Wellingtonians Asked To Support Children Of Fiji

MEDIA RELEASE
2 October 2008

Wellingtonians Asked To Support The Children Of Fiji

Cycling for nearly 12 hours non-stop is not most people’s idea of a good time but Wellingtonians will see employees from some of Accor’s New Zealand hotels doing just that tomorrow outside Hotel Ibis Wellington.

‘Team Trinity’ is one of Accor’s 15 teams of employees who are fundraising for the Accor Race to Survive to Cure Kids from October 20 to 24. The five day endurance event raises funds for Cure Kids Fiji, which provides vital paediatric medicine and medical equipment for the children of Fiji.

Competitor Kirsty Parkhill and colleagues from all four of Accor’s Wellington hotels will be taking shifts on a stationery cycle non stop between 7am and 6pm tomorrow outside Hotel Ibis Wellington at 153 Featherston Street and they are encouraging locals to come by and make donations to support the cause. Long time Cure Kids supporter Brendan Pongia will even be helping out around lunchtime, taking his turn on the bike.

Completing the tough physical challenges of swimming, running, mountain biking and outrigging isn’t the only hard part of the Accor Race to Survive to Cure Kids– each team is required to raise a minimum of $7000 as an entrance fee.

More than FJ$251,000 was raised for Cure Kids Fiji in 2006 from this event alone, funding equipment including paediatric probes and vaccines to treat children with kidney disease, and also allowed paediatric staff at Lautoka Hospital to partake in an intensive training course with one of New Zealand’s leading medical specialists Lautoka Hospital is the largest hospital on the east coast of Viti Levu, Fiji’s biggest island.

Locals and tourists alike are asked to come along and make a small – or large – donation to help this incredible cause.

For more information about Cure Kids Fiji and the event and online donations, visit www.curekidsfiji.com
Team Trinity is named because it brings together employees from three of Accor’s 29 hotels in New Zealand: Stefan Kracke and Di Ivamy, General Manager and Executive Housekeeper respectively from The Yacht Club Hotel Picton; Kirsty Parkhill, Business Development Manager for Accor’s Wellington hotels; and Casey Potatau, Executive Assistant to Accor Area General Manager for Auckland hotels.

Accor, a major global group and the European leader in hotels, as well as the global leader in services to corporate clients and public institutions, operates in nearly 100 countries with 150,000 employees. It offers to its clients over 40 years of expertise in two core businesses:
- Hotels, with the Sofitel, Pullman, MGallery, Novotel, Mercure, Suitehotel, Ibis, all seasons, Etap Hotel, Formule 1 and Motel 6 brands, representing 4,000 hotels and nearly 500,000 rooms in 90 countries, as well as strategically related activities, such as Lenôtre;
- Services, with 30 million people in 40 countries benefiting from Accor Services products in employee and public benefits, rewards and loyalty, and expense management.

Ends

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