Red Lobster 2004 Annual Report Download - page 20

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because these areas contain two of the most
important lobster fisheries in the Caribbean,”
says Dr. Dahlgren. “And because these fisher-
ies are close to their maximum level of pro-
ductivity, it’s important for their survival to
find a way to increase lobster stocks to meet
the increasing demand for lobsters. The
Darden grant is helping us find ways to do
that without putting the species or the envi-
ronment at risk.”
By experimenting with different methods,
like aquaculture and stock and habitat enhance-
ment, Perry’s scientists are not only collecting
promising data and learning valuable infor-
mation about the spiny lobster’s habitat, but
they’re also providing information that could
ultimately increase all lobster populations
throughout the world.
BUILDING฀STRONG฀COMMUNITIES
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At Darden, volunteerism “runs in the family.”
Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Bahama Breeze,
and Smokey Bones and their employees
are all involved in a variety of regional and
national community events and programs.
Through the Cops & Lobsters program, for
example, Red Lobster restaurants invite law
enforcement officers to work as celebrity
servers and collect donations, raising mil-
lions of dollars for Special Olympics. And
Olive Garden restaurants raise millions for the
national Leukemia and Lymphoma Society
through its annual Pasta for Pennies program,
which raised $3.2 million in fiscal 2004.
When Darden employees see a problem or
need in the community, they jump in and go
to work. On almost any day of the year, you’ll
find Darden volunteers throughout North
America working to better their communities
by serving on boards of charitable organiza-
tions, working in local schools, raising funds
to fight disease, collecting toys for under-
privileged children, mentoring students ... or
any of thousands of other acts of community
service. Here are a few other examples:
• What started with several Ohio-area Olive
Garden and Red Lobster restaurant teams
shipping much-requested coffee to the 1485th
Army National Guard unit in Dover, OH,
became a whole lot more on New Year’s Day,
2004. The soldiers, who had been deployed
to Iraq the previous May, were planning to
have a New Year’s Day cookout, and were
unaware that a group of Darden employees
were planning to make it a feast for them.
On January 1, 2004, a “care package” arrived
in Iraq, courtesy of Red Lobster and Olive
Garden, loaded with strip steaks, Maine
lobster tails, and enough baked potatoes,
breadsticks, salad, desserts, and more to
feed the 225 servicemen and women of the
1485th stationed north of Baghdad!
• On a visit to a shelter for battered women and
their children in South Central Los Angeles,
Linda Landman-Gonzalez, Darden’s Director
of Diversity and Community Affairs, noticed
the home had no window coverings other
than sheets strung over a rod.
So Linda talked to Senior Vice President of
Operations for Olive Garden’s Los Angeles
Division, Rob Viveros, about donating blinds,
and Rob made it happen. “The people there
were so excited,” Rob says. “One lady broke
down and cried because the blinds made her
feel so much more safe and secure.”
• Brad Richmond, SVP Finance & Strategic
Planning for Red Lobster, volunteers on the
board and executive committee of Florida’s
Blood Centers (FBC), formerly the Central
Florida Blood Bank. FBC is the largest blood
bank in Florida, and the fourth largest in the
nation. “I volunteer for the pure satisfaction it
gives me to be able to use my talents and skills
to help this organization,” he says. “I think it’s
a world-class organization and vital to main-
taining strong health care in Central Florida.”
• When Cynthia Meca, General Manager of
an Olive Garden in Tampa, Florida, heard
that one of her line cooks was competing in
an industry competition and Darden was a
sponsor, she knew she wanted to help. “I got
so excited about the competition, I said, ‘I tell
you what, I’ll get you chef coats’,” Cynthia
says. The competition was part of Pro Start,
a school-to-career program in which students
learn every aspect of food preparation and
participate in student competitions.
“I put a lot of passion into my volunteer ser-
vice,” says Cynthia, who tries to get involved
in a community project every month. “It
comes from my heart and is a real source of
joy and meaning in my life.”
Darden Restaurants
Perry฀Institute
Corporate Responsibility 
Baghdad฀“Care฀Package”