Outrunning the Recession for Charity

NEWS RELEASE

Outrunning the Recession for Charity

Auckland 20 March 2009 – Twenty-eight dedicated Crowne Plaza Auckland employees pounded the pavement in the annual HSBC Round the Bays fun run all for the fantastic cause of three local charities.

“We’ve always played an active role in our community,” says Brendon Meppem, Crowne Plaza Auckland General Manager. “And now, more than ever, we’re keen to show our support for the local area. Having a large number of staff at the fun run really boosted our spirits in these hard times, as well as raising funds for worthy causes.”

The 8.4 km run began just a few blocks from the Crowne Plaza’s central location above the Atrium on Elliott. Dressed in the traditional hospitality colours of black pants and white tops, the team cut a dash through the Auckland streets to end the event at St Heliers Bay.

Mr Meppem, who came first out of all Crowne Plaza Auckland employees with a time of 46:09:00, says “the staff really enjoy participating in this fun run each year, whether it is to beat their previous best time or as an opportunity to walk around our fantastic harbour foreshore and catch up with colleagues over a casual bbq at the end of the event.”

Crowne Plaza Auckland plan to enter an even bigger team in 2010.

Charities to benefit from Crowne Plaza’s efforts are:

Fairfax First Books

Fairfax First Books is a charity established by Fairfax Media in 2006 to improve the reading levels of under five year olds in disadvantaged communities and promote reading within their families.

• The Gifted Kids Programme

The Gifted Kids Programme was co-founded by Christine Fernyhough and Craig Anderson in September 2000 to provide a day a week programme of excellence in gifted education, mainly for children from low-income families. GKP now has eight one day units catering for over 550 children from more than 130 contributing schools throughout the North Island.

• Hearing House

The Hearing House is a charity for deaf children and their families, which aims to enable deaf or hearing impaired children to listen and speak. The overall goal is to give deaf children the ability to fulfil their potential and live an independent life in a hearing and speaking world.

ENDS

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