FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Tamar Meguerditchian
504.299.7171 office
tamar@keatingmagee.com
New Orleans Fine Hotels Offers More Than 13,000
Free Hotel Rooms to Volunteers This Summer
Rooms for Revitalization program announces partnership with Volunteers of America , Catholic Charities and the Katrina Krewe
New Orleans , May 10, 2006 – Earlier this month during a visit to the areas of New Orleans affected by Hurricane Katrina, President Bush strongly urged fellow Americans to visit and volunteer. In response to this call for volunteers and to help support the rebuilding effort, New Orleans Fine Hotels has launched Rooms for Revitalization , a program that provides donated and discounted hotel rooms to volunteer organizations and individuals volunteering in the Crescent City this summer.
To launch the program, New Orleans Fine Hotels (NOFH) has donated a total of more than 13,000 room nights –75 rooms per night to Volunteers of America and 25 rooms per night to Catholic Charities from May 15 th through September 30 th . NOFH will also provide 75 complimentary rooms each month surrounding the Katrina Krewe's summer clean-ups to help accommodate visiting volunteers.
“One of the biggest hurdles Volunteers of America faces when recruiting volunteers is finding them affordable places to stay,” says Jim LeBlanc, president and CEO of Volunteers of America Greater New Orleans. “These hotel rooms will be invaluable to recruiting volunteers to support the rebuilding process in New Orleans and we thank New Orleans Fine Hotels for its generous support.”
“Complimentary accommodations will attract volunteers from surrounding communities and from across the country to assist with our monthly clean-ups,” says Becky Zaheri with the Katrina Krewe. “We need all of the volunteers we can get to keep New Orleans clean as the city rebuilds.”
As part of the Rooms for Revitalization program, any group or individual who wants to visit New Orleans this summer and plans to volunteer while they are in town will receive their third night free of charge . Offers are also customizable to accommodate different lengths of stay, for example, book five nights and receive two nights free. These offers are subject to availability.
Patrick Quinn, owner of New Orleans Fine Hotels says, “as part of the Rooms for Revitalization program, New Orleans Fine Hotels will help make individual volunteers aware of the volunteer opportunities that are available and will connect them with the charities of their choice.”
New Orleans Fine Hotels has been actively involved in the rebuilding of the city with projects such as the Clean Krewe. NOFH also provided thousands of rooms to displaced residents in the FEMA Hotel Housing Plan and developed the Canal Street Parade Preservation Alliance.
“With more than 1,550 hotel rooms at our nine properties in the French Quarter and Central Business District, New Orleans Fine Hotels is happy to help foster volunteerism this summer by making the trip more affordable for our dedicated volunteers,” says Quinn. “Rooms for Revitalization is our way of saying thank you to the people we couldn't rebuild without.”
Catholic Charities - Archdiocese of New Orleans CEO Jim Kelly says, “We are most grateful for the opportunity to partner with New Orleans Fine Hotels to help rebuild our city and eventually welcome our neighbors back home.”
How to Register
If you are interested in registering to secure a complimentary room through the partnership with Volunteers of America of Greater New Orleans , please contact Cathie Peterman at (504) 483-3557or visit the website at www.gnodrpvc.com (website will be active by May 15 th ).
If you are volunteering with Catholic Charities of New Orleans , please contact Susan Lackey at (504) 310-6960 or visit www.ccano.org .
For more information about Rooms for Revitalization, or if you are volunteering with the Katrina Krewe , please visit www.NewOrleansFineHotels.com .
New Orleans Fine Hotels is a collection of nine unique hotels located in the
most historic areas of New Orleans and managed by Decatur Hotels, LLC. The New Orleans Fine Hotel properties include the Astor Crowne Plaza, Lafayette Hotel, St. James Hotel, Historic French Market Inn, Parc St. Charles, The Pelham Hotel, Holiday Inn Express at the Historic Cotton Exchange, Hotel Le Cirque and Chateau Dupre Hotel. For more information, please visit www.neworleansfinehotels.com.
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See Letter to the Editor by Volunteers of America CEO.
