Red Lobster 2003 Annual Report Download - page 52

50 DARDEN RESTAURANTS
Corporate Responsibility
SUPPORTING KIDS, FEEDING FAMILIES
Our restaurants support many charitable enterprises at the local and
national level.
Red Lobster restaurants participate in Cops & Lobsters, an
event in which uniformed law enforcement officers work as celebrity
servers and collect “tips,” raising millions of dollars for Special
Olympics. Olive Garden’s annual Pasta for Pennies program raises
millions for the national Leukemia and Lymphoma Society by
encouraging schoolchildren around the country to collect spare
change. The promise of an Olive Garden pasta party for the class
in each school that raises the most money is a powerful incentive!
As part of Olive Garden’s team sponsorship in the American
Le Mans Series, the company also donates truckloads of food to
food banks in cities where races take place. Since 1999, the Drive
Against Hunger program has provided more than 500,000 pounds
of food and almost 10,000 meals to food banks across the country.
And wherever Bahama Breeze opens a new restaurant, it holds practice
runs before officially opening for business, charging $5 per person and
donating the proceeds to the local chapter of Boys & Girls Clubs.
Employees throughout the Darden family of restaurants also
participate in countless local community service efforts, providing
meals for charitable events, raising funds, conducting school tours,
mentoring students, and adopting local families in need during
the holidays.
BUILDING STRONG COMMUNITIES
myregion.org
To build vibrant, healthy communities requires a collaborative effort.
One person, one business, one government agency can’t do it alone.
That’s one reason the Darden Restaurants Foundation supported
myregion.org this year, an organization that seeks to move beyond
artificial boundaries like county and city lines and build a regional
consensus for the future of the Central Florida region, where
Darden is based.
myregion.org represents a new way of thinking for community
problem solvers. The three-year initiative has brought together public
officials, citizens and business leaders from the seven contiguous
counties and 84 cities that make up Central Florida to talk about
working cooperatively and building on the region’s strengths.
Early phases of the project focused on culture, demographics/
diversity, development, economy/workforce, education, environment,
governance, healthcare, history, infrastructure, public safety, tourism
and transportation. The next phase will build on the regional
consensus established during the past three years to implement
the strategies and recommendations outlined in its final report,
The Central Florida Sourcebook – A New Regional Agenda, with
the ultimate goal of moving Central Florida to the forefront of the
new global economy.
Labor Day Outreach Program
On Labor Day, 2002, Red Lobster and Olive Garden restaurants
around the country reached out to serve those in need and honor the
people and organizations that play a critical role in our communities.
Red Lobster crews cooked, delivered and served complete meals with all
the fixings to 650 community outreach programs that serve those in
need across North America. And Olive Garden served complete
Hospitaliano! lunches to nearly 500 fire stations, police departments
and hospital emergency wards across the continent.
EDUCATING OUR CHILDREN & FAMILIES
Catching the Dream
Historically, the percentage of Native Americans attending college
has been extremely low, and for those who do go, the dropout rate is
shockingly high. Not only does this contribute to a cycle of poverty
that persists for generations, but it also deprives Native American
communities of the doctors, lawyers, teachers, engineers, accountants
and business managers they need to rebuild their economies and
improve their communities.
(From Left to Right) • Last Labor Day, Red Lobster and Olive Garden restaurants around the country delivered meals to over 1,100 community agencies and public servants, just to say
“thanks!” • myregion.org is helping Orlando, Florida, and the surrounding counties move to the forefront of the new global economy. • Hundreds of Native American students are
attending and graduating from college, thanks to Catching the Dream.