Marriott cluster hotels will donate USD 809,848 (RMB 5,000,000) to Yao Foundation to establish three Project Hope schools in the Southwestern region of China. The Marriott donation will also be used to support the Yao Foundation Hope Primary School basketball season program in 2014 and 2015.

The cocktail reception and silent auction began at 6:00pm, followed by a gourmet Spanish five-course dinner at 7pm with raffle draw and live auction, and finished with dance and entertainment by10pm. Tickets were priced at USD 308 (RMB1,888) per person and USD 4,078 (RMB25,000) per corporate table of 10 with corporate benefits. All proceeds from the event will be donated to Yao Foundation.

sourced:traveldailynews.asia