Red Lobster 2003 Annual Report Download - page 51

2003 ANNUAL REPORT 49
For American soldiers stationed in the desert of Iraq – including more than 140 Darden employee-reservists – basics such as having
a hot shower and a clean towel are only a distant memory. One of the
home comforts soldiers miss most is the ability to bathe regularly and
wash away the dirt and sand. After hearing news reports that troops
needed basic essentials, Howard Hohman, senior vice president of
Red Lobster’s Dallas Division, led an effort to aid the soldiers that
involved Red Lobster restaurants around the country.
In just 10 days they collected and shipped enough personal
hygiene items and snacks to fill 250 cases. In addition, Darden
contacted the USO to offer help with care packages for the troops
and sent dozens of cases of moist towelettes, the most-requested item.
“Being deployed during war time is never easy, but your outpour-
ing of support has greatly eased our burdens,” one soldier wrote to
the Company. “As we face enemies abroad, it is always good to know
we have friends at home.”
For more than 30 years, Darden Restaurants has been a friend
to the communities where we operate. Whether lending a helping
hand in times of national crisis or doing the day-to-day work of
building communities, Darden employees have always been at the
front lines. It is often said that one person can make a difference,
and it’s still true. But combining the hands-on efforts of our more
than 140,000 employees with the financial resources of our philan-
thropy program enables us to multiply the efforts of both, creating
a powerful engine to drive transformation in our communities.
Back in 1968 when Bill Darden, our founder and namesake,
opened the first Red Lobster in Lakeland, Florida, corporate responsi-
bility wasn’t a term that was heard often. But even before the concept
had a name or became a part of business school curricula, Bill Darden
understood and lived the principles of good corporate citizenship.
He didn’t spend a lot of time talking about making a difference; he just
did it. Through his community activity and the way he treated his
employees, suppliers and guests, he set the tone for a spirit of
volunteerism, ethical business practices and philanthropy that are still
defining characteristics of Darden today.
We are committed to being an enduring and positive influence
on the communities where we live and work. This year we again backed
up that commitment by supporting many civic and charitable organi-
zations, helping solve the issues our communities face. We are proud
of our record as corporate citizens, as demonstrated by some of the key
projects we supported in fiscal 2003:
CELEBRATING DIVERSITY
We have worked hard to create an atmosphere in which all Darden
employees, vendors and guests feel a sense of pride, dignity and
belonging. Fostering and celebrating diversity in our business and
the community is critical to our ability to excel in an increasingly
diverse and dynamic marketplace.
We have developed key partnerships and business relationships
with a variety of organizations that support diversity efforts on the
local and national level, including the National Minority Supplier
Development Council, the Multicultural Foodservice & Hospitality
Alliance, Urban League, National Council of LaRaza, NAACP,
the Executive Leadership Council, the National MBA Association
Recruitment, INROADS, and the United Negro College Fund,
to name just a few.
Our efforts have earned numerous awards and recognition,
including being named one of the “50 Best Companies for
Minorities” by Fortune magazine three years in a row, and one of
the “Top 50 Companies for Diversity” by Diversity, Inc. magazine.
Corporate Responsibility
A Sampling of Our 2003 Corporate Responsibility Efforts
Darden helped send care packages to U.S. troops in Iraq.