Red Lobster 2000 Annual Report Download - page 48

CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY
DARDEN RESTAURANTS
At Darden Restaurants, we are absolutely committed to tak-
ing a direct and active role in improving the quality of life
wherever we do business. It’s a hallmark of our heritage and
culture and an indispensable part of achieving our mission to
be the best casual dining company, now and for generations.
That’s why we include this “Corporate Responsibility”
report in the financial section of our Annual Report. We
believe active community involvement is a business impera-
tive.
Being the best in the business includes being an
outstanding corporate citizen and community leader.
Our philanthropic program is an extension of our
employees’ “hands-on” volunteerism, which is supported
by the Darden Restaurants Foundation and the Darden
Environmental Trust.
Working in partnership with community organizations
throughout the country, we focus on four key areas of social
need: 1) education, 2) social services and nutrition, 3) arts and
culture and 4) preservation of natural resources. We support
projects that promote diversity, respect, fairness and inclusive-
ness – we believe solving civic problems requires diverse view-
points and the commitment and participation of everyone in
the community.
Bill Darden, our late founder, believed that giving back
to the community, as well as taking care of employees and
guests, should be part of everything we do. That sense of
corporate responsibility is stronger than ever at Darden
Restaurants, and we want to share with you some key projects
with which we’re involved:
Investing in Community
PASTA FOR PENNIES
Olive Garden’s annual Pasta for Pennies program encour-
ages school children all over the country to collect pennies
for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of America.
Classes that raise the most money receive a catered lunch
from a neighborhood Olive Garden restaurant. Last year
nearly 1,000,000 students in 1,600 schools helped raise
more than $3,000,000 to help leukemia patients and
their families.
DRIVE AGAINST HUNGER
Through this innovative program, Olive Garden supports food
banks around the United States. It’s part of Olive Garden’s
sponsorship of Italy’s Team Rafanelli, which competes in the
American Le Mans Series motorsports racing championship.
In cities where races are held, Olive Garden donates a refriger-
ated truck (for collecting and distributing fresh foods) and
hundreds of pounds of food to a local food bank.
YMCA
Through community Family Centers and program sites, the
“Y” annually serves hundreds of thousands of men, women
and children of all ages, abilities, races, income brackets and
religions. The Darden Restaurants Foundation has concen-
trated its current support on the Pine Hills facility in the heart
of a low-income Orlando-area neighborhood that desperately
needs facilities and opportunities for children and adults.
Our support has enabled the Pine Hills “Y” to expand and
provide more comprehensive programs and tutoring that
will help with the neighborhood’s educational, physical
and social needs.
DARDEN RESTAURANTS 2000 ANNUAL REPORT 45
On the set of the hit CBS series “Everybody Loves Raymond,”
cast members Doris Roberts, Ray Romano, Patricia Heaton,
Brad Garrett and Peter Boyle kick off Olive Garden’s Pasta for
Pennies campaign, benefiting the Leukemia Society of America.
Olive Garden presents a 24-foot refrigerated truck to the Second
Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina in Charlotte, NC, and children
from the Walls Memorial Child Development Center.