One Irish Lakelands hotel is making a big difference to children’s lives globally as guests of the Sheraton Athlone Hotel have raised €20,000 for UNICEF Ireland by participating in one of UNICEF's longest standing and most successful global partnerships “Check Out for Children”.
Check Out for Children” is an alliance between UNICEF and The Sheraton Athlone Hotel’s parent company Starwood Hotels and Resorts, where guests staying at the Sheraton Athlone are invited to add €1 when they check out at the end of their stay.
“The Sheraton Athlone Hotel is delighted to have helped contribute such a large amount of money which will provide education for children” said Johnny O Sullivan, General Manager at the Sheraton Athlone, speaking at the announcement. "It is fantastic that we are making such a contribution to a great cause. Guests can really take a strong sense of moral and ethical comfort by knowing that when they stay here at the Sheraton Athlone Hotel, that not only do they get to experience the quality which is guaranteed with the Sheraton brand, but also have the opportunity to help make a difference to the education of children worldwide. We sincerely thank all of our guests over the years for helping to grow this donation and we hope to contribute more and more each year as our guests return to the Sheraton Athlone” he concluded.
Donations from the Sheraton Athlone Hotel guests will go towards critical and often life-changing UNICEF education interventions for children such as building and improving schools, training teachers, supplying school equipment and campaigning to ensure children stay in school.
Peter Power, Executive Director of UNICEF Ireland thanked Sheraton Athlone Hotel staff and guests for their support; “Education transforms lives and breaks the cycle of poverty that traps so many children across the world. UNICEF works tirelessly to give every child access to an education and we cannot reach this goal by ourselves. We are very grateful for the support of the Sheraton Hotel Athlone. The staff and guests should be very proud of the support they are giving to UNICEF Ireland to help us achieve what is one of the most fundamental rights for children across the world.”
The Sheraton Athlone Hotel is a local Irish hotel which participates in a big global goal. From the partnership launch in November 1995 to 2011, guests at participating Starwood hotels across the world have donated US$25 million to UNICEF and enabled UNICEF to immunise 1 million children against deadly diseases.