The Chelsea Hotel, Toronto is the recipient of the Hotel Association of Canada (HAC) Humanitarian Award.
The Chelsea received the award at HAC’s Hall of Fame Awards of Excellence event, held on February 16th at the Sheraton Airport Hotel & Convention Centre in Toronto. The Humanitarian honour was developed in 2004 with the goal of recognizing HAC members (individuals, companies, properties) that have demonstrated significant accomplishments, exemplary leadership and tireless commitment to Canada’s lodging industry.
For the past 15 years, Chelsea Hotel has raised money in support of its charitable partners: Special Olympics Canada, Habitat for Humanity Toronto and the SickKids Foundation.
The Chelsea Charity Golf Classic has raised more than $1 million for the charities. The funds have provided Habitat for Humanity Toronto with enough money to build a home for a family each year, making the hotel an Official Home Donor. In 2013, the hotel announced a new partnership with SickKids Foundation, in which the hotel committed to a five-year fundraising plan with a goal of $500,000 to support AboutKidsHealth. To date, the hotel has raised close to $300,000.
The Chelsea Hotel also prides itself in playing an active role in retaining human dignity, one of the components of humanitarianism. It is committed to ensuring that persons with disabilities have access to the same information as all guests, consistent with the principles of dignity, independence, integration and equal opportunity.
As a result of this commitment, it is fully compliant with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) and strives to be a leader in accessible tourism in Toronto. In recognition of the hotel’s commitment, the Tourism Industry Association of Canada chose the Chelsea Hotel for its 2016 Accessible Tourism Award.
“Helping people in our communities is not just a nice thing to do, it is an expression of what it means to be a Chelsea Hotel employee,” says Josef Ebner, regional vice-president – Canada and managing director, Chelsea Hotel, Toronto. “Our commitment to our community is a natural extension of our Chelsea CARES program, which helps Toronto’s hospital community provide complimentary hotel rooms to families in need and includes a five-year sponsorship of SickKids Foundation.”
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